By Allan Stevo

April 28, 2021 - Public health mandates have no place in a free society. In fact, the entire public health industry has no place in a free society. From its very roots, public health is a philosophically impoverished set of theories that leaves individuals both less free and less healthy.

Health is an individual matter and something that many hold dear. “Public health” is a manipulatively named term that is meant to pull at your heartstrings. It is the most vile imposition upon the lives of you and your loved ones couched in the most gentle and manipulative terms. That alone should tell you enough to distrust anyone pitching you on a public health solution; he or she has either been fooled or is trying to fool you. Either way, anyone pitching a public health mandate does not deserve your trust.

I encourage all people to fight the imposition of public health in their lives.

Sometimes that requires baby steps. Even the boldest champions out there, all of your favorite heroes, learned their ability with baby steps. I get many requests along the lines of, “How can I avoid X public health mandate?” There are many ways. I find the below method works well.

1.) Read the Policy - Request a copy of their face mask exemption policy/vaccine exemption policy/PCR test exemption policy.

2.) Invoke an Exemption - If you fall under the exemption (millions of Americans do), notify them that you will be invoking the exemption by saying, “I see you have an X Activity requirement. I am unable to do X Activity safely. What can you do for me (to accommodate this need)?”

At a grocery store that looks like this. “I am coming by at 2:00 pm. I see you have a face mask requirement. I am unable to wear a face mask safely. What can you do for me?”

At a doctor’s office this looks like this. “I am scheduled for a Wednesday appointment. I see you have a COVID test requirement. I am unable to take a COVID test safely. What can you do to accommodate this special need of mine?” Since there are many variations of COVID tests, it makes sense to first very specifically understand the details of the tests they offer before you identify yourself as being unable to take such a test safely.

At work it looks like this. “I see our company has a vaccine requirement. I am unable to take a vaccine safely. What can you do to accommodate this special need of mine?”

3.) Respond to the Offer - Respond to the accommodation in the affirmative if it works for you or the negative if it does not work for you.

In the affirmative, that may look like this. “Thank you that works for me.” After that, it is helpful to ask clarifying questions of how the process should then go. I like to dig down with detailed questions like, “When I am asked by someone at the front door to put on a mask, what should I say?” or more general questions like, “What should I do when I arrive?” These are important as they allow you to have clarity around the process, but they also cause the manager to think through the process and answer those basic questions for himself, making it far more likely that you both end up knowing exactly what to expect when you arrive.

In the negative that looks like this. “Thank you. That’s helpful to know. What other options are there?” or if you want to be more insistent, “That does not work for me. What other options are there?”

If a different medical mandate is proposed that you cannot safely use, you can start this process from the beginning.

Costco is a good example. Since Costco’s response to a face mask exemption is to put you in a face shield, something that not all people can safely wear, at Costco that might look like this. “I am unable to wear a face shield safely. What can you do for me to accommodate this special need?”

During this process, don’t put on a mask disobediently simply because you can manage with it drooping down around your chin. Either wear it or don’t wear it. Let your no be no and let your yes be yes. If you wear it disobediently or in an undisciplined fashion, you confuse others and you invite them to correct you.

If you wear no mask, do so with purpose and do so boldly. Be very clear that you are not able to safely wear a mask and that under no circumstances will you be wearing one.

That clarity will help provide you with better treatment than the average customer and will make it easier for others to understand that they must take your inability to safely wear a mask as seriously as you yourself do.

No one at a compliance checkpoint deserves to know what your “condition” is, what your “problem” is, nor to be able to read and evaluate a doctor’s note from you. “I am unable to wear a face mask safely” is all I recommend you offer. “I am unable to take a vaccine safely,” “I am unable to take a COVID test safely.” Whatever the legitimate concern, stop the conversation there. Don’t open the can of worms that inevitably exists when you welcome someone into your private affairs. It’s none of their business.