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Writer's pictureNolan Schmidt

Respecting the Choices of Others



This week, It was announced by Governor Abbott that the mandatory mask mandate in the State of Texas will be lifted on March 10th, and that businesses will now be able to be at 100% capacity. The reaction to this news was not surprising. For those who wanted the statewide mandate to be lifted celebrated and praised the Governor, while those who believe that the mandate should remain for safety purposes condemned him.


Personally, I have no strong feelings on whether Governor Abbott was right or wrong for lifting the mask mandate, because there is one major factor that did happen after the announcement. City governments as well as schools and federally-owned locations still require people to wear a mask, and the same goes to businesses as well (if the owners of said businesses choose to require their customers to wear a mask or not). After all, this comes down to the freedom of choice when it comes to the masks. During the pandemic, despite I don’t like wearing a mask, I personally chose to wear a mask not just for my own safety, but for others as well. I will continue to make the choice to wear a mask until the end of the pandemic.


I get the frustrations of those who don’t like wearing a mask, My experience with the masks I wore (both disposable and cloth) have been a 50/50 when it comes to comfort, safety, and breathability. Some masks are uncomfortable, made a bit too small when they are labeled for adults, made too big if they are made for children, and so forth. Just because someone is not wearing a mask in public (outside of a location, building, or business that requires wearing a mask), I’m not going to go up to them and rant about their safety, and why they should wear a mask. Instead, even if I disagree on their choice to do so, I will respect their choice of not wearing a mask. The same example should be done if the scenario was the opposite (someone choosing not to wear a mask ranting to an individual who chooses to wear a mask in public).


Despite there being a vaccine available now for COVID, the virus is still out and about, and there are still people who are testing positive. Also, as I previously mentioned, there will still be businesses and certain locations that will still require a mask to be worn, even if you choose not to wear a mask. If you go to and enter these locations, please respect their choice on requiring you to wear a mask (especially if it’s a place where you are currently employed or a school/college that you attend). The end of this pandemic depends on the choices we make when it comes to safety (wearing/not wearing a mask and getting/not getting the vaccine), either it be our own or someone else.

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