Why I’m pro-choice (when it comes to masks)

Never mind the fact that their children are perfectly free to attend school bubble wrapped with a straw sticking out for a breathing apparatus. No one is telling them that they have to send their children into the plague-filled environment. Virtual schooling is an option too. I remember how many liberals wanted the schools to remain shut forever, and have the computer teach their little ones. What happened to that? Now they want the schools opened, but only according to their diktats.

I’m really sorry, but that’s not the way this country works. There is so little evidence that cloth masks work, the only way that you can justify an overall mask mandate is if you fit every child with a surgical mask glued to their tiny faces from 8 a.m. until dismissal time. Anything less is useless.

The Americans With Disabilities Act requires that you make “reasonable accommodations” to protect those who have illness or disability. Most schools have already done that, with filtering systems, hand-washing stations, social distancing and even plastic shields between seats. They’ve reduced the number of children in classrooms. They’ve canceled recess. They’ve made water drinking into a synchronized sport.

That’s reasonable enough. These lawsuits, on the other hand, are not.

This reminds me of when the abortion rights lobbyists decided to use RICO, the anti-racketeering statute developed to stop organized crime, to prevent pro-life protestors from picketing clinics. They treated grandmothers with rosaries as if they were John Gotti and his blood-splattered crew. It’s dangerous when you start misusing the law.

So, I’ll wear a mask on the train, and grumble about it. I’ll wear a mask on a plane, and do the same. I’ll wear a mask in stores that require it, or just choose not to shop there.

Kids don’t have these choices. They are dependent on the good will and common sense of adults. It’s time they started seeing some of it. These stupid, insulting and outrageous lawsuits need to be dismissed, now.

Christine Flowers is an attorney and a columnist for the Delaware County Daily Times, and can be reached at cflowers1961@gmail.com.