It occurs to me, coronavirus isn’t nearly as widespread, nor does it inflict as much damage, as ignorance.

I just shake my head in bewilderment at all the people I see choosing to not take one of the simplest and most effective precautions against coronavirus:

Wearing a freakin’ mask.

Is it really that inconvenient? Is it embarrassing? Is it such an assault on your personal freedom? Do you live in the fantasy that if you don’t wear one, then the virus isn’t real? Do you feel invulnerable to this disease that’s killing so many of us every day? Do you hold so little regard for the people around you as to risk their lives, as well as your own?

Or is it because your president doesn’t wear one, either?

I mean, really, what is your reasoning behind it?

Believe me, I don’t like wearing it, either. It can get hot. It can make breathing more difficult. And yeah, it’s not the most flattering look.

So what?

There’s a deadly disease out there, whether you want to acknowledge it or not. It kills. And, as yet, we have no vaccine to prevent it.

Our strongest line of defense right now is a mask. Our second strongest is knowledge. We have experts in science and health warning us of the magnitude of coronavirus, and how we must defend against it.

Don’t trust science? Get over it. Scientists are trying hard to keep us alive, and your total disregard for their advice is preventing that.

And personally, I resent that.

I’m just trying to survive this thing, however long it lasts. And you, my willfully ignorant friend, are making that tougher.

I understand, some of you actually have a good medical reason for not wearing a mask; I know one such person. This is not directed at you.

It’s for all you out there who “just can’t be bothered” with it.

Grow the hell up, and put the mask on. You’re not any more special than me. The virus is bad enough without you aiding and abetting it.