When the Centers for Disease Control finally changed their recommendations for mandatory mask wearing on May 13^th, Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) quickly went along with it. The Kroger Company KR: (%) did not. Kroger had previously announced, on March 4^th, that it would continue to require masks of all employees and customers in the Lone Star State when Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) announced the end to his states mask mandate, beginning March 10^th.

Well, Kroger must’ve heard from its customers, because, after announcing that masks would still be required in their stores following the CDC’s changes, six days later, they changed their minds. I would like to think my couple of tweets, which included Kroger as an addressee, that I was taking my business to Meijer’s instead, contributed to their change of mind.

I may still take my business to Meijer’s. Kroger is more convenient to us, by about four miles, but still . . . .However, fear still rules the day in some people. The Philadelphia Inquirer published an OpEd piece by Cameron Adamez, the front-end manager at South Philly Food Co-op, and Mr Adamez wants everybody to keep wearing masks.

With the recent CDC policy changes, public expectations around health during the pandemic are changing. The city has lived more than a year with masks in public and the populace is beset with pandemic fatigue. Now, in many cases, the people are ditching their masks. Generally, that’s a good thing — a sign that we are in the clear. But there are some instances where, regardless of vaccine status, people should keep masks on for the safety of others.

Essential workers like grocery store employees are still at risk and their safety needs to be considered. Stores like Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and Sam’s Club almost immediately dropped their masking requirements for customers. This is a mistake. Grocery stores should consider the safety of their workers and keep masking requirements in place for customers and employees.

If people like Mr Adamez are concerned that their safety might be jeopardized by people not wearing masks, they are completely free to continue to wear their own. He stated, “It is not always possible for workers to avoid contagion entirely,” and this is true, but it is true concerning every communicable disease. His argument would be just as valid if someone entered the store with chicken pox, which is at its most contagious phase a couple of days before the blisters appear. Measles, rubella and rubeola, are also highly contagious, and spread by airborne droplets.

“There is no way to quickly verify if a customer is vaccinated,” he wrote, and that’s true enough. Any store which is going to ask to see your vaccination papers before allowing you to enter is a store which will quickly lose most people’s business. Mr Adamez apparently knows this, and said, “Requiring anyone in a store to wear a mask is a much more reasonable request.”

But is it reasonable? What Mr Adamez is asking is for other people to protect his health. Is it not his responsibility to protect his own health?

In the end, his article is driven by fear, and fear was what the government used to get so many Americans to comply with restrictions on their individual, constitutional rights. For some, that fear will be a long time subsiding. Frank Herbert wrote, in Dune, that “Fear is the mind-killer, fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.” Mr Adamez, who stated that he was fully vaccinated, has expressed his fear, though he couched it in terms of being concerned for the health of other people.

To me, it’s very simple: if you see someone without a mask, and you are afraid that he might not be vaccinated, and you are afraid you might catch the virus from him, then stay away from him. That is your right. What is not your right is to try to impose responsibilities on him due to your own fears.