Come on folks, this COVUS-19 is serious stuff; Follow the rules!!

Beer-loving, carefree, irresponsible youths in Britain — one of which I was for half of the 1970s — are refusing to obey anti-crowding and other rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, now spreading at an appalling rate there, and the government has, finally, acted.

Pubs are to be closed at 10 pm, and violators of the 2-meter (6-ft) separation rule will be subject to fines of £1000 ($1280).

When I lived there (1971–76), that was for many young people more than a month’s wage. Now, it seems, that is a sum imagined to be within reach, even if barely, by the 20- and 30-somethings who crowd in and in front of pubs as their chances of contracting the coronavirus increase, one might imagine, by the hour. (The traffic flow in pubs is near-constant, as people consume their 20-ounce pints and return to the bar to order more.)

Meanwhile, various parts of England have been subjected to other kinds of serious lockdowns as the government attempts to slow, even stop, the spread of the worst viral threat the world has ever encountered. And still, the message — the real risk of exposure, serious illness, even death — seems to be alluding large segments of the population there… as it is in the US.

I occasionally drive a neighbor to and from a local food store. I sat outside it waiting for her earlier today and saw perhaps 30 people come or go from that store. Som ten-fifteen percent of them were mask-challenged. The oddest example of ‘non-compliance’ with government advisories (that masks be worn) was the 30-something woman with no mask accompanying a 5-year-old with one. There are assorted ways one can be an irresponsible parent; That is one.

The majority of the people failing (or refusing) to wear face coverings were of a type: White males in their 40s and 50s. A few were older. A very few were not White. What was most amazing, though, were the instances where a White male remained uncovered while his female counterpart was masked.

A sizable segment of the American population has so politicized the issue of mask-wearing that tens of thousands of people are being put at risk because of their irresponsible behavior.

Mask-wearing is intended to protect both the wearer and all s/he comes close to. Not wearing a mask is seen by me — and I’ve told more than a few Walmart shoppers this — as both irresponsible and rude.

Come on, Trump-backing clowns: This is a serious issue. Just because your to-be-feared leader is mask-less doesn’t mean you should be.

BTW, just because the mask-free leader of your cult is that doesn’t mean you should be. How are he, and YOU, refusing to get the message that masks save lives?