Mask or no mask — that is definitely not up for debate in a ShopRite grocery store in Staten Island, New York, where a group of irate shoppers was captured on video screaming at a woman who wasn’t wearing a mask.
“Get the f— out of here!” one shopper yelled, as a crowd gathered around the woman attempting to push her cart through a refrigerated food aisle.
As seen in the clip in the tweet below, masked patrons protecting themselves from the spread of the coronavirus began to swarm around the woman, who was at first unmoved by their ire. But as more shoppers joined in the chants of “Get out!” she eventually walked out.
Staten Islanders with masks drive out non-mask wearing person in grocery store. #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/iPQwk7lD9y
— Mac (@GoodPoliticGuy) May 25, 2020
“CONTEXT ALERT,” Newsweek reporter Andrew Feinberg tweeted. “Staten Island is the only one of New York City’s boroughs which @realDonaldTrump carried in 2016. And these people are clearly not in agreement with mask avoidance.”
Although the CDC recommends wearing a cloth face mask in public during the COVID-19 pandemic to help slow the spread of the disease, Trump has been defiant about doing so in front of cameras.
“Westworld” actor Jeffrey Wright noted that the New York borough has been hit especially hard by the coronavirus, so, as he put it, “they ain’t havin it.”
Staten Island is NYC's most conservative borough. 56.05% voted for Trump in 2016. Population of 476,143 people and almost 800 confirmed COVID dead to this point. Extrapolated over the US population that's about 550,000 dead. So nah, they ain't havin it. https://t.co/LE8ugkrHJj
— Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) May 25, 2020
New York native Michael Rapaport had a few choice words, as well.
Best thing to happen on Staten Island since
Wu-Tang dropped 36Chambers!!!
Staten Island has been hit very hard & this is exactly the way people need to react to selfish non-mask Fkc’s.
Shout out to @wutangclan #StatenIsland pic.twitter.com/RgV0Sjl2yE— MichaelRapaport (@MichaelRapaport) May 25, 2020
Here are a few others who cheered on that Staten Island state of mind:
New Yorkers don't f*ck around with the coronavirus. And Staten Island is Trump country! https://t.co/laUkvrLj2I
— Amy Siskind ?️? (@Amy_Siskind) May 25, 2020
Real Americans wear masks. https://t.co/UL0ZlZPzkB
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 25, 2020
Holy cow. Worth noting Staten Island has been hard hit by the virus.
— Elizabeth Vargas (@EVargasTV) May 25, 2020