Author Anand Giridharadas on Friday shared on social media what he called an “end-of-empire” video featuring a compilation of Americans refusing to wear face masks in public places, purposefully coughing on others, and claiming their “freedom” is being trampled by public health guidance urging social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“A misbegotten, warped freedom obsession is killing us,” Giridharadas tweeted.
A misbegotten, warped freedom obsession is killing us. pic.twitter.com/KbYaTVtR0O
— Anand Giridharadas (@AnandWrites) May 22, 2020
In the video, one woman curses at and tries to hit a store employee after being refused entry for not wearing a face mask; another screams at workers and reaches over a plastic barricade to assault them; a man tells a Costco employee he doesn’t have to wear a mask because he “woke up in a free country,” and one woman tells a grocery store manager that she can’t wear a mask due to a medical condition and that she can’t use a delivery service because she wants to buy “private” items. Continue reading.