Also, people can get demoralized in their personal efforts when they see mask wearing as a "divisive" thing that is a matter of opinion, and when they see other people, especially public leaders not wearing masks themselves.
I think a more likely explanation is that the lockdown worked up through the holidays, and then people went overboard the other way. If you lived in Texas or North Carolina, you may have seen your friends and family throughout the year. So it’s easier to keep Thanksgiving small, because the public messaging has been, ‘now it’s serious’.
If you live in California, you’ve been told since March that basically any activity puts you at risk of the virus. Depending on your county, this year you’ve been told to wear a mask when you’re within 30 feet of someone outdoors; that playgrounds and parks must be closed while bars can stay open; that indoor dining is banned unless you’re the governor; that there’s a 10pm curfew despite no evidence that such a curfew will slow the spread. At some point people get COVID fatigue and start to tune the messaging out. And I’m betting that point is around the holidays for many, many people.
- leaders downplaying the virus
- no top-down leadership in tackling the virus
- masks made political
- hundreds of thousands of people dead
- media focused on wedge issues and Trumps fantastical statements while people are dying
I do not live in the US and I don't for a second believe that everyone is anti-mask there, but judging from the outside looking at your numbers and media coverage, your whole attitude towards this deadly disease seems f'd up. I don't mean to direct this as an insult to the American people, more as a criticism towards the cultural and political attitudes surrounding this crisis. Anti-maskers of course are not solely to blame - nobody is - but they certainly seem to play a huge role culturally when compared to other countries.