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State Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak: "It's weird at first, and that's okay." (Photos: Twitter)
A small cloth rectangle with two straps represents a battle line in the weirdness of 2020.
"One very visible thing has somehow turned into a perceived political statement: wearing a mask," Washington Post senior political reporter Aaron Blake writes. A backlash against mask requirements in stores and elsewhere is fueled by the president's resistance to wearing one publicly.
Here in Michigan, state Rep. Mallory McMorrow on Wednesday "asked all of my colleagues to join me in showing how we #MaskUpMichigan so we can ... keep reopening," tweets the Democrat from Royal Oak.
Her holiday weekend post on that topic earns 4,300 retweets and 19,000 "likes:"
Imagine if you found out that you wearing socks could save someone else's life. "That's it?!" you'd say. And you'd be walkin' around with your socks on feeling like a dang super hero.
— Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) May 23, 2020
It's like that, but with a mask. The fabric's just somewhere else. #MaskUpMichigan
Kristen Hyslope of Ferndale spreads the mask-up spirit on her front walkway.
She restated that message in a Wednesday morning floor speech. Excerpts:
"Covid is still out there, but we have flattened the curve more aggressively than most other states in the entire country, giving our hospitals time to manage this attack. And Michiganders have no doubt saved countless lives. And we've learned so much along the way.
"So this [past] weekend I launched a social media challenge on Twitter -- #MaskUpMichigan ... Recent studies have shown that if 80 percent of people wear masks ... we can stop the spread of this virus as we get back into our lives and businesses reopen.
"In fact, we see this playing out in Japan, which has long had a culture of mask-wearing in public spaces, which has largely controlled the Covid-19 outbreak while still keeping public spaces, businesses and public transit open.
"This social media challenge has taken off. ... It's something we can each do to control our own destiny, to get back out there safely and to keep each other safe.
"It's so powerful and it's so simple. But it's only as effective as the number of people who participate. We are a team, and it's something we can each do to help our businesses and public spaces to open and to keep each other safe."
These Michigan politicians, including two Republicans, and a Detroit public radio producer show on social media how they mask up:
Clockwise: Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum, Republican U.S. Senate candidate John James, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, and state Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield.
U.S. Reps. John Moolenaar, R-Midland, and Haley Stevens, D-Rochester Hills; Barb Anness, state House candidate from Rochester Hills, and WDET producer Jake Neher.
Earlier mask galleries:
