If God Wanted it That Way…
Why do we have brains if some people keep failing to use them?
Have you ever heard “If God wanted it that way, He would have made it that way” as an argument to justify homophobia and/or transphobia? Most likely. That same argument is now used to protest the usage of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. In footage from The Star, Venus Flores took off her homemade mask and admitted to not wearing a mask as an essential worker. Another woman asked the Floridian officials before her if they want to be known as “communist dictators” while another proposed citizens’ arrest for “anyone that goes against freedom of choice”. The woman who proposed citizens’ arrest went on to say that masks are killing people. The last woman on the stand made a similar argument saying that masks restrict breathing to a harmful extent. However, if that were the case, surgeons and other mask-wearing professionals would need to undergo hypoxia training.
Dr. Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon, showed concerns about mask-induced hypoxia or hypercapnia in an editorial. However, both PJ Media and Snopes called his claim false while other doctors addressed these concerns. PJ Media has asked why audience would rather listen to Dr. Fauci rather than other medical experts. However, when one considers that Dr. Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease while Dr. Blaylock is an anti-vax neurosurgeon, Fauci’s expertise is more likely to be the type of expertise needed during a pandemic.
To be clear, Dr. Fauci’s expertise does not make him immune to making mistakes or misjudgments. That makes checking with other experts with a track record of credibility all the more important. Louisiana State University has compiled a list of their own experts as a starting point for those looking for information amid the chaos. With that said, other experts may make televised appearances, release new studies, and otherwise keep the public informed about an unprecedented event.
It seems that those who think that masks are a way of “throwing away God’s wonderful breathing system” deliberately ignore how COVID-19 can ravage that same breathing system. Enforcing the exercise of reasonable precautions during a pandemic is not a violation of freedom of choice or free exercise. Similar measures were implemented during the Spanish flu pandemic to prevent already-full hospitals from being overwhelmed with Spanish flu patients. In exercising one’s apparent “right” to not wear a mask, others’ rights to breathe non-contaminated air are violated. It makes no sense that many anti-maskers used God’s name in their argument since their actions fly in the face of Christian teachings such as loving one’s neighbor before themselves or protecting the vulnerable.
