The director of the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence, Italy has resigned after Italy’s culture minister imposed a ban on masks in museums. The move was intended to protect visitors from possible terrorist threats.
Is the world going insane?
I assumed the insanity was limited to Florida, the pandemic’s epicenter, where Gov. Ron DeSantis opposed not just obligatory vaccinations for hospital employees, but also vaccine requirements for schools. He’s even threatened to cut off funding to schools that have kids wear masks.
However, it turns out that opposition to vaccinations and Covid limitations is widespread throughout the world. From Australia to France, Israel to Bulgaria, Yahoo News lists opposition to preventative measures. Resistance has even crept into the art world like an oil leak.
It’s time to go.
In Italy, a museum director resigned in protest over the government’s demand that all museum visitors show evidence of coronavirus vaccination, known as a “green pass.”
According to ArtNews Gobal, Fabrizio Masucchi, the ten-year director of the Sansevero Chapel Museum in Naples, resigned in protest of a national ruling requiring museum visitors to either show digital certification for at least one dose of the vaccine or show negative test results for the virus 48 hours prior to their visit.
Not just in Italy, but also in other countries, Italy’s legislation applies to movie theaters, indoor sports events, and restaurants. A legislation similar to this exists in France. Masucchi, on the other hand, said in an open letter that museums are distinct and that his morality requires him to stand strong against his government’s “exploitation of cultural institutions” by requiring vaccines.
Exploiting?
Keeping your cool
“I would want to gently remind you that museums, by their very nature, are places of inclusiveness, and that equal access to art and culture [is] a right of all,” he said.
Furthermore, he said, the state decision is superfluous since studies indicate that museums are safer than any other public places in terms of disease transmission.
On Eunomia, you may discuss this news.
(He did not name the studies.)
Alternatively,
In the meanwhile, masks are required for entrance into American museums. Masks are required at Boston’s art museums, regardless of vaccination status (owing to the lambda variant, which is reportedly vaccine-resistant). Masks are also required at the Dallas Museum of Art. Agustin Arteaga, director of the DMA, even demands children under the age of 12 who are not vaccinated to wear a mask.
It’s possible that his decision may be overturned. I’ll get to it in a minute.
Face masks are so ubiquitous at American museums that they’re major sellers in museum gift stores, according to the New York Times.
However, not in the South Texas Art Museums. AMST had a mask requirement, however it was later removed. Such restrictions are prohibited by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Abbott’s executive order prohibiting mask requirements in schools, companies, and government buildings is reported by the Dallas News. Why? “I’m protecting Texans’ right to choose whether or not to mask up,” he adds.
“Liberty”? Isn’t it like defying noise laws so that you may play boom boxes at high decibel levels all night, even if it wakes up your neighbors?
There will be no smoking allowed.
The Smithsonian’s American Art Museums not only require masks, but also prohibit smoking, as does every other art museum in the United States. Why aren’t anti-masked smokers protesting the smoking ban in public places? Isn’t it also infringing on their freedom?
As the song “World Gone Mad” puts it, “This is where we are.” The final line of Josiah Siska’s song, “If half the world’s gone made/The other half simply don’t care, you see,” lingers in the mind: “If half the world’s gone made/The other half just don’t care, you see.”
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