My jaw dropped as I read Kim McGahey’s column. First of all, how is “Love this place? Cover Your Face!” threatening? You have to reach a long way to make that work.

Second, not everyone who loves this place skis.

Third, Black Lives Matter is a way for all of us to find deeper awareness of the conditions men and women of color face in their everyday lives that white people do not have to endure. Please give us the statistics as to who kills whom so we have some idea what you are talking about.

Fourth, you used the terms Marxist, socialist, capitalism and communist in your column, but I wonder if you even know what they mean, or if they are your “fear tactic” toward us liberals.

Wearing a mask is not an attack on your individual rights. If you were in an ICU visiting a loved one, you would be required to wear one. If you were holding your wife’s hand in the labor room, you would be required to wear one. Mask-wearing is a sign of respect for others. We do not wear them for ourselves; we wear them to protect others. Wearing a mask shows that you respect other people enough to wish to protect them from even the unlikely possibility that you might be unknowingly carrying that awful virus. I do not think showing this concern for others is too much to ask.

We are not safe while our COVID-19 numbers are this high. To say that this county is safe is to lie and show no respect for what this virus can do. I am the same age as the last death this county had. I plan to live through this awful time so I can live more fully when it is over.