We’re no sheeple! SLO County residents rush to support face masks to fight COVID
He’s no ‘sheeple’
Shoppers beware. Atascadero markets are now armed with mask gestapo. I was fondling a ripe nectarine when I heard a fellow shopper accosted for not wearing a mask. This 19-year-old employee was unsuccessful. Why? (1) She is not a police officer; and (2) our fellow shopper John is a war hero.
He was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam who survived combat when enemies shot down his chopper. John stands tall, with a stature that commands even the most defiant teenager to salute. He exudes respect and demands our Constitutional rights be upheld.
The young employee called for back-up when John refused to wear a mask. A supervisor met John at the checkout after he finished shopping. The checkout clerk blocked his credit card transaction, but nothing stops our hero. He simply paid in cash.
I am a retired police officer. And I am furious that our government’s new rules have created de-facto police out of young grocery store staffers.They are not trained in law enforcement and they are placed in a position of danger. Not everyone is as courteous as John.
John lives in A-Town with his “buddy,” a Siberian husky-Shephard mix. He sports a Vietnam service ribbon on his vehicle. And he doesn’t wear a mask. Why? Because he is not sheeple. Stand up for your rights. Thanks for your service, John.
Dan Hilker, Atascadero
Masks don’t make us sheeple
I must respond to Dan Hilker’s July 29 letter regarding “sheeple.” While I appreciate his fellow shopper John’s service in Vietnam, Dan’s thinking that John’s veteran status is a valid reason for his refusal to wear a mask is way off the mark. And Dan’s criticism of the store employee, whose job is hard enough in this pandemic, trying to enforce a store and state mandate, was shameful.
Employees like her put their lives on the line every day to serve folks like Dan so he can “fondle a nectarine” in their store. As a former police officer whose job was to protect and serve, Dan should be supportive of protecting his fellow citizens against exposure to the coronavirus. Wearing a mask does not make someone a sheeple. It makes someone considerate of others by not exposing them to the virus he may unknowingly be carrying.
Darylin Linning, San Luis Obispo
Better hope M.D.s are ‘sheeple’
In response to Dan Hilker’s letter appearing in the Tribune July 29, 2020
You’re right, John shouldn’t have to wear a mask. He is not a sheeple.
But let’s imagine this scenario: Let’s say a child needs an emergency surgery and the surgeon is also not a sheeple. Maybe the surgeon is even a decorated war hero. He decides that he’s not going to wear a mask or wash his hands before surgery, because he feels washing his hands and covering his face are an impingement of his rights as an American. Those gloves that he should wear during surgery, they’re uncomfortable and inconvenient, he’s not going to wear them either. He is a not a sheeple. After all, he is a hero.
Besides, they are really just suggestions — not laws. They were designed to protect the patient without any consideration for the “rights” of the surgeon. There are no police in the operating room, so that poor kid on the table is just going to have to take her chances.
John shouldn’t have to wear a mask if he doesn’t want to, but you better hope your child’s surgeon is a sheeple.
Eric DeVos, Arroyo Grande
Furious!
I was furious when I read Dan Hilker’s letter about “John” shopping without a mask. Shopping is something we have to do. Where in the Constitution does it give him the right to kill me or my 90-year-old mother? Why does being a Vietnam veteran make him above the law? John or any one of us can have COVID-19 and be asymptomatic. We can then spread the disease to others without knowing we are contagious. We don’t wear a mask for ourselves, or because we are “sheeple,” we wear a mask to protect OTHERS! Why is that so difficult for some people to understand? Does John think he has the “right” to drive drunk?
Amy Bess
Sheeple? Really?
Dan Hilker from Atascadero likes to sling silly insults during this time of worrisome elevated COVID numbers. His hero, John, is a Vietnam war hero deserving our admiration and respect, and I’m the first to agree with that. But to praise him because he’s not a “sheeple” diminishes the honor that is his due.
Our hero did not wear a mask, was denied his credit card transaction, so, according to Hilker, he undauntedly paid with cash. To suggest that this is commendable is trivial praise. I do agree with Hilker that the young employee should not have had to become de-facto police. Store employees show up day after day, encountering multitudes of shoppers, and put themselves at risk. They deserve our respect, too. I always make a point of thanking them and always wear a mask to show that appreciation. Our hero should have worn a mask. Maybe I’m a sheeple, but at least I’m not a lamb chop at the moment, thanks to the thoughtfulness of most people.
Mary Donnelly, San Luis Obispo
Get over yourselves
This is in response to “He’s no Sheeple.”
First of all, thank you, John, for your amazing service to this country. You served your country well, according to the letter writer. I’d like to ask you, though, what makes you think not wearing a mask makes you such a patriot. As far as I can tell, wearing a mask is to keep your fellow patriots safe from your possible germs. Wouldn’t that make wearing a mask a good thing? Wouldn’t it make wearing a mask a patriotic thing?
Yeah, thanks a bunch for your service to your country, in the past. Can you please continue that service by being a good citizen and think of others before your need to stand up for your rights? I know you and the letter writer think the rest of us are “sheeple,” but the way I look at it is we are the ones sacrificing for the greater good, and we are the real heroes here. You are protesting and using your “hero” image to prove some stupid point that only hurts the greater good. Get over yourself!
Helen White, Atascadero
Wear a mask, save a life
The letter about the young employee asking a shopper to put on his mask needs a response. What a shame that any employee, regardless of age, has to take on this role because so many people refuse to do the right thing. One would think that a combat veteran who exudes respect and demands our constitutional rights be upheld would also give that same respect to others, especially when our country needs all of us to be heroes during this “war” against this terrible virus.
Wearing a mask doesn’t infringe on your constitutional rights. It gives you the opportunity to be a community hero, to help save lives, it shows you care about others and are willing to do your part, even though you might disagree with the current rules. The letter writer, as a retired police officer, surely understands the importance of following rules, even when you don’t “like” the rules. You follow them for the greater good of all, especially in this time of COVID-19. It shows you care; it really doesn’t take much to just put on a mask. You might be protecting someone with a breathing or heart issue, someone undergoing treatment for cancer, someone who has elderly members in their family, or even a young person who’s just doing their job.
If wearing a mask makes me a sheeple, I can take the name calling. For those self-important non-mask wearing people, I could resort to name calling of my own but I won’t. Instead, maybe I’ll go out to some shops today, thank every worker I see for showing up to work, for protecting me by wearing a mask, and who knows, maybe I’ll save a life or two by wearing mine.
Wanda McDonald, Santa Maria
Lemmings, not sheeple
Regarding Dan Hilker’s letter and articles in the same issue, “SLO County has high case rate...” and “Fifth sheriff’s deputy tests positive...” I find the juxtaposition remarkable.
Before I go further, let me commend the young employee for doing her job by trying to keep employees and patrons safe.
There is a reason Dr. Penny Borenstein states “Unfortunately, we’re still trending up.” It’s hard not to think this is partially related to the attitude and actions of people like Hilker, his Vietnam vet hero, “John,” and Sheriff Ian Parkinson. Past heroism serving our country is no excuse for not doing what is required now.
I feel for those with businesses closed and for all of us facing prolonged isolation because San Luis Obispo is not testing to capacity and delaying test results, along with misanthropic actions of people like “John” and Sheriff Parkinson, who refuses to enforce the mask requirements.
Alarming are two recent studies out of Germany indicating that up to 75% of non-hospitalized people recovered from COVID have heart damage that may be permanent. None of us should want to take that chance!
Perhaps a better analogy is lemmings rather than sheeple. We are heading off a cliff, but contrary to an incorrect but popular belief that lemmings are suicidal, it’s rather because people are throwing us off.
Rebecca Adams, Cayucos
Vets should protect and serve
So Dan Hilker is proud of the fact that his decorated Vietnam veteran John bullied a 19-year-old store clerk for the audacity of the employee to request that John follow store policy and a state mandate to wear masks inside, a rule that protects their fellow Americans.
When John enlisted in the military, he signed and swore to an oath to protect fellow Americans. While serving in Vietnam, he wasn’t necessarily protecting America, but he was protecting his fellow soldiers, most of whom were Americans. I’m guessing he feels that he no longer needs to protect his countrymen now that he’s a civilian.
Bravo to you two adults for trying to justify John’s bullying and his intelligence for paying with cash so he could complete his selfish transaction. Had I been in that store, John would have had to deal with me, someone who is more than three times that clerk’s age.
The two of you are selfish, just like the ill-advised vocal MINORITY that continues to pout as Americans continue to be infected and die daily. I would still be typing this even if my older brother was not in a Stockton ICU trying to survive COVID-19.
Lance G. Young, Arroyo Grande
Self-serving excuses
Letter writer Dan Hilker commented recently that a fellow shopper was unsuccessfully “accosted” by a market employee because the fellow shopper was a war hero and the clerk was not a police officer.
First, let me also add my thanks to the veteran for his service. Veterans can never be thanked enough for what they have sacrificed.
Second, let’s be clear. Even if the clerk were a police officer or former police officer, like Mr. Hilker, the governor’s order to wear a mask would not be enforced. Sheriff Parkinson has made that clear enough, and Mr. Hilker obviously agrees.
The mask mandate was issued because some members of the public simply don’t care about the potential harm they can cause to others. They veil this lack of concern under the guise of individual liberty.
I wonder if, as a former police officer, Mr. Hilker ever accepted such a self-serving excuse when he wrote tickets to motorcyclists who refused to wear helmets or drivers who refused to wear seat belts or belt in their children. Infections are rising in the county. Let’s work together to defeat this virus. You may never appreciate the life you save by wearing a mask, but someone will.
Daniel J. O’Neill, San Luis Obispo
Invisible enemy
I commend Dan Hilker’s acquaintance, John, for his service to our country fighting a visible enemy, the Viet Cong. This battle, COVID-19, is with an invisible enemy, and so far much more deadly than the war John so bravely battled; U.S. deaths in Vietnam: 58,000, COVID-19: 152,000, so far.
Every merchant has a duty to enforce the mask policy. Remember the old signs, “no shirt, no shoes, no service”? Likewise, this is a question of hygiene. John would not just be protecting himself, but, all the others he comes in contact with by doing this one simple thing: Mask Up!
Doug Brown, Pismo Beach
Are they part-time sheeple?
Response to July 29 “sheeple” letter: A Vietnam-era helicopter pilot (presumably with no health issues) thought it wise to enter a supermarket with no mask, was unsuccessfully asked to mask up by employees, and is defended by a friend who thinks wearing a mask is for “sheeple.” (Was this friend writing that letter wearing a mask? He doesn’t say.)
The virus doesn’t care about designations. War hero or otherwise, it won’t give you a pass. You can carry COVID and not know it. You can spread it and not know it. How do you NOT know these facts in this information era? Or maybe you just don’t care about the people around you?
Do these two wear seat belts? Do they stop at red lights? “Sheeple” do those things. Can they explain the difference between seat belts and masks? Are they part-time “sheeple” but just don’t want to admit it?
Lynette Tornatzky, Los Osos
Missing the point
Dan Hilker’s letter of July 29 misses the point of mask wearing. John may be a war hero, and I appreciate that and thank him for his service. But that is no excuse for not wearing a mask in a public place.
Masks protect you and they protect me, and importantly, they protect workers in the grocery store. If you can’t wear a mask because you have asthma or other breathing issues, you probably shouldn’t be shopping in a public place … order curbside, or delivery, or have a friend shop for you.
COVID-19 is a highly transmissible virus, and until we have a vaccine, our best defense is to wear masks in public, keep physical distance and wash our hands frequently … this is not difficult and not a hardship!
Bob Lindquist, Arroyo Grande
A different war
I would like to comment on Mr. Hilker’s letter. He says that John was a hero in the Vietnam War. However, now we are in a different war that calls for a different kind of hero. This war calls us to protect other people like fellow shoppers and grocery workers from becoming sick and possibly dying.
Masks do help to keep the virus from spreading. Now it is time for all of us to be thoughtful and caring about each other. Yes, we have a constitutional right to express our opinion but not the right to endanger someone else.
The clerk had just as much right as a police officer to ask John to wear a mask because he was putting her and her fellow workers in danger. These are trying times, but I remind myself that the best instruction Jesus gave us was, “Treat other people as you would have them treat you.” John, this is a time for you to be another hero in another war. I am sure you will meet that challenge.
Maggie Fertschneider, Santa Ynez
Standing up for rights
After reading the letter to the editor (“He’s no sheeple”) I had some thoughts regarding the right to refuse to wear a mask. I also served in the armed forces (USN 1960-1980), and I prefer to wear a mask when I go out. Not because I am a “sheeple,” but because I wish to reduce the risk of causing illness or death to my neighbors. I have a choice, and my choice is to be concerned about the health of my fellow Americans, just as it was when I was in uniform.
Mr. Hilker urges us to stand up for our rights, and I could not agree more. I just prefer to stand up for those rights in a way that may help my neighbors. So, like Mr. Hilker, I would also urge you to “Stand up for your rights.” Just do it by wearing a mask.
Loren D. Acord, San Luis Obispo
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 12:59 PM.