[imagesource: Galveston Police Department]

Of all the COVID-19 related things I will look back on in years to come whilst slowly shaking my head, the mask ‘debate’ will be right up there.

I use the word ‘debate’ very, very lightly, because it’s a case of science and respect for others versus entitlement and willful ignorance.

South Africa has had its fair share of mask drama – that Fish Hoek arrest and the woman in Pick n Pay who whipped off her knickers come to mind – but nobody does it quite like America.

This time, we’re in Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott recently decided, against the advice of state health officials, to end the statewide mask mandate as of March 10.

65-year-old Terry Wright wasted no time in living that mask-free life, although she hadn’t exactly done her homework, as The Guardian reports:

Police issued a warrant for the arrest of Wright, of Grants Pass, Oregon. The incident on Thursday at a Bank of America in Galveston was captured by the officer’s body camera…

Police said they had obtained an arrest warrant on resisting arrest and criminal trespassing charges…

Police said a bank manager called police after Wright refused to wear a mask while inside, and then refused to leave the building when asked.

What Wright failed to realise is that private businesses, like the bank she was standing inside, are still allowed to require masks at their discretion.

Perhaps taunting a police officer about arresting you isn’t the best course of action to take in this situation:

My favourite bit is when she says “police brutality right here, people”, and everyone in the bank responds with a resounding “no, it is not”.

After realising that she had, in fact, broken the law, Wright was repentant.

Nope, scratch that:

She told the [Washinton Post] she was “attacked” and compared mask requirements to the way that Nazi Germany forced Jewish people to identify themselves with a Star of David.

She also said she believed in a “plandemic” in a reference to a documentary-style video in which an anti-vaccine activist promotes a string of questionable, false and potentially dangerous coronavirus theories.

People’s ability to find a way to compare even the slightest whiff of perceived persecution to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust never ceases to amaze.

Wright added that she has no regrets and that people “can’t cancel me, I’m retired”.

According to The Washington Post, Wright alleges that her foot was fractured in multiple places during the arrest, which does appear to be rather heavy-handed in the circumstances.

Below is the full bodycam footage from the arresting officer:

[source:guardian]