Senator Says Don’t be a Maskhole!

John Kennedy says he’s not a “maskhole”.  The U.S. Senator from Louisiana was appearing on Fox and Friends when he uttered the word.  He was reacting to a picture of John Kerry being mask less on an airplane.  Kennedy explained he wears a mask but he won’t rat on people who don’t.  Kerry got away with being bald faced.  A 65-year-old woman in Texas was tackled and handcuffed inside a bank.

COVID-19 has been a tale of two peoples.  Some live by another set of rules than everybody else.  I came across a link at Tablet, where a writer explains it’s about social classes but in an even much larger way.

The people who give most in the way of contributions to Democrats are the people who’ve been most able to stay at home the last 12 months and still collect a salary.  Small business owners generally trend more Republican and many have had their lives crushed over the last year.  I wouldn’t say it’s intentional.  It could be but I would also suggest the people working from their dens have little understanding about how other people live.

An uncle of mine owned a repair shop.  He sold and serviced televisions, radios and appliances.  The store was open six days a week and often twelve hours to accommodate his customers.  He would make service calls, which meant my grandmother or his wife would mind the store during his absences.  They didn’t draw paychecks.  They shared a home and expenses and he was the breadwinner.  He was a staunch conservative.  He called people on public assistance “wellies”.  It was short for welfare.

He had grown up in grinding poverty in Appalachia.  After service in the Signal Corps during the Korean War he came home and launched his business.  He recognized the new technology of TV would sweep the country.  He had foresight, grit and skills suddenly in demand.

He died 23 years ago and was still repairing appliances in a barn.  He put five kids into college.  Today, they’re all the professional class and all but one a liberal Democrat.  They’ve been able to work from home.

The pandemic shows us a great many people have forgotten their roots.