The photos of Gov. Mike Parson's ceremonial signing of HB 66 into law Monday that are available on the governor's Flickr page, appear to reflect the governor's efforts to be a good leader by acting responsibly and wearing a mask to protect others during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Appearances can be deceiving.
Parson explained his view on masks during a July 14 interview with KHSB:
“I’ve worn a mask when I’ve been asked to wear a mask. When there’s a requirement to wear a mask, I wear a mask.”
The officials at Springfield and Cape Girardeau where signings were held Monday, required Parson to wear a mask.
The masks were required to prevent those wearing masks from spreading the coronavirus to others. Parson has made it clear that his willingness to protect others depends on whether someone asks him to do so.
The officials at Carthage where the governor made an afternoon stop and hobnobbed with several locally elected officials made no such request and none of them wore masks either.
Two days after Parson's visit, he tested positive for COVID-19.
In other words, the simple wearing of a mask would have gone a long way toward keeping Parson from exposing others to the virus he was carrying.
Thankfully, the governor has not experienced any of the problems that others have experienced with COVID-19.
Let's pray that none of the people Gov. Parson chose to expose to the virus pay the price for his disregard for their safety (while acknowledging that only a few people who were at the Carthage signing wore masks).
In each of the news releases that have been issued by the governor's office since the word of his coronavirus confirmation was announced, the governor piously says people should wear masks and wash their hands and follow proper social distancing.
The governor has claimed he wears a mask when he can't social distance. The Carthage signing, as well as many other photos of the governor in recent weeks indicate that is not true.
There is plenty of photographic evidence the governor does not work diligently at social distancing.
Whether he washes his hands is a matter of conjecture.
In other words, Mike Parson not only doesn't walk the walk- he does a terrible job of talking the talk.
And he knows it.
Why else would he prominently display signing photos featuring him, as well as all others surrounding him, wearing a mask during the Springfield and Cape Girardeau signings and deliberately post no photos from Carthage, where Parson and the local elected officials proudly displayed their bare faces for all to see?
By not protecting people except when he is required to do so and by hiding his flaunting of guidelines, the governor has unmasked himself as a hypocrite.
