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We were set up at a good-sized re-enactment for a couple of weeks recently. A tiny percentage, about 1%, insisted on wearing masks even outdoors in sunlight and fresh air, which the CDC has never recommended. For several reasons, I posted a sign that for our safety and well-being masks were NOT allowed in the tent. Those reasons are:  If you’re going to be handling dangerous, sharp implements, I need to see your facial expression and intent, and be able to identify you.  If you’re going to be around artifacts I have going back 16,000 years, that are rather pricey and fragile, the camera I had in the corner needs to see you.(1)  My wife is a lip reader. She has PTSD issues about people in masks.

Two people tried to discreetly sneak up and get pictures of the sign.  They failed their stealth rolls, but got the pictures. They then skulked off.

They could have asked.  I would have explained.

So these pictures go into several FB groups and others, and the shrieking cultists shriek. “Is it even legal for someone to forbid masks???”
In a state and county with no mandate, on a private site, in a private business? Absolutely.

Then they shrieked that the “ren faire” and “SCA” crowds should “Destroy my business.”  Well, a couple went to the FB page and left bad reviews about masks, nothing to do with anything I sell.  I blocked them. They’ve never bought anything and never will.  Also, I don’t do ren faires and I don’t do SCA events, so good luck with that.  But hey, nice to know they support a business’ right to choose…when it chooses to do things they approve of.

Note that one tent had a sign requiring masks, and two others “if not vaccinated.” I didn’t go in those tents. I also didn’t take photos and try to get a mob to harass them or their spouses, because I’m not a piece of shit.

So I went into one of the groups and politely explained that there are in fact health and safety issues other than the Covids. I gave the graphic details that the reason my wife has PTSD issues is that she was raped as a child with a cloth across her face.  And the reason this has to be brought up is because the Covid cult won’t let you say, “PTSD” and leave it at that.  No, they DEMAND details. “What could possibly be scarier than the Covids? How can mere PTSD prevent you wearing a mask?”  And when they get told, they go all in on, “Oh, sweetie/snowflake/princess, we’re going to need to see some documentation, and you’ll just have to deal with it for the GREATER GOOD!” They’ve done this EVERY FUCKING TIME.

I did find one of the young ladies who posted the pic, IMed and explained.  She tried to be sympathetic, but then complained about the “optics” of the sign.  There are no issues with MY optics. But if the Covids is literally the only concern you can think of, perhaps you should check yours.(2)

From her, I learned that I “sell swastikas.”  Now, some other vendor a few years ago had Buddhist variants of the sunwheel, and I guess Eurocentric liberal bigots had a problem with that, but it wasn’t me.  I have sold MUSEUM ARTIFACTS that came from collapsed empires, German, Japanese, Soviet, etc, for either the museum or the veteran who had them on loan. But I’ve never sold them at these events. But straight for the “He’s a Nazi.”  They’re programmed to bleat catchphrases and hope for outrage.

Oh, yes, then it was "Racist homophobe." Which will probably be a surprise to my mixed race wife and our girlfriend. And the LBGT rights organization I support on a regular basis, and the transwoman who runs it, who's been a friend for a decade. But they love to hurl their invective. Even when it's complete, unsubstantiated bullshit.

Then they came past the tent.

First was the concern troll. She comes to the tent tell us how she’d stood up for us online…

Well, thank you.

BUT!...my Facebook wall is “Disgusting.”  As if that has anything to do with anything.

AND!...she would like to talk to my wife directly about the issue.  Jess was in the rear tent sobbing in panic, and I’m thinking, “Holy shit, you want details from a surviving childhood rape victim and MY Facebook wall is a problem?”  I’m married to her and I don’t have details.  I’ll listen if she needs me to, but damn, lady. (3)

Then was another vendor shrieking that FOUR PEOPLE had messaged her that they wouldn’t be coming because of my sign, because ZOMG, the cult is sure that eventually they’ll get their magic “superspreader” event, and my tent would be the cause of it all, even though no one has to enter it if they don’t wish to, and almost no one is wearing a mask anyway, so once they got on site they were going to melt down and leave anyway. I suspect they were already looking for an excuse (the staff concurred with me on this and said the same thing).  She wailed that I was only doing this for “attention,” as if I want attention from deranged cult members.  Actually, I want them to stay away.  Her solution?  “Just politely ask them to remove the mask in front of your wife.”  Right. So first, she’ll be reminded every fucking time one of them comes in. And every one of those assholes is going to throw a tantrum and demand details and trigger her all over again. Brilliant.  If you’re stupid and completely lacking in human decency.(4)

Now, as I noted, about 1% of the total, possibly 15 people, were visibly wearing masks about.  Including one tending bar at a private camp, with hundreds of people within inches of her, so I guess social distancing doesn’t matter. Or else she just likes wearing a mask.  Not my problem.

One couple made a deliberate point of walking past to the food court, wearing masks, sitting at the table a few feet from our tent, taking them off to eat (which is when most of the crap that’s going to come out of your filthy sewer, comes out), and then back on, and back past the tent. At least once a day.(5)

And one chick who made a point of flouncing past several times a day in a bright blue medical mask, but wasn’t wearing one anywhere else. So these people literally paraded past the tent to taunt the rape victim. (6)

Then, their brilliant investigators found out I sometimes use the nom de plume “Crazy Einar” at these events, and under that name wrote some of the content for the site newspaper, “The Fishwrap.”  Yes, that’s all humor. Yes, you can find my connection to that name with a search engine in about a quarter millisecond.

Well, the Fishwrap’s logo was a stylized vintage eagle holding a rolled paper and a fish.  Guess where the cult took that? ZOMG! An eagle! HE must be a Nazi, too!(7) 

Right, because 47,254 Germanic, Slavic, Lithuanian, Polish and Spanish towns, provinces, principalities, and groups didn’t use a stylized eagle for recognition. OH, NO, WAIT! YES, THEY FUCKING DID!

Then they tried coming to my FB wall to harass me, and mostly got mocked and blocked.  I pointed out that we were outside in fresh air and sunlight, which the CDC has never recommended masks for, and some chick exclaimed, “No one there is wearing masks??”

No, bitch, we’re not.  Welcome to MODERN CIVILIZATION where we understand science and not the magic face panty.(8)

Of course, one low-Q specimen had to lecture me that UV doesn’t actually kill Coronavirus (even though it kills literally every other virus and everything else) because the microscopic exhaled water droplets (which go right through a mask anyway, in tests and videos) refract the UV so it doesn’t kill the Covids!  This was like listening to a 9-11 “Truther” explain how jet fuel can’t melt steel beams. It’s hysterical bullshit and easily disproved. This is why you can get a sunburn while swimming or on an overcast day.  I didn’t bother explaining the math to him. He wouldn’t have grasped it. I just blocked him to go back to his cult church.(9)

Then they wanted to know why I was sharing “private details about your wife’s trauma.”  Because as I noted, YOU PIECES OF SHIT WON’T LET IT BE PRIVATE.

“PTSD.”

“That’s not a reason. From what?”

“Trauma.”

“What kind of trauma could possibly be worse than the Covids?”

“Childhood assault.”

“I don’t understand, durrr…what could possibly happen that would stop someone from wearing a scrap of cloth?  Snowflake.”

“Child rape.”

“ZOMG! Why are you talking about it?”

And then some asshole started in online with, “If there’s even an iota of truth to it, it still doesn’t matter.”

Point proven. They don’t “believe all women,” they do “blame the victim,” and they are part of “rape culture.”(10)

To drive that point home, the next comment was from an Affluent White Female Liberal (AWFL), literally THE most privileged creature to ever exist, who asked, “Why did you bring your wife to an event if that’s a problem?”

Wow. This slunt can’t even imagine that my wife has her own agency and her own car and came because she wanted to.(11)

And followed up with, “If masks are a problem, she should probably stay home.” (12)

 Ah, this is like when the shitbags who insisted on smoking in non-smoking venues told me, “If your  wife can’t handle side smoke, maybe she shouldn’t go to concerts. You can’t expect people not to smoke. That’s what they do.”(Previous wife, but it would affect Jess, too.)

When I pointed out that 99% of the people weren’t wearing masks outside in the fresh air and sunlight, or in tents (which are considered outside), or even in the camp store, she exclaimed, “People aren’t wearing masks?”

No, bitch. NORMAL PEOPLE are not running around afraid of breathing fresh air. And if you, and a hundred others, don’t know that, you’re not even at this event, so it’s none of your fucking business.  Just lock yourself in your house if YOU have a problem.  You don’t get to make everyone else dress in fetish gear to suit your paranoia.(13)

Someone not wearing a mask, not even around their neck, told the Fishwrap vendor, “They wouldn’t like me. I wear masks.”  Hey, I don’t have a problem with you wearing a mask, a collar, and a leash for your master. Just don’t walk into my store for the cited reasons.

Meanwhile, our girlfriend is at a convention forcing people to stay in their rooms unless they have a magic scrap of cloth, and have a freelance volunteer group of males “escorting” women back to their rooms to make sure they go there. Potential rapists, much?

ADDENDA: One guy called my business line, and asked questions about function and operation, and then did politely ask about my problem with masks. I explained I don't have a problem with him wearing one, just these specific circumstances. He seemed to agree, and we talked a bit, and I mentioned that you should use a fresh mask every couple of hours or venue.  He replied, "Well, now you're getting into conservative talking points."  No, dude. HAZMAT guy here.  That's LITERALLY THE INSTRUCTIONS IN EVERY MEDICAL FACILITY, AGENCY, OPERATION, AND LAB IN THE WORLD. Don't wear the same mask for hours, much less days, on end.  (14)

Apparently, some guy suddenly posted, "There's a noose outside his tent now, in case anyone is tracking."  In fact, I had a stuffed Smurf hanging from a noose, and one shot with an arrow, outside my tent, as I have done at this site for the last TWENTY-FIVE YEARS. It's a tradition. We set up shop, we hang the Smurf. (15)

Now, here’s the good:

Two very liberal, very old school friends came by, very quietly (to me) expressed support, and bought things. 

Three large contingents from SMA and EMP, and I think one from the few remaining chivalrous segments of the SCA came in, bought stuff, and also quietly offered support.

At least two others went online and called the cult out for its behavior, and pointed out that nothing they were doing was going to damage me, but they were attacking an actual victim.  I appreciate their efforts, but I don’t think it did much good. (16)

One lady said she wanted to buy something, but she couldn’t enter the tent because of her mask and my sign, and I noted, “That’s mostly for my wife’s benefit. She’s not here at present, so you’re welcome to come in, and thank you for respecting it.”  She came in, we conducted business, she left. See how easy that was? (17)

At the last minute, two men strode in, announced, “We need to buy something from you, yeah, that’s good,” grabbed a couple of items, paid and left.

Thursday night of the event, we had our annual memorial service for people we’ve lost in the last two years this time, since there was no meeting last year.  There was an acquaintance on the list I wasn’t aware had died, and I had memorials for three.  Unsurprisingly, two people had to make a huge deal that so-and-so died of COVID.  Now, we could discuss statistics, that the CDC has revised last year’s death count down 40% already, that George Floyd was reported as a COVID death, but at the end of the day, I’m very sorry they lost someone.  One of my friends was killed by fast acting pancreatic cancer, which is certainly not a better way to die than COVID.  And one of his last acts was to send a membership fee to support a convention he knew he wouldn’t live to attend.  I didn’t eulogize at length or politicize, I just noted he’d died and rang the bell for him. As did everyone else not affiliated with the Cult.

So the end result financially is my sales were about 2/3 of Pennsic sales, with 14% of the attendance level.  Which supports what I’ve observed the last year of doing live events. The same people who wail about the Covids are the people who don’t actually participate much, they just show up for the self-aggrandizement, virus or not.

And here’s the punchline:  Of the people I saw masked up during the event, NOT A SINGLE ONE WAS WEARING A MASK ON SUNDAY DURING TEARDOWN.  Their entire point in being there was apparently to spread the Gospel of Fauci, hoping for converts to their deranged ignorance and magic face panties. They didn’t gain a single convert.

But they did get to harass a disabled BIPOC woman (Choctaw, Cherokee, Carib) who survived child rape.  So I guess they’re happy about that.(18)

It’s not a pandemic, it’s a fucking cult. 

1) One person noticed the camera.

2) If you were worried about “optics,” why didn’t you ask?

3) You really need to work on your empathy and respect for people’s limits.

4) I’m seriously going to have to reconsider if I ever acknowledge this twit’s existence again.

5) You are rape-endorsing pieces of shit.

6) You are a rape-endorsing piece of shit.

7) You are retarded, predictable pieces of shit.

8) Are you stupid or just unable to mind your own fucking business?

9) Seriously, if that’s how you “Follow the science,” I have a creation story to tell you.

10) It’s disturbing how many men crave details. And some women, too.

11) How’s that feminism working for you?  I notice you immediately defaulted to wanting the “patriarchy” to fix a “problem” by making decisions for the woman.

12)  No one is allowed apostasy from the cult.

13) Seriously, bitch, please fucking sterilize your guts with Drano. You’ll never get the Covids if you do that.

14) You were polite enough, but you're a dumbass.

15) I know you're morally and intellectually bankrupt. You don't need to keep proving it.

16) It’s distressing how little chivalry still exists in a group theoretically devoted to it, but thanks for holding the line.

17) Thank you very much, ma’am. You restored some of my faith in humanity.

18) You are racist, misogynistic, vile, rape-endorsing pieces of shit. You need re-programmed with a ball bat.

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