Thank you for the helpful and relevant post

jUsT wEar YoUr mAsK!

3rd Generation Ag said:

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There is zero harm in wearing a mask. I don't get all the resistance.

And if one in twenty are not immune, then unless there is a proven and inexpensive way to know if you are in the 19 or the 1, wear the mask.

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For how long? Months? Years?

What if you had covid AND then later you got the vaccine, do you still need to wear a mask?

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How is it that vaccinated people wearing masks is erring too far on the side of caution? Continuing this pandemic is too far on the side of caution? If one side is the annoyance of having to personally wearing a mask vs the infection of other unvaccinated individuals, even if that chance may be small, its not too far on the side of caution. That seems to be the disagreement.

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I think it's time we all just accept the fact that to many in this country feel that the annoyance IS greater to them than the chance of spreading the virus. It is just a fact. Yes, I am annoyed but I still wear the mask. But, that is MY value system. I also understand, respect and have the grace to accept that not everyone feels the same and that is ok too. Again, if the message from officials is going to tell the population that continued use of masks is paramount going forward WITH the vaccine being implemented, they just have to start realizing that they need to message everyone with the understanding that this large sector of the population needs to be addressed and give the type of messaging that will be most effective in getting the most that will comply to comply. It seems that those giving the messages would rather make statements devaluing why others do not want to wear a mask. That needs to end. What might be an "annoyance" to you or I, is obviously something much more to others. It's probably a good time to start realizing that going forward and accept them than to keep lobbing words like "annoyance" and other terms that devalue how these Americans feel. It might actually go a long way to getting more to actually follow the procedures and mandates more...

3rd Generation Ag said:

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There is zero harm in wearing a mask. I don't get all the resistance.

And if one in twenty are not immune, then unless there is a proven and inexpensive way to know if you are in the 19 or the 1, wear the mask.

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Just accept that people will resist. Do not devalue how others may feel about this. You are 100% right. But that only pushes these people further away. I know. I used to be one. I did my own research and now see the benefits. But don't expect everyone to, and they have a point if it seems authorities don't plan on ending this someday. Those giving the messages need to speak of the end being in sight.

1 in 20 is a bad example. If 1 in 20 is not immune, it's unlikely the hospitals will be full or even have much of an uptick in beds used. When there is a point where that is truly the case, mandates will be over. We are not, from a policy perspective, going to eradicate the virus. The goal is not overwhelming hospitals.

3rd Generation Ag said:

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There is zero harm in wearing a mask. I don't get all the resistance.

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Masks by their very nature promote anonymous anti-social behavior in humans. Masks are damn near archetypal when explaining mischievous behavior from bank robberies to Halloween. Maybe masks are a subtle cause as to why there has been an increase in crimes, homicides and depression nationwide for the first time in decades

Masks are worn by audience members during performances of the play Sleep No More. The anonymous mask-wearing crowd follows the actors in a MacBeth reenactment through several rooms. Over the years there were many allegations of anti-social, subversive and abusive behavior by members of the crowd driven mainly because they felt anonymous and emboldened from wearing the masks.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/amberjamieson/sleep-no-more

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Former performers and staff at the wildly popular immersive theater production say the show's fantasy environment emboldens some audience members to commit sexual misconduct.

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GAC06 said:

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Not to mention the effects on young children who are learning social interaction without the help of facial cues. Absolutely ridiculous to say masks do no harm.

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Indeed. Besides teh language arts, reading and speech issues, masks are antithetical to the social-emotional learning public schools have been teaching. Masks promote anti-social behavior and reduce empathy for others.

This type of statement is a real head scratcher. And I say that as a person who doesn't really mind wearing a mask all that much these days.

nortex97 said:

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People just don't trust "the experts" because it started with "don't wear a mask" then it became "wear one for a while" and then "until you're vaccinated" and now it is (per Ranger222) "until 'most' are vaccinated." Could...maybe....theoretically possible...are not helpful.

The reason that is true is that...we have anti-vaccers (and vaccine fence sitters) who if they don't get to stop wearing a mask...are even less likely to get vaccinated. In any discussion (as opposed to a sermon/monologue), different views/information have to be exchanged, and the reality is that the public confidence in public health officials is lower now than it was a year ago (much lower for some, such as Fauci, who has admittedly lied repeatedly, or Birx, who of course broke her own rules.)

We need officials we can trust, who can convey what the expectations are for this next stage. I don't see or hear from them, frankly. Moving the masking end-state further will only erode public confidence even more, not just in the virus, but the real motives for the moving goal posts.

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Although trust in government leadership has been eroding for years, it was compounded in 2020 due to several factors:

• Treating adults like children that can't handle truth and facts
• Viewing everything in absolutes
• Exaggeration of risk to manipulate compliance

Covid isn't a risk.
Covid has a 10% death rate in Italy
Don't wear masks.
Wear masks all the time.
Masks are better than vaccines.
We said masks didn't work so there wasn't a run on N95.
Wear any masks even if they only work a little bit.
Masks definitely work, unless it's a bandana or gaiter.
But every little bit helps.
Stay at home.
Playgrounds are closed and roped off, but kids aren't really affected.
Go outside and get vitamin D.
Just two more weeks.
No new normal until the end of 2021.
Flatten the curve.
No more cases.

Yes those are all the buzzwords of 2020, but those have all been uttered by scientists and policy creators all over the world. The argument of "well this is a new virus and we are all still learning" isn't very convincing when we have AI, commercial space launches, gene therapy, and portray human-caused climate change as 100% definitive.

We are still learning how to reduce pandemic-related deaths, yet we enact policy measures as absolutes which are absolutely wrecking people's lives with the "possibility" something helps.

3rd Generation Ag said:

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There is zero harm in wearing a mask. I don't get all the resistance.

And if one in twenty are not immune, then unless there is a proven and inexpensive way to know if you are in the 19 or the 1, wear the mask.

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How many of those 1 in 20 that are not fully immune ended up in the hospital or dead from Covid?

If I am in the 1 in 20 and all it means is that I get a mild case of the sniffles when I am exposed that is not the same as potentially ending up in the hospital or dead.