Even as blue states begin to remove their mask mandates from the air, MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell held on to that mandate Thursday on MSNBC. She condemned “toxic” discourse and “false notions about freedom” and Republicans who were not onboard with the plan to establish a “no-fly list” for passengers.
During a segment with former Biden advisor Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, Mitchell wondered why, almost two years into COVID-related regulations, people are over mask mandates. “Now, I want to ask you about also, you know, some of the political outrage over masking that still, you know, has infected our—our– countryShe complained.
Adding: “It really is toxic, to—to– mix my metaphors here and Republicans are now dead fast against creating a federal no-fly list that some airlines want for unruly passengers saying that, you know, this is out of control. At risk are the flight attendants. At risk are flights. The majority of recent infractions have been in relation to the mask mandate.”
Emanuel then responded, “What do we do with people so inconsiderate and so obsessed with their false notions of freedom that they refuse to wear masks on public transportation?“
Emanuel chose not to go with the obvious. Emanuel also stated that the increase in red-light running is due to people’s disliking of mask mandates.
Well, we should be clear, Andrea, this is a subset of what’s become clearly a larger problem of people being frustrated, angry, fatigued, and taking it out in all sorts of ways that are often very violent. We’ve seen this, not just on airplanes but the mortality in car traffic accidents has gone way up because people are running red lights. They’re being more aggressive and we shouldn’t put flight attendants in the middle of it.
Moving on as if that nonsensical claim never happened, Emanuel agreed that something should be done to unruly and violent passengers, “if people can’t control themselves, they shouldn’t have a privilege, they don’t have the right to fly. It’s not a right.
Earlier in the segment, it was noted immunocompromised individuals can wear an N-95 mask to better protect themselves. It is not unreasonable to assume that everyone else must live like it’s still March 2020, given this advice.
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This transcript is for the February 17th show.
MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports
2/17/2022
12:00 PM ETANDREA MITCHELL: Now, I want to ask you about also, you know, some of the political outrage over masking that still, you know, has infected our—our– country. It really is toxic, to—to– mix my metaphors here and Republicans are now dead fast against creating a federal no fly list that some airlines want for unruly passengers saying that, you know, this is out of control. At risk are the flight attendants. At risk are flights. The majority of recent infractions have been in relation to the mask mandate. What do we do with people so inconsiderate and so obsessed with their false notions of freedom that they refuse to wear masks on public transportation?
EZEKIEL EMANUEL: Well, we should be clear, Andrea, this is a subset of what’s become clearly a larger problem of people being frustrated, angry, fatigued and taking it out in all sorts of ways that are often very violent. We’ve seen this, not just on airplanes but the mortality in car traffic accidents has gone way up because people are running red lights. They’re being more aggressive and we shouldn’t put flight attendants in the middle of it. And they should not be enforcing these procedures. And if people have been violent, I do think there’s got to be a way of identifying them and preventing them from flying. There has to be consequences for this behavior and that—and as I said flight attendants should not be in the middle. They’re not enforcers. They’re not deputized police and we need to protect them as well as the other passengers on a flight. And if people can’t control themselves, they shouldn’t have a privilege, they don’t have the right to fly. It is an honor.
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