Anti-Mask Rant Caught On Camera At Tustin Costco
TUSTIN (CBSLA) -- A customer's outrage about wearing masks was caught on camera on Sunday inside a Tustin Costco.
"We have got to stand up for ourselves!" the man yelled.
It was an outburst that has been repeated several times by different individuals nationwide, and in this latest bout, the customer jumped on top of a clothing display to share his message against face-covering mandates.
"It's a beautiful day outside and what are we doing, covering up with our masks," he was heard saying.
Reaction to his anti-mask tirade was mixed, with a few fist-bumping him and others calling for him to quiet down.
For frontline workers facing the coronavirus head on, some say the messaging against taking research-backed precautions is a serious concern.
"I've gotten harassed for wearing a mask," said Dr. Isabel Pedraza, the ICU Medical Director of Cedars-Sinai. "I've gotten, you have to sit there and listen on the news to people saying we are infringing on their constitutional rights and yeah, it's incredibly demoralizing. I think that there isn't anyone who does this that doesn't feel demoralized by it. Our lives don't matter, the patient's lives don't matter. It seems like this suffering is meaningless to some people, that's what it feels like it – it doesn't matter until it happens to them."
Other experts say that some of the outrage they've seen against coronavirus protocol is a result of the Trump White House's response to the pandemic.
"By doing that what they created is this sense of conspiracy and mythology, and we need to educate," said Jeffrey Galpin, an infectious disease expert. "It's so fascinating there are places that are unique that have not had a case in months, I mean even in Wuhan China, where they still wear masks."
With the vaccine creeping closer to its distribution date in Southern California, health care workers are begging the public to listen to science, keep their distance, wear face coverings and wash their hands often to help get the pandemic under control.
