WATCH: NYT Editorial Board's Mara Gay accidentally admits that continued masking is largely just performance art

Sarah D | 1:56 PM on September 08, 2022

Mara Gay isn’t just a member of the New York Times Editorial Board; she’s also an MSNBC analyst. That means when it comes to hot takes, she’s basically on fi-yah.

I feel like, generally speaking, we’d pretty much through the worst of the COVID era. Yes, it’s still out there, and yes, people are still getting sick, sometimes seriously, but with widely available vaccines as well as natural immunity and effective treatments, we’re in relatively good shape. That means that for the general population, at least, masking just isn’t a necessity anymore.

Of course Mara Gay would disagree with that. Not because there’s overwhelming scientific evidence that continuing to wear masks everywhere will help transform COVID effectively into the common cold. No, Mara says we should keep masking because masking is “an act of solidarity” with vulnerable people and marginalized ethnic groups:

.@MaraGay: "Masking remains an act of solidarity & respect for vulnerable people, that includes people w/ disabilities, w/ chronic conditions like asthma, as well as for hard-hit communities like native & black communities especially, Hispanic communities" pic.twitter.com/IwP4rYgl19

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 8, 2022

I’m sorry, but this sounds like some hot BS to me. I’m fine wearing a mask in certain contexts, like in a doctor’s office or if I’m out running errands and am sick myself, but if I wear a mask, it’s strictly to protect other people from my cooties. It’s not so I can virtue signal that I’m not some kind of racist oppressor. That’s ridiculous. What Mara Gay said is bad, and she should feel bad.