Before I could enter the chain hair-cutting place, I had my temperature taken, and was asked if I had been sick, had a cough, or was sneezing a lot lately. I answered, truthfully, “no” to all questions. “OK. We’ll be right with you and let you know when you can come in.” 2/
Just at that moment (because it was in the 70s yesterday and the 90s today in Illinois) my nose was running from allergies. In a rush, I went back to my car to blow my nose. Whew! Mask on, I entered, and was invited to sit on the single chair in corner. 3/
My hairdresser and I were both glad I was back in her chair again after three months, even though our smiles were hard to see in our masks. I said this is all a bit of overkill — only 10 people inside at a time; wearing masks at all times, etc. 4/
She agreed & nodded when I noted the absurdity of giving me a “hot towel on face” treatment under these rules. It had to be placed over a thin paper mask that covered half my face. It still felt good, though! I also told her, for the first time, what I do for a living. 5/
I work for a think tank (@HeartlandInst), which means I do a lot of reading abt #COVID, and work with a lot of smart people who have also done a lot of research about COVID. They have analyzed what Sweden with no goverment-enforced “safety theater.” 6/
They have seen the data that shows that if you are not in a long-term care facility and/or over the age of 80, your chances of suffering or dying from COVID is very small. They have seen that >99% of people who get COVID survive. Yet US acts like Ebola has been unleashed. 7/
My hairdresser hasn't seen any of that info bc the media wants to keep her in a panic about COVID. And despite how wearing a mask for 8 hours a day exacerbates her claustrophobia, her employer discouraged her from taking it off, even to take in some fresh air outside. 8/
While cutting my hair into a new longer style, she said: “I’d like to walk in the nature preserve near my house. Is it safe to do that even without a mask?” She has been so misinformed by her govt and mass media, that she believes she will get COVID, or spread it to others … 9/
... By TAKING A WALK on a nature path — with the wind blowing, the sun shining bright, and other people far away from her. “Yes. You will be fine,” I said. “As will anyone you happen to pass on the path. … 10/
“Being outdoors is the best thing you can do for your health right now. In fact, go outside — out back, if you must — and breathe in some fresh, hot air in the sunshine on your next break. And take your mask off!” Then she asked if we’ll be forced into #lockdown again. 11/
“Well, the Illinois governor, Commissar @JBPritzker, and the mayor of Chicago has for a week not enforced any of these rules you are abiding by for all the protesters and #Antifa rioters day after day and night after night. So I have a feeling … 12/
“You will be made to adhere to the arbitrary 'rules' of Commissar @JBPritzker again,” I said. She sighed, and said: “I can’t wait until I can move out of Illinois.” Good for her; bad for me. It took me YEARS to find someone who cuts my hair as well as she does. 😠 14/
I’ve been going to this hairdresser for years. She is a sweet, smart, very caring person, but apparently absorbs news "passively" — like so many Americans — and it put her in a panic. She is like so many. She and I have NEVER talked politics or policy, though it's what I do. 15/
For my living, I promote the benefits of free markets and liberty. But unlike the left, I don't feel I NEED TO IMPOSE MY VIEWS on others in my “everyday life.” I’m not going to judge (or be judged) by folks I interact with in stores, fix my furnace, or cut my hair. 16/
But I learned something about my hairdresser today. She’s been unnecessarily panicked about #COVID. I helped quell that. But she’s had it up to HERE with the riots (“Don’t get me started on Antifa,” she said.) And she wants to flee Illinois to a state that is more free. 17/
But I learned something about my hairdresser today, who is among the few people outside my family I've been able to speak to in person outside my family and in nearly three months — thanks to Illinois Commissar @JBPritzker. 17/
She’s been panicked by her govt, media and culture about #COVID — to the point she thinks walking in a nature preserve puts her & others in danger. She’s also had it UP TO HERE with the riots (“Don’t get me started on Antifa,” she said), and wants to flee IL to a free state. 18/
As I was checking out, she asked, again: “So, are we going to be OK?” And I don't think that was all about #COVID. I nodded, gave her an “air hug,” and said I hope the next time you cut my hair we are not wearing masks & you have taken many TOTALLY SAFE walks in the woods. 19/
And I think America is going to be OK, too. The people are smarter & have better instincts than the elites, our "betters." At best, the governing/cultural "elite" think they are imposing their will for our own good. At worst, simply imposing the tyranny of their will. 20/
This control the “elite” thinks they have over “regular Americans,” like my hairdresser, is a Potemkin Village. I saw and heard it today. The “elite” will soon learn that Americans will, in good faith, suspend their liberty for "health reasons," but only for a short time. 21/
They can see what is happening — the injustice of arbitrary rules & the exploitation of their good faith. Americans are different than the Left thinks. They are a people with a government, not the other way around. And they are going to make that clear to our “elites.” Soon. 22/x
