George Lynch has blasted people who are defiantly skeptical of mask wearing, calling their refusal to wear masks in public spaces “very juvenile and selfish and irresponsible and childish.”
While more than 550,000 Americans have died so far as a result of COVID-19, a number of people have come out against COVID-19 response measures, including lockdowns, physical distancing and mandatory mask policies, saying that they violate constitutional rights. Former president Donald Trump‘s own skepticism of mask wearing contributed to a politicization of the issue, causing many of his followers to see mask mandates as an attack on individual freedom.
Lynch addressed the subject of mask wearing in a new interview with Dawn Osborne of U.K.’s TotalRock. After being told that it looked promising that the U.K. would possibly see the return of some live concerts this summer, the guitarist said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I really find it heartening when I hear about places like [the U.K.] and other countries — Vietnam and New Zealand — that do the right thing and do their duty and stick together with one concerted effort without all this in-fighting. And over here [in the U.S.], we don’t have that, obviously — we’re politically polarized, and the pandemic has become a political football and it’s absolutely ridiculous and very juvenile and selfish and irresponsible and childish.”
He continued: “I think we all need to do the right thing. And if suffering is putting a mask on, oh, boy, you don’t know what suffering means.”
According to the latest scientific brief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), face coverings can reduce the risk of coronavirus infection by more than 70%. Some people have even started “double-masking” to increase their odds of staying COVID-free, although very little scientific data points to any benefits or drawbacks of wearing more than one face mask.
Back in September 2019, Lynch caught flak from some of his fans when he slammed then-president Donald Trump in an interview, calling the billionaire real estate mogul an “idiotic monster” and an “egotistical, self-aggrandizing, complete piece of shit” who “doesn’t know anything.” George was also criticized when told Australia’s “Scars And Guitars” podcast that “progressives are more compassionate people by nature — we’re wired to sort of be more empathetic and care about things outside of ourselves. We are about other people; it hurts us to see people in pain or suffer,” he explained. “So they call us ‘snowflakes.’ But people that are wired, on the right, the way their brains are wired, they don’t have that sense of empathy. I’m not saying it’s good or bad — I’m just saying it is. And these people are the ones that have the guns. And they’re willing to use them. And it’s becoming pretty frightening.”
