Whole Foods Makes Up the Law Out of the Whole Mask, Perhaps Involving Someone’s Whole Ass
Personal Opinion and Experience by Dr. Rima
Rima E. Laibow, MD, Medical Director, Natural Solutions Foundation, March 31, 2021
This is a first person report of a real experience. I share it to demonstrate how far from sane our society has become.
First, some definitions and facts:
There are NO legal definitions for face masks. Neither the pore size of the fabric nor the composition of the fabric is legally defined.
OSHA defines respirators but face masks have no legal definition or standards associated with them.
People around the world have been advised to put some sort of covering over their noses and mouths although there is absolutely no scientific evidence showing that such materials will reduce the transmission of any known virus.
Double masking, like single masking, is ineffective in preventing disease transmission.
Three days before the event detailed below, Governor Ducey of Arizona, which the incident took place, ended the mask mandates, social distancing mandates and occupancy restrictions. Individual stores/chains were offered the option to continue to require masks.
There is no such thing as a “legal mask”
Mask insanity includes the wildly comedic, and totally unscientific specticle of the Surgeon General of the United States made a video showing people how to make masks out of a tee shirt and rubber bands [1],
On Friday of last week I was in a local store, part of a multi-state chain, where 100% of the produce is certified organic. It was where I bought virtually all of my food.
My service dog barked once at a staff member approaching me with a very large cargo in his hands and I was told that I had to leave the store.
I did but went to another branch of the same store the next day, Saturday. A woman stuck out her hand at the dog’s head and he gave a single bark. I was told, in exactly the same words, plus the absurd phrase, “Service dogs do not bark!” that I was not welcome in the store.
I left, determined to find out why two employees of the company at two different branches both used exactly the same words to eject me and my Service Dog from the store since he displayed no aggression or inappropriate behavior.
But I still needed food, specifically onions and apples (organic, thank you). I went to Whole Foods, a store chain that I usually avoid since3 despite the great marketing, most of their food is NOT certified organic and that is important to me.
But I still needed apples and onions so, on Sunday evening, off I went to the local Whole Foods Market.
As I was approaching the check out counter, an employee from about 20 feet away yelled at me, “That is not a legal mask. You will have to leave the store, M’aam!” I looked up in astonishment since I was wearing one of our Unmasks which meets all of the legal requirements of a mask but does not impede the flow of moisture or oxygen and asked him what he was talking about.
He was joined in his cry by the cash register guy, who also shouted that I was not wearing a legal mask and would have to leave the store.;
I asked him what the definition of a legal mask was and what training he has had in determining what a legal mask is. He simply continued to shout in chorus with his cash register buddy, that I had to leave the store because I was not wearing a legal mask without answering my questions.
I left the store and bought my organic goods elsewhere.
But on Monday morning I started my odessy of calling Customer Service or Corporate or Corporate Legal. Good Luck! I spent hours on the phone calling one phone number and another, with selection trees that lead to hang ups, not people or recording machines.
I could not find the number for either their corporate offices in Austin (surely they have paid their phone bills and have phones, don’t they?) or elsewhere.
Finally, finally, I got a woman named Grace on the phone and told her my tale, asking what training their employees have in recognizing what a legal mask is and in communicating their legal decisions to customers. I was told that they have a written policy on what a legal mask is.
I asked to have a copy of that mailed or emailed to me. I got no response, other than a promise that someone would “reach out to me”,
A few hours later, someone did. In fact, I eventually got a call from Scott.
I asked Scott what a legal mask was and reminded him that there is no definition of a legal mask either at the OSHA, national or Arizona level. He said that Whole Foods has its own definition of a legal mask (Wait! What?) and that it is not mesh, has no holes and covers the nose and mouth.
No holes? So it is impenetrable plastic? No, but it must be two ply.
How, I asked, can an employee who is at least 20 feet away from me determine if a mask is one ply, two ply or twenty two ply? Oh, Scott assured me, that would be quite close enough to make that determination.
I did not pursue that line of discussion since we were in silly land by that time.
I asked for a copy of the Whole Foods written policy detailing what a “legal mask” is again and got no assurance that it would be sent.
Here’s a little quiz for you: On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being totally unlikely, 10 being totally certain, how likely do you think it is that I will ever set foot into a Whole Foods Market again?
Zero is an acceptable answer.
[1] https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/preview/mol/2020/04/04/7903687541539554880/636x382_MP4_7903687541539554880.mp4