Costco

Anonymous

I would like to make a comment about Craig Jelinek's comments in the Newsweek article, dated November 13, 2020, by Soo Kim being that I can't find a direct means to Mr. Jetliner himself: "This [exemption] is no longer the case. If a member has a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask, they must wear a face shield at Costco...." and "This updated policy may seem inconvenient to some, however we believe the added safety is worth any inconvenience..." What may seem like an inconvenience to you (having to wear a mask despite a medical condition) Sir, is nowhere the inconvenience that we the disabled experience every day trying to maneuver throughout society with our disabilities without individuals such as yourself creating more obstacles for the "added safety" to others. My medical condition has been brought on by inconveniencing my life and the lives of my family for 20 years defending the rights and freedoms that you and every American enjoy every day, to include your company making $3.66 billion dollars in Net Income last year. By placing a mask or a shield on my face, more often than not, my mind is taken back to a war zone that I have no desires of going to again, in my mind or in person; a place where my life depended on whether or not my chemical/biological warfare mask, goggles, visors, helmet, or any other protective gear was going to hold up under battle. Based on the biographies that I have been able to research on you, my opinion Sir is that you have never had to place your life on the line for the freedom of others, inconvenienced your life and the life of your family by constantly moving around the world, nor know what it feels like to have to worry about whether you can access daily need items because somebody feels your disability is nothing more than an inconvenience to others, the majority of which have never left their communities let alone put their lives on the line for millions of people they've never met regardless of their ****, heritage, skin color, religion, age, or DISABILITIES. To address the "educate yourself" comments listed in this feed, I spent 30 years in the medical career field, 20 of it in the military. Nearly everything that is being passed on to the American public in regards to cloth masks stopping the spread of ANY virus has turned 30 years of educated and decades of research upside down. Cloth masks (not to mention neoprene and all the other materials people are using) do very little, if anything, in stopping a virus. The comments made in the article about face shields by the CDC, ""Face shields have large gaps below and alongside the face, where your respiratory droplets may escape and reach others around you. At this time, we do not know how much protection a face shield provides to people around you," apply to face masks as well. I will agree that face shields and masks protect from droplet transmission, but will not stop a virus from spreading via the air out ANY opening, through, on top, bottom, or sides of any mask, shield, shirt sleeve, or any other barricade. To address the CDC's new statement that cloth masks do protect the wearer, that statement is based on observational research, not scientific research, so once again, the public is being misinformed with information not backed by peer-reviewed, scientific research. Which begs the question by your beliefs, how have human beings survived for so long without wearing masks considering all the deadly viruses that have existed since the beginning of time? I understand there are those who refuse to wear masks, for whatever reason. That is their decision and they, not you, will have to deal with the consequences, if there are any, for not doing so but you have no right to make decisions such as "however we believe the added safety is worth any inconvenience..." on matters that you are not educated on, have not experienced, or suffered from. I believe your comments are not only a slap in the face to every American who suffers from a disability, but nothing more than propagation of misinformation and attempts at promoting a false sense of security among those that are not properly educated. If masks are the answer then how is it that the infection rates are higher in the U.S. now than when the virus first broke out? Because of improper education. And if your argument is that masks have been shown to work, how is it that the virus is still spreading at a faster and greater rate than when the virus first broke out when NO ONE was wearing masks? If you are so concerned about your patrons' health and safety and want to stop the spread of a virus, then require your employees and patrons to require N95 respirators that are fitted by a professional, remain at least six feet away from anyone, and spend your shift working outside, not in an enclosed environment.
I hope Sir at a minimum you recant your statement, if not your policy, if you are so truly concerned about your customer base and their health. I understand I have the right to simply shop somewhere else, unfortunately, corporate America is full of individuals such as yourself and because of it, my freedoms of movement and assembly are greatly hampered from doing so.