The anti-maskers are growing in number in the US and they are simply putting at risk the lives of people around them. Another anti-masker, a rather noted personality who was fired from Navy SEAL for bragging about killing Osama Bin Laden in 2011 shootout, found himself at the receiving end of criticism for ditching his face mask in a crowded flight.
Robert O'Neill is a strong anti-masker and his recent actions drew everyone's ire. O'Neill had posted a selfie from a crowded flight while not wearing a face mask. He captioned the image as "I'm not a pussy," which was in reference to the mandatory rule about wearing a face mask in airlines in wake of COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of his actions, O'Neill now faces a ban from Delta Airlines.
The controversial photo, which shows a passenger, likely a Marine, and a flight attended both wearing masks, is now deleted. But it was too late as netizens had taken notice of the tweet and called out O'Neill for his actions. But he defended the original tweet and said that it was deleted by his wife.
He later tweeted: "I shook thousands of hands and gave thousands of hugs this week. I flew on some planes. I'll be alive next week. There is a time to act.
Says it was a joke
Few hours later, O'Neill went on to say that it was an attempt at a joke, which did not go well. He also said that he does wear a mask after actress and political activist Alyssa Milano urged him to do so.
It's not clear if O'Neill's attempt at joking about not wearing a face mask in a crowded flight was only till the time he took the selfie or he went through the entire flight without any face covering.
Delta Airlines contemplating ban
Delta Airlines acknowledged the matter and said it is aware of the selfie posted by the former Navy SEAL. "We're aware of this customer's tweet and are reviewing this event. All customers who don't comply with our mask-wearing requirement risk losing their ability to fly Delta in the future. Medical research tells us that wearing a mask is one of the most effective ways to reduce the COVID-19 infection rate," the Delta spokesperson said.
