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Masks: The Ultimate Protection?
After the left-turn light has been red for at least four seconds, a driver turns heedlessly in front of oncoming traffic.
A group of youths zoom at top speed on scooters down a busy downtown street, oblivious to both motorists and pedestrians.
As darkness descends, a woman clad in black from head to toe walks down the street in her version of the invisible pedestrian.
What do all of the above have in common beside a certain disregard for their own and/or others’ safety? They were all observed wearing masks. Note that several were outdoors, while one was in his own vehicle—by himself. How vulnerable to the virus were they under these circumstances? Anecdotal to be sure, but I observed all these instances inside the space of a week and cannot help wondering if the mask hasn’t become (for some, at least) an amulet against any and all dangers. Any thoughts?
Published in General
The mask has certainly become, for many, a totem which signals to all their righteousness and virtue, and which renders their political and social views immune from criticism by, or rational discussion with, others who don’t think as they do. I suppose it’s not a very big step from that to believing that it might render one physically inviolate, as well. So, yes.
I think for a lot of people, it has become a habit. For others, it’s a way of feeling dressed–covering a part of their body with clothes. For others, it’s a security blanket against the virus. I know a couple of older people who believe it protects them as well as people around them.
I think in some ways this has become a psychological problem as well as a political problem. I am concerned about the kids particularly. It is having an odd effect on them–I say that after spending some time in Vermont last spring and fall with my grandson and his friends.
I keep thinking of that old story my sister-in-law used to tell me. A mother is sitting at a kitchen table watching her daughter cut off the end of a ham before she puts it into the pan to bake it. The mother asks, “Why are you doing that?” The daughter replies, “Because you always did.” The mother laughs and says, “I did that to fit it into the pan!”
Long after the politics of mask wearing have come and gone, there will still be victims of this farce who have believed something they were told about it along the way. I can’t help thinking that there’s a similarity with some of the crazy stories I’ve heard about some of the minor holidays and heroes.
While my general inclination is not to care what other people wear, the events you describe present a visual signal that continues to influence “err on the side of caution” policies such that low risk retail and service workers will be required to wear masks for an even longer duration. In that respect this silly behavior is not harmless.
And in many other ways it is not harmless: damage to education due to distance learning coupled with diminished respect for all rules as the kids notice both the absurdity of masking and those around them wearing masks inappropriately or not at all; irrational extensions of masking and other requirements in response to a pandemic which is playing out due to natural occurrences like mutations that diminish virulence and herd immunity as people have both shots and natural immunity then ‘experts’ deny reality; businesses and jobs destroyed due to overreaction to a virus deadly to those vulnerable due to multiple comrbidities instead of a more measured response protecting the truly vulnerable while keeping everything functioning and the attendant damages such as inflation and supply problems resulting from it. I could go on…
Time to call a halt to the madness, restore sanity, get back to work, return to prosperity, the election is over guys.
Great point. I would add another facet. The mask is similar to the 2 year old’s teddy bear or Linus’ blanket. According to the NYU Psychoanalytical Institute (for whatever it is worth today), “the transitional object may be conceived of in three ways: as typifying a phase in a child’s development; as a defense against separation anxiety; and, lastly, as a neutral sphere in which experience is not challenged.”
The mask allows perceived comfort by disconnecting from reality. Hyper-vigilant mask wearing suggests, among other psychoses (hysteria, hypochondria, et. al.), extended infantilism so prevalent in the last couple generations.
Awesome when you are 2; not so much when you are 22+.
The last two examples … the scooter kids and the invisible pedestrian have been ubiquitous for as long as I can remember.
Driving, however, is markedly worse in the pandemic. Did people forget how to drive during the lockdowns?
Rumor has it that there is going to be a re-boot of the Peanuts cartoon with the characters being re-written and cast from only “oppressed” people groups and Lionel (Linus) wearing a mask instead of carrying his security blanket and sucking his thumb.
Relax, this is just a joke and no rumors as above exist as far as I know.
Which is why I call them “Face Binkys”…
I like it! Our family uses ‘woobie’
This is interesting.
JY has a bear of a commute. After a few months of an easy drive during the shut down, his drive to and from work is worse than it’s ever been.
He noted recently that people are becoming worse and worse to share the road with – cutting lanes, not waiting their turn at a four way stop, pushing the limit on making a left and beyond-normal speeding
He didn’t mention mask wearing in the conversation, but has mentioned previously how many people he sees wearing a mask while alone in their car
Yes.
Would like to like your comment if it wasn’t so horrifyingly realistic as well as probable, especially now that it has been ‘suggested’.
I can only hope that is just virtue signalling; if they seriously think it does anything for them we are further down the slide than even I thought.
I mentioned to my son the recent article in the Atlantic that caused the left to lose it: the author, clearly a Democrat, said emphatically with oodles of proof to back it up, “I have news for you, my leftie friends. The pandemic is over. No one is listening anymore.” The left misread it and attacked him for minimizing the pandemic, which was not his point at all. He was simply giving a man-on-the-street opinion of his fellow countrymen’s behaviors and opinions. I agreed with the Atlantic author–with the exception of people I can tell are somewhat chronically anxious and neurotic anyway, I’m not seeing the fear of The Virus that I saw a while ago.
My son said, “In some ways that’s great. But in other ways, it’s pretty scary because it means the government has no credibility anymore. There’s no respect for the government.”
It sounds like what’s happening on the highways that your husband is seeing is part of that phenomenon. Now there’s no shared ideal of any kind. It’s a vague kind of soft chaos.
I live in the far NW side of Chicago and the near NW suburbs (OHare) area and we have mask mandates in all public places, so I’ll wear the mask even though I’ve had the virus and had the double Pfizer vaccine, but I do it to keep the peace . I’m not that adamantly opposed to the mask mandates to cause a scene, just please don’t start shutting down businesses again you Leftist numbskulls.
I only wish masks were as magically effective as the mask proponents imagined, and oddly enough I sincerely feel sorry for those who believe in the magic of the mask to such a degree that they truly believe they are in some super hero dome of invincibility when donning a mask ….. guess what people, you can still contract the virus with or without a mask.
Yes – you described well what he described to me
JY is a pretty upbeat guy – doesn’t get stuck in the weeds much. But he recently made a comment to friends, that all institutions have proven themselves as corrupt and untrustworthy, and he worried about the effect that would have on the general populace
His friends were appalled at his cynicism … but were unable to come up with an example to prove him wrong
Masks are merely visible indicators of the kind of person you’re dealing with.
Twice I have seen young men on bicycles, outdoors and alone, wearing a mask.
But no helmet.
Both times I was driving near the Johns Hopkins campus. I figure they were future doctors.
Add:
BLM sign; rainbow flag; Justice Lives Here; Hate Has No Home; Science Is Real…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt9q-WChfeM
In my home city, there has been a noticeable uptick in reckless driving. Some even use major thoroughfares for late-night (but still dangerous) drag racing.
It’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to return to the office. Too many crazies on the road. And it seems to be a low priority for law enforcement.
Yep. Seen that one too. Even better, no helmet and the cyclist is looking at his cell phone the whole time.
I often see masked people behaving stupidly and wondered the same. Whenever I see one of these idiots, I want to yell, “Take off the damn mask and look where you’re going” but, alas, I never do.
I hope they keep wearing their masks so it’ll be easy to identify them. Porcupines have spines, skunks smell bad, idiots wear masks.
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
Is there a way to nominate this for that silly “comment of the week” thing that they do.
After years of anti-Trump, it is no surprise the government has little credibility.
The mask business is providing us insights into how many folks are mindless followers. It tells us how much work we have to do if there is any chance of saving the republic.