{"id":1475035,"date":"2022-05-14T07:44:54","date_gmt":"2022-05-14T11:44:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1475035"},"modified":"2022-05-14T07:45:51","modified_gmt":"2022-05-14T11:45:51","slug":"douglas-murray-why-cant-these-loathsome-elites-just-give-up-the-masked-charade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/douglas-murray-why-cant-these-loathsome-elites-just-give-up-the-masked-charade\/","title":{"rendered":"Douglas Murray: Why Can\u2019t These Loathsome Elites Just Give up the Masked Charade?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdouglas-murray-why-cant-these-loathsome-elites-just-give-up-the-masked-charade%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1475035&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>On a visit to DC this week I discovered something everybody might know. Which is that dwellers in the swamp still wear masks. Unlike most New Yorkers, the DC crowd still<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/08\/dc-gala-was-covid-super-spreader-event-biden-delays-correspondents-dinner-rsvp\/\"> like to cover their faces<\/a> as they walk down the streets. If you get into a lift unmasked they still glare at you like New Yorkers did a couple of years ago.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a reminder that different parts of the country are throwing off the COVID restrictions at different speeds. Just like nations. Even now there are places like New Zealand that are still reacting to COVID as though it was the bubonic plague. In fact I would guess that in decades to come those of us who once went there will tell our grandchildren about that majestic country. Immortalized in the \u201cLord of the Rings,\u201d we will explain how it then cut itself off from the rest of the world in the 2020s. Who will believe our stories of that far-off land?<\/p>\n<p>As a New Yorker it is easy to sometimes feel smug about our <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/05\/02\/nyc-covid-alert-raised-to-medium-hospitalizations-stay-low\/\">city getting going again.<\/a> But while much of life has returned to normal, plenty of it still has not. <\/p>\n<p>No city wants to get going as much as this one. But we\u2019re not back yet. The city\u2019s office districts are still much quieter than they should be. Too many companies are still worried about ordering their staff back to the office. And too many young employees are still getting away with pretending that they are <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/05\/08\/nyc-could-face-decline-of-workers-returning-to-offices-over-crime\/\">worried about returning to work <\/a>because of the virus, when in fact it is purely about lifestyle. One of the greatest con tricks ever. And so there are still vast uninhabited swathes of office-space in the city. With all the knock-on effects to local businesses that this has. Not a good sign of things returning to normal.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/masks-2.jpg\"><\/a><figcaption>Masks are no longer enforced on public transit in New York City. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">JUSTIN LANE\/EPA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Elsewhere a strain of COVID restrictions has remained across our city like an oil slick. Sure, much of life goes on as normal. But then there are places where you are suddenly hurtled back two years. Some parts of the city just don\u2019t seem to want to go back to normal.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>For example, it is unfathomably dumb and cruel that children under five are still <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/05\/12\/fed-up-nyc-parents-demand-adams-health-czar-meet-with-them-over-toddler-mask-mandates\/\">forced to cover their faces<\/a>. But I digress . . .I was at Carnegie Hall the other day and there they are still forcing masks on audiences like it\u2019s May 2020. I\u2019d almost forgotten what it is like. Today you can go to a restaurant unmasked. You can fly on an airplane unmasked. But for some reason if you go to Carnegie Hall you have to remember to keep your mask on throughout the performance. Will that ever change? Will we just accept that it is something you have to do \u2014 like remembering your wallet and keys? I don\u2019t know. But I do know that not being allowed a choice in the matter is a toxic remnant of a phase we should have left behind.<\/p>\n<p>Sadly there are still people out there eager to pretend that mask-wearing is the great cause of our time. Look at that <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/05\/11\/patti-lupone-doubles-down-after-foul-mouthed-mask-tirade-and-broadway-backs-her-up\/\">video of Patti LuPone on Broadway<\/a> earlier this week. Sitting in front of an audience, talking about her revival of \u201cCompany,\u201d LuPone spotted a member of the audience who didn\u2019t have her mask pulled up over her nose. \u201cPut your mask over your nose,\u201d LuPone spat out at the paying customer, behaving like the warder in an especially sadistic prison. Of course LuPone and her fellow cast-members were all sitting on stage maskless. But LuPone seemed to think that the audience member was more dangerous than a loaded gun. \u201cThat is the rule,\u201d she went on. \u201cIf you don\u2019t want to follow the rule, get the f\u2013k out! I\u2019m serious. Who do you think you are.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/Screen-Shot-2022-05-12-at-4.59.34-PM-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Screen-Shot-2022-05-12-at-4.59.34-PM-1.jpg\" alt=\"Patti LuPone was seen berating maskless patrons during a cast talkback.\" class=\"wp-image-22250939\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/Screen-Shot-2022-05-12-at-4.59.34-PM-1.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1168 1168w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/Screen-Shot-2022-05-12-at-4.59.34-PM-1.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=875 876w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/Screen-Shot-2022-05-12-at-4.59.34-PM-1.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=584 584w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/Screen-Shot-2022-05-12-at-4.59.34-PM-1.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=292 292w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/Screen-Shot-2022-05-12-at-4.59.34-PM-1.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Patti LuPone was seen berating maskless patrons during a cast talkback. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Henry Waletzko via Storyful<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Personally I thought this was a new low for the entitled celeb class. For the last six months we have had to see celebrities swanning through their awards ceremony, all showing us their beautiful, freed-up faces. And the only people who still have to be masked at these events are \u201cthe help.\u201d It was the same at the Met Gala earlier this month. The famous people can all have their faces freed. Only the staff have to keep muzzled.<\/p>\n<p>But LuPone\u2019s foul-mouthed tirade was a step lower even than this. How come a celebrity feels so incredibly entitled that they can scream at an audience member, and swear at them for daring to do what the celebrities themselves are doing? Much of the audience seemed to be on LuPone\u2019s side, probably wowed by her fame. But they shouldn\u2019t have been. <\/p>\n<p>The entitled person was LuPone, not the audience member who had paid to be there. Like a lot of other people in recent years, LuPone seems to think she can be as vulgar and hectoring as she likes, so long as she has COVID is an excuse.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll probably have these people around for a long time yet. They seemed to relish the era in which they could tell people off. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/children-masks.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/children-masks.jpg\" alt=\"A toddler sits during a protest against mask mandates for school children on April 4.\" class=\"wp-image-22061692\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/children-masks.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/children-masks.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/children-masks.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>A toddler sits during a protest against mask mandates for school children on April 4. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Erik Pendzich\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Just this week a columnist at the New York Times actually wrote a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/05\/08\/opinion\/mask-mandate-over.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> lament for masks<\/a>. Pamela Paul seems to think that we enjoyed mask-wearing and that children in New York liked being hidden behind these pointless face-coverings. It is a look that people are \u201csorry to see go\u201d she claimed. Apparently, during the era of masks \u201cwe got to more creatively choose the face we presented to the outside world, without piercing a nose.\u201d But the main point Paul tried to make was that masks were a useful political signifier. As though we needed more of these in our country.<\/p>\n<p>Masks have certainly remained a signifier. Outside of a tiny number of people who believe they need them for a medical reason, they are a signifier of the people who want to get on with their lives versus those who do not. Who doesn\u2019t? Well, the highly risk averse, obviously. But also those, like LuPone, who want an excuse to feel better than other people. People who enjoy hectoring other people and want a virtuous excuse for doing so. I always thought LuPone was a natural on Broadway. But if she thinks she\u2019s so above her New York audiences that she can scream abuse at them then perhaps she should move on down to the Swamp. They would love her. And she might even like them in turn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On a visit to DC this week I discovered something everybody might know. Which is that dwellers in the swamp still wear masks. Unlike most New Yorkers, the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":489,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1475035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1475035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1475035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1475035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1475035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1475035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1475035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}