Watch: Florida residents invoke God, devil’s laws to oppose having to wear masks

Before making wearing mask in public compulsory, officials had to sit through several angry speeches from locals who cited God, the devil and various far-right, baseless conspiracy theories surrounding masks and the virus.

By: Trends Desk

New Delhi | June 26, 2020 04:33 PM IST

4 min read

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Residents argued that making mask mandatory violated their right to freedom, with some claiming masks are killing people.

Residents of Palm Beach County in Florida erupted in anger at a commissioner’s meeting after an unanimous vote to make the wearing of masks in public mandatory. The footage of the residents coming up with reasons ranging from the norm being “devil’s law” to fear God for breaking “his rules of breathing” is now being shared widely on social media.

Before the county board of commissioners voted to require masks in public places, they were criticised by witnesses who said they were “communist dictators”, people who love the devil and hate freedom. One of woman talking before the forum asked if the panel members were “insane and crazy”, arguing all “should be in a psych ward”.

“This is insane. And then you want to open the meeting with a prayer to God. Are you praying to the devil? Because God is not listening to that prayer. Because all of you are practicing the devil’s love,” she said angrily.

But what caught the attention of most people online was a woman named Whitney, who identified herself as an essential worker. “I don’t wear a mask for the same reason I don’t wear underwear,” she said. “Things gotta breathe.” The statement even got laughs in the room.

Another elderly anti-mask campaigner said, “They want to throw out God’s wonderful breathing system out of the door. You’re all turning your backs on it.”

A montage of all such the arguments made to justify not wearing masks is being watched and shared widely. It’s been viewed over six million times so far.

Here’s how people reacted to the video:

https://twitter.com/iliza/status/1276265057442119680
https://twitter.com/AnnaMarie_MN/status/1276150132518596609

https://twitter.com/MarucaMes/status/1276172254024544257

Palm Beach County issued an emergency order making masks compulsory starting on Thursday, with a maximum fine of $500 for those who fail to wear them. The decision comes as Palm Beach has become one of the most-affected counties in the country with a high number of new cases of Covid-19 being confirmed everyday.

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