Not Masking Is Now Racist Because (Fill in the Blank)

These days, we can’t go a day without learning that something new is “racist.”

Math is racist. Voter ID is racist. Signature requirements are racist. Even recessions are racist.

And now you’re racist if you aren’t wearing a mask in public because of COVID-19.

Mara Gay, a member of the editorial board of The New York Times, appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Thursday and declared that wearing a mask is still “an act of solidarity and respect, not only for people with certain health vulnerabilities, but also for racial minorities.”

How did she get there? Don’t ask.

“Yeah, you know, I think it is an important moment to recognize, everybody is weary, but the impact has not been equal across the American population or the world and so I just want to say, you know, a virus does not a pandemic make,” she explained.

So, what makes this a pandemic, according to Gay? That “a thousand Americans are still dying from this virus. It is not the flu and also, many, many more, unfortunately, are coming down with symptoms of long COVID, which has become endemic and anybody is susceptible to.”

It’s a word salad almost worthy of Kamala Harris. But it gets worse.

“So, I actually understand why it can be freeing to not wear a mask on a plane or a train, on the subway. That’s fine,” she said. “But I think we just need to acknowledge that there are still people and communities for whom this is an everyday fact of life that they have to think about and masking remains an act of solidarity and respect for vulnerable people, that includes people with disabilities, with chronic conditions like asthma, as well as for hard-hit communities like native and black communities especially, Hispanic communities that have been hit especially hard by this virus.”

Did you get that? You should be masking up in solidarity with minorities! If you don’t wear a mask, you’re a racist. Sure, it makes no sense, but since when does that matter to the left? Everything is racist, and your desire to return to normalcy even though the pandemic is over for all intents and purposes is clearly a manifestation of white supremacy.