Face masks are one of the harsh realities of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Airlines in particular have been at the forefront of mandatory mask policies for passengers.
Despite that, there are still individuals who board airlines with no intention of wearing masks.
Mayhem ensues including delayed fights and worse — fist fights.
Because everyone has a phone and is eager to record such events, we have footage of all the ugliness.
Let’s look at a few examples.
1. American Airlines Flight from Las Vegas, NV to Charlotte, NC (August 17, 2020)
Nothing like a morning Fight Club as tempers flared on @AmericanAir LAS-CLT flight today….So much for social distancing! #AAFightClub @thefatjack pic.twitter.com/NN9lj8enbf
— Caryn Ross (@SuperSassyMama) August 17, 2020
It is unclear what the angry passengers are fighting about.
Some said it was because of mandatory mask-wearing; others said it was over seat assignments.
Regardless, someone called the police who came on the plane and escorted the woman wearing pink off of the plane.
2. KLM Flight from Amsterdam to Ibiza (August 2, 2020)
This skirmish is definitely over a passenger’s refusal to wear a mask.
“Stoppen nu, er zijn kinderen hiero!”Knokpartij op @klm vlucht naar Ibiza. Dronken passagier weigert mondkapje te dragen ✈️
Panic and violent brawl! Unruly passenger on board KLM flight,he refused to wear face mask 😷#incident #klm #avgeek #aviation #planespotting @KLM_press pic.twitter.com/RPM0g1Kqh9
— The Mic High Club Luchtvaart Podcast (@MicHighClub) August 2, 2020
It appears he got a bloody nose from the ordeal.
Unfortunately, airplanes are not the only place where mask-wearing is contentious and violent.
Retail stores also have been problematic.
3. Target Store, Van Nuys, CA (May 1, 2020)
California is among the hardest hit by COVID-19.
The LA mayor enacted an emergency and mandatory mask ordinance in all public places on April 10.
A Target security guard suffered a broken arm as he was escorting people out of the store who were not wearing masks.
The two men were arrested and released on $50,000 bail.
To mask or not mask, that’s the question.
As evidenced above, masks are a heated issue.
To be clear, Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx, and the CDC did not initially mandate mask-wearing (beyond front line medical workers) when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.
There are 2 reasons for that.
- There was a lack of masks available to the general public.
Front line medical workers needed masks the most so in order to preserve a limited supply, mask-wearing among others was not encouraged. - Knowledge of how COVID-19 is transmitted evolved over time.
As medical experts learned how the virus spread, they began to understand the significance of masks in preventing new cases and outbreaks among groups of people.
This led to a great deal of confusion among Americans who were largely confined to their homes.
So the frustrated public attempted to interpret a confused and sometimes misguided mask message.
Frustration led to anger, and then somehow some people interpreted mask mandates as imposing on their individual American freedoms.
It’s hard to understand how a mask mandate is different than state laws requiring seat belt wearing, minimum ages for buying tobacco or alcohol, or even the most basic, “No shoes, no service,” mandate many U.S. retailers require.
But this is where we are.
And it is not clear how long we will be immersed in mask mandates.
Unfortunately, more publicized fights can be expected as time goes on.
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