Letter: Freedom requires responsibility

Whatever happened to: “No shoes. No shirt. No service”?

Today that phrase must be changed to, “No mask. No gloves. No service.” The reason is not political. It is a matter of caring about a fellow citizen’s health and their right to live.

My wife went to shop at a local grocery store [recently] to pick up one item, Drano. As she approached the area in the aisle where the Drano was on the shelf, a woman, seeing my wife wearing a mask and gloves, pulled her cart across the aisle to block my wife from going farther. Yes, the arrows were on the floor showing the proper direction for customers to move during their shopping. This woman went the wrong way without regard and stood next to her cart to make sure my wife could not go farther.

After several minutes, my wife calmly asked the woman to move to allow my wife to proceed. Rather than politely move, the woman verbally assaulted my wife, screaming that no one is going to tell her what she can and cannot do. She raged on about she has the “freedom” to do whatever she wants. Her rant continued as my wife backed away and reported the incident to the manager.

The manager said his hands were tied because he cannot police the behavior of his customers. He was wearing a mask. At that point, my wife, who is very rational and not easily prone to tears, burst out into frantic crying. She left the store and felt very ill. The grocery chain has done little except to refer the incident to the regional manager. We’ve heard nothing from the manager.

What has happened to the American people? We were drawn together after 9/11. We pulled together to overcome the Depression, the Great Recession, and defeated evil during World War I and World War II. Now, we are reduced to this savage behavior in the name of extremism. That behavior does not make this country great. It makes this country implode from within. Has the evil we defeated landed on our shores?

I have a preexisting condition. If my wife gets the virus, I am likely to get it and suffer to the point that it could be fatal. That will not change politics and the outcome of the elections in November. It will just put another notch on the bedpost of hate. How many others must be exposed to fatal illness so that a few can claim their “freedom” to kill and abuse?

Freedom must be accompanied by responsibility if we are to be truly free. Freedom does not give one the right to take away or risk another person’s life in an act of a grossly irresponsible extremism. Corporations must care more about their customers’ health than pleasing people who have no regard for the safety and health of others, much less themselves. This is especially egregious when a corporation puts profit over the health of its customers.

Let’s Make America Care Again.

— Chuck Fink
Weaverville