Wearing a mask in a pandemic is basic hygiene.

I would hope that we wash our hands after going to the bathroom to prevent the spread of fecal borne diseases, and because not doing so is both dirty and nasty. We mandate it for food handlers and others, and it is an accepted basic hygiene norm.

I would hope that we brush our teeth to keep our gums healthy, our teeth strong, and so as to not offend others with our foul breath. It's not mandated, but its an accepted basic hygiene norm.

I would hope that we bathe to wash off bacteria, to protect ourselves from infection, to maintain cleanliness, and so as to not offend others with our body odor. We mandate it for health workers and others, and it too is an accepted basic hygiene norm.

I would hope that people would wear masks during a pandemic to keep their potentially infectious spit and saliva off my face, off surfaces I may touch, out of my respiratory tract, and out of my eyes. Mask mandates go back over 100 years. There were mask mandates during the 1918 (not 1917 Mr. President) flu pandemic. It's a scientifically proven basic hygiene measure to protect the public.

Wearing a mask during a pandemic is basic hygiene. Our elected officials, charged with protecting the public, should mandate the wearing of masks to protect us from the dirty, nasty motherf***ers that refuse to be hygienic, for the good of us all.