Even in the best of peaceful circumstances this weekend in NJ amid destructive and violent conflagrations everywhere, people’s rejection of masks in public versus their embrace of masks starkly and significantly marked the deep division in this country.

At a rally in Newark where protesters led by People’s Organization for Progress (POP) Founder (and progressive U.S. Senate candidate) Larry Hamm, hundreds wore masks.

InsiderNJ attended the rally, and while there did not observe anyone unmasked.

By contrast, in Randolph at a Republican event, most attendees did not wear face coverings, including GOP U.S. Senate candidates.

Also in attendance at that event, InsiderNJ observed at least one unmasked individual making a point of shaking hands.

The deep division reflected President Donald J. Trump on the one side of a political debate, scorning the use of a face covering recommended to combat COVID-19 – for which there is no known cure or vaccine and which has claimed the lives of over 100,000 Americans and over 11,000 New Jerseyans – by his government’s own infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci; and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, who makes a point of wearing a mask in public.

It bears mentioning that neither side of the divide could well maintain the suggested six foot social distancing rule.