# Well, Walmart did it **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [July 15, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449 "2020-07-15T23:26:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/21 "2020-07-17T02:10:42Z")
I can’t wait to see a new catagory at People of Walmart! ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/22 "2020-07-17T02:48:15Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > It’s not uncommon for the elderly to bruise easily. Oh man, I laughed. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/23 "2020-07-17T09:09:48Z")
Well, what took so long? That has been the norm in Europe for a while now. I notice that things have become a bit more lax here in Poland; some people don’t wear masks, others just cover their mouths and let their noses peep out. It was stricter at the beginning, with the shops restricting the number of people allowed in, providing disposable gloves or plastic bags in lieu (try paying by card at a POS with your hands in plastic bags), and lottsa lottsa hand sterilizer. These days the gloves are less common, but hand sterilzer is usually provided, and I keep a bottle in the car for use after shopping. The biggest problem is actually the handles of the shopping carts, again, some supermarkets here sterilized those handles every day. It must be working, as Poland as a whole has a low infection rate, and the smallish town where I live has very few cases, the worst outbreak was in an old peoples’ home. A note to all the “give me liberty” types is that masks, gloves and hand sterilizer _IF USED PROPERLY_ do reduce the infection rate. Say no more. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/24 "2020-07-17T10:02:46Z")
> [@LivingGhost371](#): > > Prediction: A lot of Walmart shoppers switch to other stores or to pickup / delivery and a lot of fights at the front door posted to social media. Good luck with that. My state just made masks mandatory. And my state is red ol’ Arkansas (i.e. where Walmart started). I’m actually thinking Walmart did this to get out ahead of the anouncement by the governor. > **[Arkansas to require face masks to combat coronavirus surge](https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-us-news-ap-top-news-ar-state-wire-asa-hutchinson-a2fe15fb7cfdf3de2aa88359db1f6716)** > > LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued an order Thursday requiring people to wear face masks in public throughout the state, which has had a surge in coronavirus cases over the past several weeks. Got a couple mad people on Facebook spreading lies which I corrected. Tried to get them to realize that it’s those who believe in conspiracy theories who are the actual sheep. I’m predicting other states with surges will follow Arkansas’s path. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/25 "2020-07-17T15:06:49Z")
Hutchinson (Ark. Gov.) Should’ve mandated masks 2 weeks ago. Every state around Arkansas was exploding. I go to my Diabetic clinic in Texarkana. I’ve done tele-visits for a month. I’m too afraid to go there. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/26 "2020-07-17T16:33:35Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I’m actually thinking Walmart did this to get out ahead of the anouncement by the governor But the policy is for Walmarts nationwide. Some folks in my old Wyoming town lost their sh\*t over Walmart’s mask requirement and vowed to take their business elsewhere. Now the only other grocery store in town has also mandated masks, there are no other big box stores in town, and the next town is a long drive away. I think we’re about to see what it looks like when people implode. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/27 "2020-07-17T16:42:26Z")
Get ready for the confederate flag face masks! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/28 "2020-07-17T16:55:40Z")
And so the mask wars begin. Around here Walmart is the only game in town. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/29 "2020-07-17T16:56:05Z")
Fine by me, just wear a fucking mask inside. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/30 "2020-07-17T17:09:46Z")
> [@RealityCheck71](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > Here in Ontario masks are now mandatory in all indoor public spaces > > Maybe every single municipality has done it but there isn’t a provincial rule. You’re right. I was on my way out of the store when the maskless woman was turned away, and out of curiosity I asked the employee about it. She said it wasn’t just them, it’s every store now. But this was apparently in reference to a joint agreement on a common bylaw among the mayors of the GTHA municipalities (Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area), not a provincial law. Many other major Ontario cities have also joined the mask mandate. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/31 "2020-07-17T17:34:07Z")
I predict Trump will make a big production about masks. He’ll claim he invented them, biggly. And how brilliant he was. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/32 "2020-07-17T19:42:34Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I would like a law where we are allowed to punch chin-mask wearers in the face with impunity. Here in NW Idaho that would include 1 in every 5 supermarket (or Walmart) employees at work inside the store. I struggle not to say anything lest I get punched or shot. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/33 "2020-07-17T20:17:22Z")
When the mask mandate started in Washington, you would still periodically see people inside stores who were just ignoring it, and the stores were frankly too fearful to do anything about it (both for the employees’ safety but also for offending customers who were anti-mask.) Stores were required to enforce the rules, but the reality is that they often did not. And I understand it was much, much worse in more conservative parts of the state. Now, I think the major stores are realizing that by catering to a vocal but very small minority of anti-mask agitators, they’ve alienated millions of regular people who just want everyone to do their (very small) part to minimize this pandemic. And who want to just be able to do their shopping in relative safety. And those millions of people have other options: Costco has been enforcing masks for months now, and the issue goes away with delivery services. Now that they’ve figured that out, it’s game over for the anti-mask types. At least with the major national retailers. (Plus, unless McConnell gets his way, I’ve got to assume that by failing to enforce mask orders, those stores have opened themselves up to tort liabilities from any employee who gets covid at work. I have to admit a fair amount of hope that businesses that have acted extremely irresponsibly during this pandemic [looking at you, Disney] face billions of dollars in lawsuits before this is all over.) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/34 "2020-07-17T23:54:36Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > When the mask mandate started in Washington, you would still periodically see people inside stores who were just ignoring it, and the stores were frankly too fearful to do anything about it (both for the employees’ safety but also for offending customers who were anti-mask.) Stores were required to enforce the rules, but the reality is that they often did not. And I understand it was much, much worse in more conservative parts of the state. Actually, every grocery store I’ve been to has at least 1 or 2 people defiantly letting their masks dangle off one ear or down over their chin. And most 7-Elevens are a joke, except for the one a couple blocks from my house (thankfully). Hopefully we’re continuing to move closer to full mask usage. Yesterday, however, I was at the Fred Meyer in Redmond (a very wealthy area) and every single person was masked. I had to go back again twice to get a prescription straightened out, and each time, full mask usage. It was great. ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/35 "2020-07-18T00:08:44Z")
I’ve noticed wealthier neighborhoods tend to have higher mask usage around here. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/36 "2020-07-18T04:48:06Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Actually, every grocery store I’ve been to has at least 1 or 2 people defiantly letting their masks dangle off one ear or down over their chin. The use of the word _actually_ makes me think you’re disagreeing with something I’d written, but I’m unclear what. What you wrote has mostly been my experience, but my last trip to Safeway saw literally everyone masked. Not sure if that’s a common experience now or not - between my wife and I we’re there about once a week. So only once a fortnight on average for me. > [@needscoffee](#): > > And most 7-Elevens are a joke, except for the one a couple blocks from my house (thankfully). 7/11 is the store that’s open one day a year where they give away a free slurpee, right? But they canceled it for this year! ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/37 "2020-07-18T05:07:37Z")
They have been for months here. In fact, they are required for every store or anything else you go to, and have been since March. I guess this isn’t true everywhere (in fact, I know it’s not in Arizona, or at least it’s not across the board), though hard to understand why people are in such a tizzy about wearing a freaking mask…though from what I’ve heard people talking about, there doesn’t seem to be much understanding of what the masks are really for, though, again, this seems like a no brainer. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/38 "2020-07-18T05:11:26Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > The use of the word _actually_ makes me think you’re disagreeing with something I’d written, Sorry, bad choice of words, not disagreeing. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/39 "2020-07-18T05:12:34Z")
I also choose words badly when I need coffee 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-walmart-did-it/915449/40 "2020-07-18T05:13:16Z")
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