Ten-year-old Sam rides his bicycle near my home. As I quickly cross the street to maintain social distance, I hear him say, “Hi, I’m Sam. I have the virus. Want some?”
Wherever did he learn to say that?
A child his age may be mimicking the words of parents, siblings or friends.
I ask you: Is the prospect of human suffering and potential loss of life amusing to some people? Is that why some folks are still refusing to invest and wear face masks? Is that why there continues to be so little respect and regard for one another?
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19, to date, is 100,000 lives.
I wholeheartedly agree there is a time and place for sarcasm and dark humor. That’s why the classic television program, Saturday Night Live, is celebrating its 45th season.
Still, dark humor, with respect to a life-threatening virus and emanating from the mouth of a child, feels tragically wrong.
Wise up Long Island. A face mask is the most cost-effective preventive medicine money can buy. When you wear it, you are PROTECTING YOURSELF from the Sams and Samanthas who are running, biking, skate-boarding and spitting on a neighborhood block near you.
Nike was right. “Just do it.”
Judy Shore Rosenthal
Great Neck
