On the subject of masks. If it didn’t stick after the Spanish flu, what makes you think it is different this time?
Nothing better than being forced to go in person to a doctor to pick up a sick note for your employer (for a minor health issue like headache or whatever) and get sick while waiting in an unventilated room full of sick people coughing and sneezing.
Can you elaborate on this?
In the case of masks - some will wear a mask for no scientific reason, just that they can become a victim. "Sorry I can't attend that event because it's not mask friendly." "Sorry do you think you could wear a mask when we're in a meeting together?" "Sorry I don't go to happy hours b/c of my mask" etc.
It's going to be a whole subculture. There will be blogs, lifestyle magazines, you name it. "How to live your best life when others aren't masking up" - "top 10 skin friendly masks to wear" whatever.
-edit-
And just to make it clear I always wear a mask and follow state and CDC guidelines. I don't care about wearing one. Whatever the gov't says is what I'm going to follow. These are just personal observations.
I can't see that being any more than a small minority. I don't mind wearing one but it is an inconvenience.
People who are currently ill with some respiratory illness and don't want to share it.
And finally I was reading an article about a few people with various negative facial features that they wished to cover (a mole, a neurological condition that caused unwanted lip movements, a facial scar, etc.) have really appreciated the cover of wearing a mask.
> People who are currently ill with some respiratory illness and don't want to share it.
These are both new to western society. I do think it was always a bit weird we weren't wearing masks when sick before last year, but maybe it was a good thing? Idk.
The immuno-compromised thing is bizarre. Like where were masks before 2020 for those individuals? There are varying degrees of this, and I'm sure a tiny amount of people who were at high enough risk were wearing one, but the vast, vast majority weren't.
> And finally I was reading an article about a few people with various negative facial features that they wished to cover (a mole, a neurological condition that caused unwanted lip movements, a facial scar, etc.) have really appreciated the cover of wearing a mask.
Yea I can see that, though I would suggest it's likely to be an bad idea psychologically. The "reveal" aspect of the deformity or unpleasantness will be extremely traumatic for the revealer versus normalizing and acceptance.
Personally, I hope our knowledge and scientific understanding improves with regard to the effectiveness of mask wearing in a non-medical environment to mitigate either spreading or being infected by pathogens.
I agree that people now feel they have permission, which is good because people who actually need to wear a mask should be able to wear one without being looked at strangely. But the vast majority of people who will continue to wear masks won’t fall in this category. Even after the Democratic administration (who I voted for) and CDC relaxed mask mandates people still wear them for no good reason. (They’re not sick, have no scientific reason for them, etc.)
As a young male of 20, I was a fan of heavy metal and used to have long hair. Because I was “different”, I used to have inner-city kids shout verbal abuse and throw stones at me (in daylight, walking home from college), have adult males try to start fights in pubs or on the streets and once had a random thug spit in my face as I cycled past while in a bad part of town. Even other friends who were taller and more physically imposing had to deal with similar crap if they were on their own. There are always going to be malicious people who will pick on anyone who’s different in some way. They’ll probably pick on anyone they think isn’t a threat but the less “different” you are, the better your chances are of avoiding unpleasantries.
Urban areas with mass transit? Maybe. I think wearing a mask on the Red Line during cold and flu season would be smart.
We also have social media now, where people can completely inhabit their own worlds of "truth". I think the parent comment is onto something. Some people really are true believers now.
At this point I doubt they will be dissuaded, as long as there is a Trump-electorate sized rump (~30%) who continue masking. If that dwindles to, say, 10% or 15%, then I could imagine them feeling enough shame to come down off the ledge.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.18.21257385v...
"Randomized control trials have not clearly demonstrated mask efficacy against respiratory viruses, and observational studies conflict on whether mask use predicts lower infection rates. We hypothesized that statewide mask mandates and mask use are associated with lower COVID-19 case growth rates in the United States..."
"Conclusion: mask mandates and use are not associated with slower state-level COVID-19 spread during COVID-19 growth surges. Containment requires future research and implementation of existing efficacious strategies"
A big issue is all the stupidity around "you don't need to wear masks in restaurants".
We're talking about the science, not the public perception of the science, right?
Now, if you are arguing that masks aren't effective because people won't actually wear them, then I agree that "wear masks" as a policy needs a lot of work. I'm saying if people actually wore masks when appropriate, then they are effective.
If you want to actually filter the air that you inhale and exhale I recommend an N95.
I think you'll be a little disappointed at the level of "acceptance" of mask wearing & efficacy going forward.