Letters to the Editor: Since when did being a Republican require stupidity on masks?

To the editor: Columnist Virginia Heffernan’s criticism of the right’s mask-refusal policies was well-written and erudite, but a little long-winded for me. I was hoping for something a little more pithy, like:

You microcephalous idiots, what’s wrong with you? Don’t you read anything? Masks protect you, but more importantly they protect your neighbors. If everyone wears one, ultimately you are protected, especially from the un-symptomatic carrier.

Non-mask wearers only exhibit their ignorance. If you don’t wear a mask, you are selfish as well as stupid.

I write this as a right-wing, conservative Republican.

Megan Wagner, Newport Beach

To the editor: It’s an article of faith with many conservatives that climate science has been politicized by the leftist educational establishment in order to scare people into voting left.

Evidence comes in the form of actual climate scientists (typically older ones) who concur on climate change and agree that much of it is anthropogenic, but complain it’s been wildly exaggerated and resent being told what they may teach and publish in order to keep their jobs.

Unfortunately, many on the right have made the leap from that to the notion that all science is now political, including health science — hence the vaccine deniers, the mask scoffers and the idea that leftists are using the “communist” pandemic to destroy the American economy.

Many Republican leaders, led by the president himself, evidently believe this. The result is that they’ve been effectively killing off their own voting base.

The moral of the story is that you can’t fight the left with stupidity; it’s counterproductive.

Patrick M. Dempsey, Granada Hills

..

To the editor: Wearing a bandage to protect an open sore against infection is a hoax. It is best to let that open sore ooze and fester.

So, don’t be caught wearing a bandage in America; someone might think you care.

Ben Shaw, Chino

..

To the editor: For those who refuse to wear a mask because doing so makes it harder to breathe and is uncomfortable, try a ventilator.

Anne Riswold, Los Osos