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Comment by iaHN | Hacker News Reader

I had people on here saying some pretty nasty things to me for suggesting that while social distancing is good, having a mask on when outside and more than 6 ft apart is unnecessary.

I wonder if they realize how they're proving all the "virtue signaling" critics right.

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I don't think virtue signalling explains the phenomenon fully. There seems to be another large group: people who are just over-cautious and not willing to take any amount of risk.

I have several friends/family members who struggle with anxiety and COVID has been overwhelming for them. One of them (fully vaccinated) said they know the chance of infection after vaccination is less than 0.1%, but it's not a risk they're willing to take. I know their viewpoint isn't rational, but I empathize with it much more than the virtue signalers.

Or they just look at the risk-to-effort ratio. We're talking about wearing a mask here not some tough commitment. I'd wear a mask for 0.1%. I also look both ways before crossing a one way street. I'm not going to force someone else to do it, but I'll take 0.1% for free.

Maybe you don’t see the social and communication value of seeing someone’s face, I do.

Maybe you don’t live somewhere where the temperature is 30 degree Celsius plus often, at which point wearing a mask is a very different UX to colder weather.

My summer was 40C. It's ok if you find it uncomfortable. Not everyone does.

From communication point of view, I do care and want to normalise wearing masks whenever you want. I'm totally using one when I need to go shopping and not feeling great.

Masks are not created equally. proper N95s are an order of magnitude more effective than cloth at protecting yourself.

Putting on a cloth mask outdoors is like wearing a helmet while driving on the highway.

What percent has society gotten worse from the lost trust due to less communication information from masks?

What percent have mental health issues increased due to less oxytocin from less hugs?

What percent has society gotten worse from people being suspicious of others that perhaps they are infected?

That 0.1% you speak of might have much bigger indirect costs, that you aren’t considering, but others might.

Part of the question is just how effective are masks? Is wearing a mask while vaccinated better than not wearing one? As for me, being hard of hearing, I hope people will stop wearing masks sooner than later

This is also assuming masks actually prevent spread - data on that isn't clear.

To me, putting on a mask is like putting on your seat belt. Maybe it protects you from a low probability event, maybe not, but it's close to zero effort, zero cost, so why not?

I agree, but as an indirect consequence it’s allowed highly paranoid people to be able to blame and outrage vent at others. Which isn’t exactly healthy.

If you see it up close and personal the devastation that COVID can bring , you would probably also be over-cautions too.

It's also just a damn mask. Not like they are waking you up at night or kicking you in the shin.

It's not virtue signaling, just poor risk assessment.

Why 'poor'? Have you factored in everything going on that person's life? Do you know if they have a friend or relative who might be at higher risk? What if they have a young kid and they don't want to risk it? What if they just consider wearing a mask a mild inconvenience when compared to - say - the risk of being intubated?

I honestly can't understand this whole obsession with shaming people for wearing masks. Who gives two shits if someone else is wearing a mask? How does it affect you?

Why would I mind if people wore masks outside? They don't bother anyone.

Then you shouldn't use qualifiers such as 'poor' to describe their risk assessment. Don't give the idiots pushing anti-masking rhetoric in this forum more wind than they deserve by propagating their memes.

Nah, trust me, by treating it as a religious war you are a far bigger problem. Their identities as anti maskers are built in large part in opposition to people like you.

It's a little like how Republicans have a tendency to define themselves as in opposition to Democrats.

It makes it harder for me to communicate. If you want to wear a mask, that is fine, it is your perogative. But people should be aware of the risks, and I don't think most people do. Many people wear masks because they were told too, despite the fact that the people who said that know that masks aren't necessarily effective.

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