“You do not have to wear those masks,” DeSantis told the students as he took the podium at the University of South Florida on Wednesday. “Please take them off. Honestly, it’s not doing anything. We’ve got to stop with this Covid theater. So, if you want to wear it, fine — but this is ridiculous.”
Some of the students, visiting from a local Hillsborough County high school, took off their masks at the governor’s urging while others opted to keep them on their faces.
DeSantis for months has railed against protective face coverings and other Covid-19 restrictions, including mandatory vaccinations and vaccine passports. During the height of the Delta Covid-19 variant surge in the state, the Republican governor prohibited Florida’s schools from implementing mandatory mask-wearing for students and staff, leading to a protracted battle with some of the state’s largest school districts and the Biden administration over the issue.
So many people have tut-tutted concerns about the lifting of mask mandates by assuring everyone that they can still wear masks if they want to so what’s the big deal.
Well, this country is full of assholes like Ron DeSantis who believe that wearing a mask i “theater” and that you are wearing it to “virtue signal” (make them fell bad.) And they are aggressive and intimidating. That little exchange demonstrates it perfectly.
Also, just plain cretinism with a side of Freedom Fries: