Not That Anyones Gonna Really See This, But My Night At Work Truly Gave Me Some Things To Say.

Not that anyone’s gonna really see this, but my night at work truly gave me some things to say.

I work at a small store in my hometown. I’m home from college for a couple months, and I need money for textbooks and tuition. I applied to 8 jobs and got accepted at 1. I’ve been there a week now, and it’s not too bad for holiday retail.

Being from a red state, I know a lot of people disagree with the mask mandates and safety protocols in place. It’s upsetting to hear about in the news, but tonight I REALLY experienced it firsthand. And I gotta say... it’s kind of terrifying.

I had a woman come in my store tonight with her son. Neither of them wore masks, and they walked in covering their mouths with their coat sleeves. As soon as they walked in and saw the store sign reminding people to wear masks and provide distance, they took their hands away and started yelling about how they were turned away from a local pizza place for not wearing masks. The pizza place turned them away for trying to use their coat sleeves.

My store doesn’t do that. I understand that some people have conditions that make mask wearing difficult. I can respect those people and their needs. Life, unfortunately, can’t grind to a halt. The world keeps turning, the days go by, and people have needs.

These people, however, were perfectly healthy. They yelled across the store at me (standing at the front register) about how being asked to wear a mask violated them. All while in order to keep my job, I have to wear one for 7-8 hours at a time, working and assisting customers. It might not be too hard of a job, but I’ll admit the mask can get uncomfortable at times.

I still wear it, though, because I have family that could die if I expose them to the virus. I need the job, but it’s scary knowing that if any small thing goes wrong, if one of those anti-mask people is carrying Covid... I could kill someone.

Let me repeat that real quick, so you understand the gravity I feel right now.

If any small thing goes wrong in my measures to protect myself, I could kill someone.

I live with my elderly parents while I’m home from school. They both have conditions that very likely would cause severe complications from the virus. Having people waltz in without a care in the world for the lives they could unknowingly be risking... it’s haunting. These people were so hell-bent on ignoring the mask mandate for their “personal liberty” that they forgot the person checking them out has a family. My coworkers and managers have families. The other customers have families and friends.

People in retail already get enough crap during the holidays. It’s stressful for everyone trying to prepare for their respective holiday gatherings, but in the midst of a pandemic... tensions are high. Work gets exhausting and I’m running around all the time doing what I can for people. If I even get an asymptotic case, I risk not being able to go back to school. I risk my employment. I risk the lives of my family, friends, and self.

If you’re seeing this... please. Please wear a mask. Please follow the mandates and guidelines. Please, please, please... remember your humanity. Remember that everyone you meet has people they are around. Family. Friends. Loved ones and strangers alike. By refusing a mask, even if you think it’s not going to hurt anyone, you could be risking the lives of dozens of people. PLEASE think about that.

And ask yourself this for me: is 20 minutes of discomfort in a store really worth risking that many lives? Are you willing to take that burden?