An MSNBC writer believes he has figured out the real reason why people are excited about not having to wear masks on flights: racism.
In a column published on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut Blog” Wednesday, Ja’han Jones wrote, “A federal judge’s decision to end the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s mask mandate for public transportation set off bizarre, over-the-top celebrations by some people.”
“A study published last month found that white people often rejected Covid safety measures after learning that the disease disproportionately affects nonwhite people, yet you’d be hard-pressed to find any mention of this on TV news or in major print outlets,” he continued.
Jones suggested videos of “mostly white plane passengers excitedly cheering and unmasking midflight” that surfaced after the ruling “gave the press a prime opening to discuss the racist impact of the United States’ Covid response. But most media evidently lack the appetite — or ability — to do so.”
“The people opposing mask requirements and other health safety measures may want to believe they’re acting on their own volition, but the fact is they’ll never know,” he added. “They live in a nation that has long discarded Black life, and they’re acting on the hateful delusions of a former president — Donald Trump.”
He also claimed that “drawing these connections isn’t difficult” and expressed “frustration that many in the media won’t do it.”
“When we see people cheering about unmasking in spite of the obvious danger it poses, we can take some of them at their word that they’re celebrating newfound freedom. But it’s not necessarily freedom from health safety measures; it may well be freedom from the perceived indignity of having to follow those measures out of concern for a class of people they don’t respect,” Jones insisted.
If Jones wants to accuse people of being excited about not having to wear masks for hours and hours of being motivated by racism, he’s perfectly welcome to do so.
This is America, after all.
But his assertion that it is “mostly white” people celebrating seems hard for him to prove.
In the videos embedded in his column and other videos that surfaced, the clips show a few surrounding rows or the people seated on the aisle.
They do not show the reactions of every passenger. They simply do not provide enough evidence to suggest that it’s mostly white people cheering on the plane.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. This is the most important announcement I’ve ever made. The federal mask mandate is over. Take off your mask if you choose!”
— Ben Dietderich (@ben_dietd) April 18, 2022
A wonderful moment mid flight on @alaskaair today! pic.twitter.com/nWSatDRB83
Delta Airlines says masks are no longer required on their flights pic.twitter.com/2FNcL1UCMd
— Will LeGate (@williamlegate) April 18, 2022
Beyond that, Jones’ column ignores studies that found that because of their filtration systems, airplanes are actually really safe and the chances of contracting Covid from a flight are low.
His column also ignores the very effective vaccines and therapeutics that are available. In fact, those words do not appear anywhere in his column.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also appears to have ignored them as well when it decided to extend the mask mandate earlier this month.
However, it cited the vaccines and therapeutics when it decided the U.S. can end Title 42, which is expected to lead to a massive surge of migrants crossing the southern and overwhelming border facilities.
Apparently, it’s just easier to attribute things you dislike to racism instead of considering that maybe — just maybe — people are ready to move on from the 2020 mindset.
