I have been checking Twitter on and off the last few days. Today I came across a tweet that just did not sit well with me. I didn’t quite know why. I thought about it all day, and now I know why (I’m trying to not be a reactionary on Twitter).

This tweet is now deleted, and I don’t want the author to be harassed. They ended up changing their mind as the city clarified the law.

First, who is this person giving this ultimatum to? The mayor of San Francisco is definitely not reading this tweet to make policy.

Second, if you are curious about the science, then ask for science. Better yet, do your own research and disseminate it. It’s not incumbent on random Internet strangers to change your mind (and you really shouldn’t change your mind on policy based on tweets).

Now, I am no scientist (does Computer Science count?), but what I do know is that science takes time. Good science takes even longer. In the meantime, why wouldn’t you do something as easy as put on a mask to protect your community and neighbors?

I live near a park that I walk in once a week and I have never seen a runner with a mask (lots of walkers like myself do wear mask and maintain social distance). They don’t even maintain reasonable distance as they pass from behind me. Your running is not more important than my life.

Tweets like this make it seem like anyone can choose to not follow reasonable laws they don’t agree with. I would love for policy to be evidence driven, but messages like these don’t help when you need the entire community to work together.

Runners: Please wear a mask, or at least move away as you pass someone. If you can’t, run at 2am. Don’t put others at risk.