Baseball player Aubrey Huff announced on Twitter that he was no longer going to wear a mask inside any business on June 23, 2020. He states “it’s unconstitutional to enforce.” 

Most states in America have issued some level of a mask mandate in order to quell the coronavirus pandemic. Since these mandates, cases of mask rage have erupted nationally. 

Covid-19 necessitates that all Americans wear masks, in order to prevent the virus from spreading. Yet the wearing of face masks has become one of the most contentious issues. Many Americans are arguing over wearing a mask. There have been many reported fights about wearing a face mask and some have been killed by others when these arguments turned violent. 

Similarly face masks are tied to the political conflict over our response to the coronavirus. “while many Americans follow public health recommendations and wear masks in public to limit the spread of Covid-19, others passionately fight against them, saying they impair individual freedom,” said Lauren Aranti, a journalist for The Guardian. 

Health experts say that evidence shows that wearing face masks can help prevent the spread of Covid-19. Evidence comes from laboratory studies of respiratory droplets and the ability of various masks to block them. They refuse to put on a mask regardless of the rules by their local areas and still walk out the house with no face mask. But there have been reported cases of fights breaking loose and people actually dying from not wearing a mask very recently.  

Many people who refuse to wear a mask say it imposes on their individual freedom. Those who tend to be on the political side about the virus tend to see this virus as a dire threat and the ones who tend to be nonpolitical are the ones that don’t really see the virus as a big threat. 

An article by Pew Research Center says “Republicans are now much less likely to say an additional stimulus package is necessary than they were in early April, while Democrats continue to overwhelmingly say more economic assistance is needed.” 

With it being political the Republicans and Democrats were saying how they felt about wearing masks.

According to Lauren Aranti “journalist for “The Guardian” a anonymous woman she was interviewing states “You’re removing our freedoms and stomping on our constitutional rights by these communist dictatorship orders or laws you want to mandate.”

According to Ganesh Setty and Hollie Silverman, CNN, a man was charged for the death of a 80 year old man who wasn’t wearing a face mask. Donald Lewinski, 65, is facing a charge of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Rocco Sapienza. Sapienza was confronting Lewinski about not wearing a face mask in the bar. Apparently moments later Lewinski shoved Sapienza to the ground leading Sapienza to have a seizure, which led to his death. 

Lewinski was released from jail since he pleaded guilty and he could be facing up to four years if convicted. 

On July 31, 2020  another dispute over masks erupted. SARAH M. WOJCIK journalist for The Morning Call states that “Slatington man charged with attempted murder in mask dispute and gunfire at Cigars International in Bethlehem Township.” Accordingly Adam Zaborowski, 35, entered the store and was asked to leave because he didn’t have a face mask. The workers followed him outside and asked Zaborowski to pay for his items, seconds later he fired shots in the air at the two workers with his handgun. 

He was later charged with attempted homicide. That was all because the workers told a man to put on a mask because it is a part of their policy due to Covid-19. They want to balance a safe environment for their customers and themselves. 

Yet people continue to argue and complain about wearing a face mask. It embodies the political dynamics of the campaign. It also reflects a classic American struggle between those who defend public safety and those who believe just as deeply in personal liberty.