Don Caple will not wear a mask.
He doesn’t think they really stop the spread of the new coronavirus, and he’s pretty sure the mask mandates are a “communist move” by the government to see how many people are willing to give up their freedom.
But if you are looking for a mask, do you have a deal for you? For just $ 10, he’ll sell you a face mask with a President Trump, depicted as a Rambo with a machine gun. Or one with the slogan of the Trump 2020 campaign. Or one with the rolled-up rattlesnake of the Gadsden flag and the words “Don’t step on me” replaced by “Don’t cough on me.”
“They’re a ticket item,” said Caple, who sells masks from a Trump-themed trailer near the famous Cadillac Ranch art installation in Amarillo. “I do not agree with that. But if you want to buy them, I’m not going to argue. ”
Mask mandates are in effect in more than half of the US states, and facial coatings are required at many major chains such as Walmart, Target, and Starbucks. So whether we like it or not, most Americans who want to leave their homes must own some sort of mask, leading even the greatest cynics to try to profit from it.
On Etsy, online shoppers can choose from dozens of homemade fabric face covers that say, “This mask is useless!” Amazon falcon mask sellers say, “Wake up, sheep!” And on Ebay, the masked skeptic can buy one that says “Scamdemic”.
Public health experts say masking is essential for the US to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 145,000 people in the US year in chaos.
But there remains great skepticism about the masks, largely along party lines, with polls showing that Republicans are less likely to wear masks than Democrats or independent voters. Officials in red states that have quickly reopened their economies and are now affected by the virus have said Trump helped raise suspicions about wearing masks among his supporters.
Trump has refused to wear a mask in public for months, despite his own administration’s guidance that face covers help curb the spread of the virus. He mocked alleged Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for wearing one, held campaign events where facial covers were not required, and told the Wall Street Journal in June that he believed some people were wearing them to show their disapproval.
Amid a summer spike in cases, Trump called Americans to wear them this month, after donning one himself during a July 11 visit to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. On Monday, he tweeted a photo of himself wearing a mask with the presidential seal, writing that “many people say it is patriotic to wear a face mask when you cannot socially distance yourself. There is no one more patriotic than me, your favorite president!
The Trump Trailer outside the famous Cadillac Ranch art installation in Amarillo, Texas.
(Mark Potts / Los Angeles Times)
Anything that encourages people to wear face covers, even if it’s a mask that feels like a fashion statement for the anti-mask crowd, is a good thing, said David Aronoff, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. in Nashville And every bit of money that can be made in this pandemic-ravaged economy is important, he said.
The virus spreads through people’s breath, so the best ways to stop it are by creating distance between people or using barriers, such as face masks or shields, to physically prevent the virus from passing from person to person, Aronoff said. .
Aronoff said it is not entirely surprising that Americans have resisted wearing masks in public because “there is an idea that if you wear a mask, you are sick or vulnerable.” But the masks, he said, are effective.
“The reality is that we really need people to accept the idea that we can protect each other from this pandemic.”
There is mounting evidence that silent spreaders are fueling transmission of the highly contagious coronavirus, making universal masking essential to slow its spread, experts say. Aronoff said infected people can transmit the virus for days before symptoms start, and even if they don’t show any symptoms.
“No one wants to think that they are infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, capable of killing someone, especially when they feel normal and have no symptoms of infection,” said Aronoff. “It is very difficult for people to imagine that they could essentially be a water lily for this virus to jump from person to person, but this is the absolute reality of the situation. Silent transmission events are fueling this pandemic.”
Back in Amarillo, Caple, 38, said he sells 50 to 250 skins a day on the Trump Trailer, a grocery store that chilled on a recent sweaty Saturday from a swamp cooler standing in front of a Confederate flag stuck on the back. wall.
With cases on the rise in Lone Star status, Governor Greg Abbott in early July ordered Texans in all counties with more than 20 coronavirus cases to wear a mask in public.
In reality, however, it appears that “no one in Texas is enforcing it,” said Caple, a father of nine who works as a painter when he’s not driving the Trump Trailer. Caple said the only problem he has encountered is when he entered a local Toot’n Totum gas station without a mask and was told to leave. He just went to another Toot’n Totum a few blocks away, where it wasn’t a problem.
These days, even cynics are gritting their teeth and buying masks, many of them because they are now required in many places, Caple said after handing over a free pocket Constitution to a man with the words “We the people” tattooed on them. on his right arm he had just bought a “Trumpinator” shirt.
“I don’t think it makes sense,” Caple said of the masks. “But as a seller? I’m going to sell them.
The Thunder-Rode motorcycle accessories store in Kingman, Arizona advertises “scamdemic masks”.
(Mark Potts / Los Angeles Times)
Outside the Thunder-Rode motorcycle accessory store on Route 66 in Kingman, Arizona, owner Jack Alexander displays a yellow sign saying “Scamdemic Kung-Flu Flu Virus Masks” that are “locally handmade” with “designer fabrics”. The president has used the phrase “kung flu” and other racist language in reference to the deadly virus.
Arizona has surpassed 152,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and more than 3,000 people in the state have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. But Alexander claims that it is a small number in a state of 7.3 million people and that the odds are in his favor.
“The chances that I or anyone else will have or die from the common virus scam are microscopic,” he said.
Alexander will not cover his face. But he sells a variety of cloth masks, ranging from about $ 5 to $ 15. He sews them himself, with double layers of cloth, elastic ear bands or laces to tie, and filter pockets “so you can put your coffee filter in there, or whatever. ” He said he gives a quarter of each sale to a charity that benefits homeless veterans.
When asked why he sells masks when he doesn’t think they work, Alexander said, “Demand.”
Alexander said he does not believe that facial covers other than hospital-grade masks completely filter out “coronavirus thieves” and that people’s immune systems are designed to fight disease. But people love them because they are increasingly necessary, he said.
“People are going to buy these stupid things anyway,” he said. “I personally would never use one. I don’t want to breathe in my body flow again. “
Alexander, who described Trump as a great president who “doesn’t take any crap,” said he had no problem with promoting the use of masks now, as long as it’s his own preference and not done to satisfy the media. Seeing the President wearing a mask, Alexander said, it would not influence him to wear one.
In Southport, North Carolina, Mike Howard began selling masks from his screen and graphic arts store, Brandall, as a way to get back some of the money he lost this year. He usually makes T-shirts and banners for big annual events like the July 4th festival and a kids fishing tournament. But they were all moved online or canceled, giving it a major financial hit.
The Democratic governor of North Carolina issued a statewide mask mandate last month. A few days later, Howard posted a black mask on his company’s Facebook page to “those who don’t like masks” with the words, “This mask is as useless as our governor.”
Howard said he has sold enough, but some customers were offended. Frankly, he said, he will print anything on a mask or shirt if someone wants to buy it.
“In North Carolina, it’s a big debate … people feel so confident about it on both sides of the aisle,” said Howard. “We try to remain neutral, but it is difficult. You don’t want to reject any of them.
Howard said he personally doesn’t mind wearing a mask. He usually opts for one with the mouth of John Finlay, who appeared in the Netflix series “Tiger King” as a former love interest of the former zookeeper known as Joe Exotic. (Finlay, who was missing front teeth on the show, has had extensive dental work to repair them.)
“The more you can make the masks stand out, and the funnier they are,” he said, “the more likely someone is to buy it.”
