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Comment by majoram | Hacker News Reader

That's a horrible idea in today's social/political climate. Just try visualizing a police officer trying to arrest a black person for not wearing a mask. Or police being sent to gatherings in black neighborhoods. Sorry but I'd rather have more covid deaths than more riots and possibly a race war in my country.

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Why would the color of their skin have anything to do with it?

It has everything to do with it when it comes to the U.S. If we were another country, maybe it would be acceptable to have police harrass people for not wearing masks. But in the U.S., giving police the license to harrass people minding their own business will inevitably result in more police brutality that affects some races more than others.

So, you shouldn't have laws at all, because they're enforced unevenly against some races? Is that what you're saying? I'm outspoken against police overreach and misconduct and even I won't go that far.

I wouldn't say that we shouldn't have laws. I just think it would be best for society if we avoided doing shit that will cause more riots. I think it's called consequentialism? Not sure. Whether or not it's a good idea to arrest/fine people who don't wear masks, I know for a fact that it will lead to disproportionately more black and brown people being at best fined/harrassed or at worst killed by police. So I am against it.

> Whether or not it's a good idea to arrest/fine people who don't wear masks, I know for a fact that it will lead to disproportionately more black and brown people being at best fined/harrassed or at worst killed by police. So I am against it.

In the context of the US, how does this differ from any other law? It sounds to me like this would lead to a situation where if people make it difficult enough to enforce the law then that law will stop applying to them.

I wish it wasn't like this, but it is what it s.

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