Before we start, let me offer a caveat off the top of this post: it’s meant to be funny, so don’t go off and start harassing these people because, honestly, I feel for them, and they’re not wrong. It’s just that they both seem to have been celebrating the grand policy ideas that have led us to this place of — in the liberal lexicon — “new normal.” But the celebration has come to a screeching halt now that their children may not be back in school in the fall.

And that’s simply hilarious.

We’ll start with an old favorite, MSNBC host Chris Hayes, whose liberal and progressive bonafides hardly need listing here.  Chris is a big fan of people wearing masks as a deterrent to coronavirus despite shifting narratives as to whether or not they work, and whether or not asymptomatic people are actually a source of infection.

One scientist had this to say, for example:

“Never before in my 45-year career have I seen such a far-reaching public recommendation issued by any governmental agency without a single source of data or information to support it,” [Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy and a Regents Professor at the University of Minnesota] said in response to the CDC’s lack of evidence on the effectiveness of cloth masks. “This is an extremely worrisome precedent of implementing policies not based on science-based data or why they were issued without such data.”

But Chris is undeterred by such musings because, in freaking out over the fact that his children may not return to school in the same way this fall — and those masks are a symbol of that overwrought mindset — he believes if we just all strap some cloth over our mouths, his kids will continue to not be a problem as he and his wife pursue their careers. Note his use of the word normal in the tweet below, as if he doesn’t know we’re in a NEW normal now. One that requires face masks and kids remote learning.

Do policymakers realize that without fulltime school this fall, parents are screwed and everything will fall apart? I get that it's a hard problem! I don't know the answer, but anything approaching "normal" is not possible for working parents while homeschooling.

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) June 24, 2020

Reminder: Chris was fully willing to buy into the idea that the future was uncertain just a week ago, and definitely willing to call others stupid for trying to get back to the old normal of not having to walk around like a masked bandit everywhere one goes. He’s clearly not so certain now that he might face negotiating dealing with the kids being home. Or, heaven forfend, having to homeschool them like those weird Christian families.

I think in some ways this part of the pandemic is more psychologically difficult and uncertain than the lockdown phase. Future is so unclear, as is what “normal” life is or should be.

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) June 19, 2020

Then there’s Smitten Kitchen author Deb Perelman, who is even more freaked out (and possibly angry) than Hayes as evidenced by her twitter rant on the subject:

A rant: The NYC DOE is expected to follow CDC guidelines requiring each student to have 65sq. ft. of classroom space, which means my kids will go to school 1 of every 3 weeks this fall. Adults, however, are supposed to be back to work as the economy “reopens.”

— deb perelman (@debperelman) June 24, 2020

(Or, a full-time nanny, grandparent who can swoop in, or the wealth to hire a private tutor for your kid, “resolutions” people have told me about in the last few days, as if… this is fine, tenable, let's definitely let people with cushioning guide policy here.)

— deb perelman (@debperelman) June 24, 2020

What I am simmering with white hot rage over is the idea that both plans are moving ahead — an open economy but mostly closed schools, camps — as if it would be totally okay if a generation of parents lost their careers, insurance, and livelihoods in the process. It's outrageous.

— deb perelman (@debperelman) June 24, 2020

Just for fun and by way of comparison, here’s Deb at the beginning of June and April of this year:

When you’re trying to raise woke little revolutionaries so you give them pots to bang on and cheer as the protestors march by but you’re also an insufferable food blogger and you say things like “No! Not on the nonstick side!” [I’m sorry. It me.]

— deb perelman (@debperelman) June 7, 2020

While I agree, the sidewalks near me are narrow so I run in the streets. Which are 95% empty. What I don’t understand is why the city hasn’t closed 25-50% streets to make being outside safer. My safety shouldn’t be contingent on hoping cars avoid me. There is a better solution. https://t.co/cc1LtN747n

— deb perelman (@debperelman) April 6, 2020

The point I’m trying to make here is that there are only serious questions from these two — and we can guess other liberals who share their values — about the overreach related to government and health policy now that they themselves are being potentially negatively affected and inconvenienced. And while that’s typical and hilarious, it’s also a bit sad and frustrating because we could have used their voices (and enormous platforms) earlier when conservatives were warning them to tread cautiously about buying into the pandemic paranoia.

Because you may just find — and may have just found — that you’ll be masked up with your kids at home indefinitely. And your money and influence won’t help you.