LETTER: Ignorance will not keep people safe

To the Editor:

The other day, a gentleman from Dixon wrote in asking for help understanding an issue. He was confused about why masks were required in a store that sold items that cause adverse health effects.

Masks prevent the spread of a communicable disease. The coronavirus is contagious. Alcohol, tobacco, cars, and abortions are not contagious. You can’t catch any of those things by grocery shopping.

A false equivalence argument is a logical fallacy in which an equivalence is drawn between two subjects based on flawed or false reasoning. This is like comparing apples and oranges.

You are comparing things that may have superficial similarities but are fundamentally different. You have the option to buy or not buy dangerous things at a store. You do not have the option to decline breathing in the virus.

What you have, is a mask, which helps prevent the transmission of the virus. Wearing a mask doesn’t mean you’re a coward. Wearing a mask means you are a responsible person.

You are right. There are dangerous things in this world. But ignorance will not keep you safe.

John DeWitt

Sterling