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Stacey Abrams' Mask Privilege

Guy Benson
Guy Benson  |  February 07, 2022 10:25 AM

The rules are different for Anointed Leftists -- even when, or especially when, they're the ones making the rules.  As Rebecca noted over the weekend, America's 'mask cult' has been in rare form in recent days, with COVID cases plummeting across the country.  California politicians tie themselves in knots spinning away their own non-compliance, ranging from embarrassingly misplaced defiance, to hilarious excuses, to flat-out lies.  We pointed out last week that while powerful adults were living their best lives, posing for maskless photos with an immunocompromised celebrity while indoors at a packed sporting event, school children in that very same city are required to wear fitted medical-grade masks throughout the school day.  Even outdoors.  This is backwards and anti-science, of course, but they don't care.  It seems as though flagrantly disregarding mask mandates is becoming something of a status symbol among prominent leftists.  It's an 'I'm untouchable, but you must obey' flex.

The latest culprit is one of the country's most shameless exploiters of liberal privilege.  This woman has spread election-related conspiracies and sowed racially-divisive lies for the last three-plus years, and those actions have launched her as a national star within her tribe.  Her Big Lies that undermine faith in our voting system are reinforced and applauded by our 'news' media and cultural tastemakers, with one top Democratic official after another lining up to kiss the ring and indulge her misinformation.  Her bad behavior is rewarded at every turn, so it's unsurprising that she's concluded that she is so far above the rules that she is free to flaunt her Special Exempt Status.  Which is how you get photo-ops like this:


Imagine being so out of touch -- so self-unaware and privileged -- that you believe you can posture as a champion of children while taking a photograph surrounded by children, in which you are literally the only human being not wearing a mask.  The backlash ended up being significant enough that tweets were deleted, but not before the image was shared far and wide.  Georgia Republicans would be nuts not to use it against her.  They're hitting her on social media already, and her campaign is responding with the race card.  Because of course they are.  Sleaze:


Totally shameless, unwilling to admit fault, and doubling down.  Fully on brand.  Don't screw this race up with infighting, Georgia Republicans.  Ads like this are powerful, depicting various adults (including the Hollywood glitterati) doing whatever they'd like, while young children -- forcibly masked for no reason, often against their own parents' wishes -- look on:


They can be made even more powerful by adding images of pro-"safety" politicians blithely and enthusiastically ignoring the rules as they see fit.  Kids have no such option -- facing threats of suspension or even criminal charges if they fail to comply with useless superstitions.  Fitted, medical grade masks can absolutely help protect diligent wearers from infection.  This is a good argument for optional masking, based on risk profile.  It's not an argument for mandates, which are not effective:


Children are at exceptionally low risk of severe outcomes from COVID.  Far fewer children die from COVID than die in car accidents or accidental drownings.  Flu seasons are often deadlier for kids.  We don't uproot their lives or impose harmful and ineffective requirements in response to these other threats.  There are known, documented downsides to making children wear mask coverings for hours on end each day.  There are no established upsides to masking children, based on data and outcomes.  Look at what is being inflicted on kids (and this information is from the UK, where masking rules in schools have been much less draconian and more sensible than in many places around the US):

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The masking cult's justifications are breathtaking:


Yes, if you manipulate children with lies and fear, they will respond the way you want them to.  And acting as if a four-year-old being terrified to take his mask off under basically any circumstances is not a good pro-mask argument; it's an illustration of psychological abuse.  Neurotic adults' demands must be aggressively resisted and actively defeated, for the sake of our society, and especially the children.  I'll leave you with this.  Watch to the end.  More of this, please.  Accountability: