Arnold Schwarzenegger Pens Atlantic Op-Ed Decrying Anti-Maskers, Anti-Vaxxers: Anyone Comparing Mandates to Fascism is ‘Full of Crap’
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Actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger penned an op-ed Friday doubling down on his frustration with people being anti-mask as covid-19 cases continue to rise in the United States.
Schwarzenegger got a lot of attention this week for pushing back on the argument that masks infringe on personal freedoms. He said, “No. Screw your freedom, because with freedom comes obligations and responsibilities… When you affect other people, that is when it gets serious.”
In an op-ed for The Atlantic Friday, he wrote, “Calling people schmucks and saying ‘Screw your freedom’ was a little much, even if I stand by the sentiment. But there is nothing that I’m more passionate about than keeping America great, and it’s the only subject that can make me lose my temper.”
He expressed dismay at “selfishness and dereliction of duty” during the pandemic and said, “Our country began with a willingness to make personal sacrifices for the collective good.”
Schwarzenegger made a point of calling out commentators likening mask and vaccine mandates to fascism:
When people call this fascism, I can’t stand it. Just a few generations ago, this country stood up to real fascism. (And yes, I know that my father was on the wrong side of that conflict.) And we didn’t win just because of our love of freedom. We won because Americans came together and did their duty…
Some people want to create an alternative America, where we have no responsibility to one another. That America has never existed. They may tell you that what we are doing to fight the war against the coronavirus is unprecedented. They’re full of crap. They are lying to you because they make money from your anger.
