Lincoln County, Oregon issued a directive for wearing face masks during the Coronavirus pandemic. The directive included an exemption for people of color. Late last night, the Oregon County dropped the mask exemption, after what they called a racist response. The response was racist, but the original directive was not? File this one under: “The Unbearable Myopia of Being Woke”.

In mid-June, Lincoln County issued the directive for face masks. From Twitter here it is:

New Face Mask directive in Lincoln County Oregon…face masks not necessary for “people of color”…🤦‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/cKkqCRzV9y

— Ed ☯️ (@DowdEdward) June 23, 2020

We need a little background on Lincoln here. Lincoln County is on the coast of Oregon, southwest of Portland. The population is 90% white, 9.5% Latino or Hispanic, and less than 1% black. The numbers don’t match up exactly as some people are mixed race and are double counted. In the 2016 election, 49.5% of the population voted Democrat and 39.7% voted Republican. There is a snapshot of this overwhelmingly white, woke community. A county full of Karens and Kens with no imagination or deep thoughts.

The county officials, in their officious paternalism, excused the 10% of their population that are people of color from mask wearing. The New York Post has quotes that illustrate why the Grand Poobahs of this Oregon county made this decision:

“For many black people, deciding whether or not to wear a bandanna in public to protect themselves and others from contracting coronavirus is a lose-lose situation that can result in life-threatening consequences either way,” ReNika Moore, director of the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program, told CNN.

Trevon Logan, who is black, said orders to wear face coverings are “basically telling people to look dangerous given racial stereotypes that are out there.”

“This is in the larger context of black men fitting the description of a suspect who has a hood on, who has a face covering on,” Logan, an economics professor at Ohio State University, told the outlet.

Well, ReNika, there are other face covering choices available besides a bandana. Many places are handing out the disposable masks for free. You can buy the disposable blue ones for as low as $.42/per piece. Your assumption was a little racist with the bandana thing.

And, um Trevor, have you noticed that with all of us wearing face masks and sunglasses, we all look like we are up to no good? Add in a ball cap and, say, purple latex gloves and you can’t tell race or sex sometimes, let alone guess what the person is up to. Plus Trevor, it’s kind of racist for you to think that all white people think that all people of color are “dangerous”.

Did no one in all of Oregon raise their hand and say, “Excuse me, but the CDC says that communities of color are at a higher risk of getting Covid-19. Might we not want to recommend that people of color be more aware of wearing masks?” No. The Leftists who run these counties are intellectually void.

Last night, the county reversed it’s decision:

Commissioner Claire Hall fears the communities of color would be harassed more because they are not wearing a mask. She’s still not worried about their health. Also, there is that tricky 14th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing equal protection of the law. Requiring only white people to wear a mask is not equal protection.

Here is how CNN reported the about “face”:

A mask mandate exemption for people of color meant to address racial profiling concerns has been removed after racist backlash, Oregon county officials said in a statement.

“The expressions of racism regarding the exception has created a ripple of fear throughout our communities of color. The very policy meant to protect them, is now making them a target for further discrimination and harassment,” Lincoln County leaders said Wednesday.
The county requires most residents to wear face coverings in public settings, indoors or outdoors. The locale, which is overwhelmingly White, had been one of the first places in the United States to exempt non-White residents if they fear harassment.

Again, the backlash was racist, the but original decision wasn’t? This Oregon county board made all kinds of assumptions about every community in the jurisdiction based on their own true biases. And, among other things Commissioner Claire seems like a humorless scold. If masks protect us all, then we should all wear masks. If this is about health, then health should be the only criteria. Unless, of course, this is about feels. Oh, the unbearable myopia of being woke. It’s so hard.

By the way, wash your mask (no detergent) or use disposable. Those masks are germy.

Shawna Dixon/Flickr.com/cropped/Public Domain