Ethics and Oxygen

Yesterday I braved the Great Viral Unknown as puppy prep continues here in western Montana.

This was one of my early stops and unfortunately, it presented a dilemma.

Norco.jpg

In spite of their sign, I was not there to buy a missile nor is safety one of their primary concerns. I was there to pick up a small tank of just-in-case oxygen for the puppy arrival(s).

I went in to discover the employees were not wearing masks.

Mind blown.

I had not considered calling a medical supply place to ask if their employees were masked — I simply assumed they would be, given the nature of their customers. Not many people need medical supplies unless they are in a vulnerable group, after all.

How could I give them my business and feel okay?

But I needed the oxygen and it was by prescription — walking out would have felt righteous in the moment but required yet another trip to Missoula and I was already there and…

My mom used to note I have a tendency to cut off my nose to spite my face and while I am still not 100% sure what that means, I believe it involves a certain willingness to do something rather dumb to prove a point.

My mother was correct — the truth is I usually make the point and to heck with my nose BUT after much internal weighing of the options and — seriously — agonizing about this, I elected to simply ask about the masks, express in a respectful way my surprise that they were not wearing masks, and get the oxygen.

And write this post.

In the future, I will call all business to ensure masked employees — lesson learned.

The CDC “…recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies)…”

The employee who handed me the oxygen did not have freakishly long arms — she absolutely violated socially distancing guidelines.

I observe that masks have become an interesting litmus test for me. I am still trying to decide if this is fair or not, reasonable or not, but in general I see people wearing masks as belong to my “tribe” — and those who are not as people who are unsafe, for all kinds of reasons.

Daisy’s temperature is holding steady — nothing imminent in the Puppy Department. But if needed, they have oxygen — and I have a bruised conscience.