In the paper this morning, I read this article about a grass roots movement in Bozeman petitioning the County Health Department to mandate the wearing of masks in public. The petition seems reasonable, but here's why this is going to be an uphill battle: the lack of consistency at the local, state, and national levels in response to the BLM protests has eroded confidence that anyone - local, state, or national - can or will speak with authority to the issue.
As Glenn Reynolds observed, "Not only did the marches spread the disease directly, the fact that they were tolerated and even encouraged by authorities convinced everyone else that precautions weren’t as essential as they’d been told. This secondary effect wasn’t limited to the places where big protests took place, either."
Hence, Bozeman's new push for locally mandated mask requirements as a result of the ongoing state and national battle for health will be undermined by the hypocrisy and lack of clarity from our elected leaders and those who would mindlessly follow them.
Regardless of party, politics does not have a helpful bedside manner.