Long-Term Effects of Chronic Fear

 

Increasingly, I’ve been alarmed at the number of people in my own circle who wear their symbols of fear: the mask. They are all smart women, rational under most life circumstances, but refuse to let go of wearing their masks. It is like a comfort blanket, even an amulet, that will protect them from the evil forces of COVID. No matter how much information they receive on the minimal protection that masks provide, they persist. My biggest concern is that these people are living in a hyper condition of fear, and they don’t even recognize it. It’s also interesting that they will sacrifice wearing their masks in certain circumstances. I wanted to explore whether prolonging the donning of masks, which could be practiced for the foreseeable future, might have a permanent negative effect on their well-being. The news does not suggest a bright future.

I’d like to talk about the reasons of some of these folks for wearing their masks and where they wear them: any place of business, whether required or not; shopping early in the day at grocery stores to avoid crowds; doctors’ offices, where masks are standard requirements, even here in Florida; churches for some, including the avoiding of contact with other people; and any other public business where other people might congregate. The alienation they must experience appears to be secondary to protecting themselves. Missed smiles and muffled speaking can be forgiven for the greater good.

All of them are willing to admit that they are afraid, so they must act “responsibly.” Even though they have all been jabbed three times, and if they catch the latest variant, omicron, they will likely have a mild case. Even though they have heard that it will be similar to the flu and that it will be endemic, they wear the mask. Even though some of them know the government “experts” have been discredited, they persist.

The exceptions that two of them have made is flying on planes, which actually do have pretty good air circulation. “But what if someone sitting right next to you is sick?” I didn’t ask. They have chosen to fly because there were people they wanted/needed to see, and that made the trips worth the risk.

With masks.

So why do I care?

Part of my concern has to do with the long-term effects of chronic fear:

  • Immune system dysfunction.

  • Endocrine system dysfunction.

  • Autonomic nervous system alterations.

  • Sleep/wake cycle disruption.

  • Eating disorders.

  • Alterations in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis.

People don’t realize that living in a protracted state of fear causes extended stress:

  • Anxiety.

  • Depression.

  • Digestive problems.

  • Headaches.

  • Muscle tension and pain.

  • Heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, and stroke.

  • Sleep problems.

  • Weight gain.

  • Memory and concentration impairment.

Social distancing, which often occurs as part of the intention to avoid infection, can also have negative consequences:

I was surprised by the stressful impact of social distancing on people’s psychological well-being. We belong to a social species of primates with a strong need for physical contact. The new technologies (e.g., video chat software, social media groups) helped reduce the stress of the lockdown but they are not ‘the real thing.’ As a clinical psychiatrist, I saw people reporting depressive and anxiety symptoms caused by the lack of physical contact with relatives and friends, even if other forms of social interactions were still possible.

What most alarms me is that living in fear will seem normal. The stress, the chemical reactions in their bodies, will be familiar, and if a time were to come when they could consider abandoning masks and isolation, they may very well be reluctant. People will have forgotten what it feels like to live without fear, and the emotions, physical responses, and decisions they choose to live safely will be governed by fear. Trying to return to a “normal life” (pre-COVID) may seem too difficult to do.

I understand that these people can make their own decisions about how to live their lives. It’s really not my business, so it’s up to me to deal with my own frustration about their choices. But I feel pretty certain that we can only speculate about the long-term effects on people.

  • Some people may associate living a safe life not just with mask wearing but with isolating themselves. All of us, no matter how introverted we are, are social creatures. If they choose to live their lives separated from the rest of society, I can’t help but wonder about what the results might be.
  • Instead of experiencing the joy of being with friends or loved ones, those times might seem uncomfortable with enough periods of isolation. That outcome doesn’t just mean that they are deprived of those spirit-lifting occasions, but so will be others in their lives.
  • They will turn more and more often to technology to entertain themselves, to have thoughtful conversations, to “be together.” Human physical contact will be rare and, when pursued, unexpected and uncomfortable.

So here are my questions for you:

Do you agree with my concerns?

Do you see long-term consequences for society?

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  1. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    I’m stealing this link  from @seawriter, where he posted it on the @malka-davis post–

     

    • #1
  2. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    And read this

    • #2
  3. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Seawriter (View Comment):

    And read this.

    Now this looks fascinating! Already downloaded!

    • #3
  4. Henry Racette Member
    Henry Racette
    @HenryRacette

    Susan, great post. I think your concern is entirely justified, and it’s one I share.

    I have believed for many years that our obsession with safety is misplaced. I don’t want to return to the days before safety glass and seat belts, but the if-it-saves-even-one-life mentality is irrational, enervating, and ultimately — as I think we see in the case of our coronavirus response — literally destructive of life.

    I think a lot of this springs from our cultural emasculation: an excess of caution is a feminine trait — and not necessarily a bad one in its place. But it’s no way for a bold and ambitious country to go about its business.

    • #4
  5. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    I totally agree.  Very early in 2020, I did a post on my personal blog about the “war of all against all”, and how I refuse to be a participant.  People in our area are the worst for total compliance and cowering in fear.  They welcome tyranny, and demand mask and vaccine mandates; they willingly become little Stasi agents, turning in their neighbors, and complaining to the State about business “violators” of the mandates.  And they mask and vaccinate their little children, which I view as child abuse.

    I can’t influence anyone else’s behavior or feeling, I can just state mine for the record, and behave like a free person, and not like a slave to the Health Nazis.

    I do see long-term consequences for society, and not just American society.  It’s worse in Europe, Australia, and Canada.  But their people are taking to the streets in protest, while ours mostly aren’t.

    Police use attack dogs as thousands protest against Dutch Covid-19 lockdowns.

    What are we coming to?

    • #5
  6. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Henry Racette (View Comment):
    I think a lot of this springs from our cultural emasculation: an excess of caution is a feminine trait — and not necessarily a bad one in its place. But it’s no way for a bold and ambitious country to go about its business.

    If we don’t wake up, we will cripple ourselves. Thanks, Hank.

    • #6
  7. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    RushBabe49 (View Comment):
    I can’t influence anyone else’s behavior or feeling, I can just state mine for the record, and behave like a free person, and not like a slave to the Health Nazis.

    And for those of us who care, we should feel compelled to demonstrate our personal freedom! Thanks, RB49!

    • #7
  8. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    RushBabe49 (View Comment):

    I totally agree. Very early in 2020, I did a post on my personal blog about the “war of all against all”, and how I refuse to be a participant. People in our area are the worst for total compliance and cowering in fear. They welcome tyranny, and demand mask and vaccine mandates; they willingly become little Stasi agents, turning in their neighbors, and complaining to the State about business “violators” of the mandates. And they mask and vaccinate their little children, which I view as child abuse.

    I can’t influence anyone else’s behavior or feeling, I can just state mine for the record, and behave like a free person, and not like a slave to the Health Nazis.

    I do see long-term consequences for society, and not just American society. It’s worse in Europe, Australia, and Canada. But their people are taking to the streets in protest, while ours mostly aren’t.

    Police use attack dogs as thousands protest against Dutch Covid-19 lockdowns.

    What are we coming to?

    The Illinois Holocaust Museum in Chicago has decided to insist on Covid passports from people who wish to enter.

    You gettin’ this? They are going to want to see your papers. At the entrance to the Holocaust Museum. I do so hope that the attendants at the door are appropriately dressed in Wehrmacht gray.

     

    • #8
  9. David B. Sable Inactive
    David B. Sable
    @DavidSable

    Just curious, Susan.  Did these women you talk about say (or somehow indicate) that the reason they wear masks is because they are afraid?  There can be different motivations for different people and no doubt some people I know do express a significant concern about getting the virus and the authorities in their lives (for example, they go to a progressive church) do see masks as the solution. 

    I wear a mask as work policy fluctuates or depending upon whether I am in a business in town (on) or in the county (mostly off unless I see a lot of people wearing them).  I wear a mask like I wear a yarmulke.  I wouldn’t wear one to church but if I was visiting a synagogue or Passover supper, I would.

    • #9
  10. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    The unspoken assumption behind all of the public restrictions, like masks, social-distancing, capacity restrictions, etc., is that everyone is assumed to be infected.  To the “health Nazis”, it’s always better to assume the worst, “better safe than sorry”, even though it is manifestly obvious that none of the restrictions on human behavior has made one bit of difference in slowing or stopping the spread of the virus.  They cannot admit that none of their recommendations works, because their power now is nearly absolute, and they will not give it up.

    • #10
  11. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    David B. Sable (View Comment):
    Just curious, Susan.  Did these women you talk about say (or somehow indicate) that the reason they wear masks is because they are afraid?  There can be different motivations for different people and no doubt some people I know do express a significant concern about getting the virus and the authorities in their lives (for example, they go to a progressive church) do see masks as the solution. 

    I asked one and she did say she was afraid of the virus. If you’re concerned about catching the virus, isn’t that about being afraid? They all wear them in places where they are not required.

    • #11
  12. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Also, if you wear a mask just to fit in, that’s about a fear of rejection. 

    • #12
  13. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Also, if you wear a mask just to fit in, that’s about a fear of rejection.

    It’s worse than that. Wearing a mask that covers the mouth and nose carries health risks. OSHA training essentially says, don’t wear a mask unless the risk posed by wearing a mask is greater than the risk posed by  nor wearing the mask,  and only wear it during those times. I know my blood had abnormally high levels of CO2 when I was forced to wear a mask to “protect me from Covid.” Additionally you produce carbolic acid rebreathing exhaled CO2 contained by a mask and will eventually rot your lungs with the acid. (It takes a long time, so don’t panic over it if you have a mask on painting or in a high-dust environment. But regularly wearing one hours a day for several years – yeah. You are going to make yourself sick.

    I see no functional difference between wearing a mask to calm someone else’s fears and letting them blow smoke on me or sneeze on me because that makes them feel better. Either way they are harming me. It’s rude at the minimum, and I don’t see why being polite means tolerating rude behavior. 

    • #13
  14. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Seawriter (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Also, if you wear a mask just to fit in, that’s about a fear of rejection.

    It’s worse than that. Wearing a mask that covers the mouth and nose carries health risks. OSHA training essentially says, don’t wear a mask unless the risk posed by wearing a mask is greater than the risk posed by nor wearing the mask, and only wear it during those times. I know my blood had abnormally high levels of CO2 when I was forced to wear a mask to “protect me from Covid.” Additionally you produce carbolic acid rebreathing exhaled CO2 contained by a mask and will eventually rot your lungs with the acid. (It takes a long time, so don’t panic over it if you have a mask on painting or in a high-dust environment. But regularly wearing one hours a day for several years – yeah. You are going to make yourself sick.

    I see no functional difference between wearing a mask to calm someone else’s fears and letting them blow smoke on me or sneeze on me because that makes them feel better. Either way they are harming me. It’s rude at the minimum, and I don’t see why being polite means tolerating rude behavior.

    The practical effect of me wearing a mask is that my nose starts to run. If I don’t periodically blow my nose, I’ll start to cough. Coughing inexplicably puts people on edge of late.

    • #14
  15. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    Susan Quinn:

    Do you agree with my concerns?

    Yes.

    And, so far, we’re probably just scratching the surface.

    • #15
  16. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    I absolutely agree with your concerns and I think something has got to change quickly before a generation of children is harmed. 

    • #16
  17. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Rodin (View Comment):

    I absolutely agree with your concerns and I think something has got to change quickly before a generation of children is harmed.

    I wrote about adults, and I know kids are resilient, but I worry about them most of all. Thanks, Rodin.

    • #17
  18. Jim George Member
    Jim George
    @JimGeorge

    @susanquinn, thank you for this post, which has sent me back to the pages of the invaluable book by Dr. Scott Atlas, “A Plague Upon Our House”, some, if not many, aspects of which I hope to analyze in much more detail tomorrow as he has much to offer directly on the subject of your post. For those who have benefited from his very important work, I refer to Chapter 20, and in particular the section entitled “The Painful Truth About Masks”, starting at p. 282. 

    Pending that precis, I would like to offer the following brief comments. I believe I have touched upon these areas before and to those who may have already been exposed to my concerns in this regard, I apologize for the repetition. 

    Like you, a fellow Floridian, I and/or My Lady, make frequent trips to Publix and other stores in our area. It has become almost a matter of contention between us that I have an urge to go up and talk  to some of the people I see wearing a mask– when there is no longer any earthly reason to do so, and in a State when it has not been required since September 25, 2020 — and ask them “Why in the name of good, common sense, are you doing this to yourself?” As has been the case throughout the last almost 50 years, her good, sound, common sense has prevailed, possibly one of the major reasons I am still around, but that’s for another day, and I have refrained from doing so. However, this is the main emotion/feeling I experience when I see very elderly citizens, and for that description, I qualify very possibly more legitimately than anyone here on Ricochet, wearing their masks religiously, stolidly, routinely, obediently: I feel so sad. I feel such pain for them that they have to be herded around like The Silence of the Lambs. I want so badly to tell them I have books, articles, journals, magnificent writings like The Great Barrington Declaration, and so many more, that I would urge them to read instead of sitting down every single night, without fail, and watching the Prophets of Doom and Fear on CNN, MSNBC, and all the major networks, and listening to proven frauds like “Dr.” Fauci, who has not seen a patient in 40 years, and after they learn the real data: TAKE THE DAMN MASK OFF! Please, for your own good. 

    I hope to offer a few words on the opinions of one truly entitled to a hearing, Dr. Scott Atlas, soon. 

    à bientôt, Jim

    • #18
  19. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Jim George (View Comment):
    . I want so badly to tell them I have books, articles, journals, magnificent writings like The Great Barrington Declaration, and so many more, that I would urge them to read instead of sitting down every single night, without fail, and watching the Prophets of Doom and Fear on CNN, MSNBC, and all the major networks, and listening to proven frauds like “Dr.” Fauci, who has not seen a patient in 40 years, and after they learn the real data: TAKE THE DAMN MASK OFF! Please, for your own good. 

    When I said to one of these women that experts contradict her understanding, she said, you have your experts, I have mine. Another friend said she knew they were all frauds. And yet . . . 

    I so appreciate your frustration, but your wife is right. We have little influence on those people who choose to shackle themselves in the lies and their own fear. Thanks for weighing in, Jim.

    • #19
  20. 9thDistrictNeighbor Member
    9thDistrictNeighbor
    @9thDistrictNeighbor

    Percival (View Comment):

    The Illinois Holocaust Museum in Chicago has decided to insist on Covid passports from people who wish to enter.

    You gettin’ this? They are going to want to see your papers. At the entrance to the Holocaust Museum. I do so hope that the attendants at the door are appropriately dressed in Wehrmacht gray.

    The museum is not far from me.  I thought about taking my mother-in-law’s ID card from 1942…a picture of a teenage girl on one side and all sorts of stamps and writing in Hungarian and German on the other.  Maybe that would work.  Or maybe just sew a yellow felt patch on the coat….

    Oh yeah, and the Holocaust Museum is in Skokie.  No irony there.

    • #20
  21. Vince Guerra Inactive
    Vince Guerra
    @VinceGuerra

    Yes, I agree.

    It all boils down to fear. Those who aren’t afraid of Covid may wear the mask because they’re afraid of the confrontation that might arise if they refuse, or maybe they’re afraid of losing their job, or being a bad example, or embarrassing their companions, or appearing insensitive. 

    Fear will cripple three generations if we don’t stand up and remind them how to be brave.  

    • #21
  22. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    Susan, you have laid out a well constructed backgrund for the major riddle of our day: why are people allowing themselves to be shackled into slavery?

    When the mask mandate hit Calif  the last part of June 2020, my dog went into shock. She expected people to have their faces showing and instead the faces were hidden.

    Plus people, who had simply adored her just 24 hours prior, shunned her. She quickly went from being an adorable lovable being to being considered a bag of bones and  germs.

    Although society is somewhat normalizing, I see a big difference in her. She has missed out on more than 16 months of social interactions with people. I am considering retiring her as a service dog as she is now  too skittish. It’s not a decision I take lightly, but her demeanor is unsettled.  

    If she, a mere dog,  has been so deeply affected, what does this indicate about little toddlers and small children? At the point in their lives where they are naturally predisposed to becoming part of society, by learning about facial expressions, that sensory feedback has been denied to them.

    Plus I don’t think anyone of us  has been unaffected on an emotional level except very well off narcissists. It’s been annoying dealing with them as they are continually  congratulating themselves on how devoted they are about masking up and socially distancing. (Meanwhile they are still being sent their paychecks without having to work, except for a few hours a  week on line. With free time on their hands, they arrange trips to Belize or other wonderful places where COV restrictions remain unheard of.).

    We have crippled parts of emotional selves, our psychic selves and for what?

    Swedish officials decided early on that “if everyone else in the world wishes to jump off the cliff, we do not need our society to join them.” Statistics from Sweden and from Florida show us that the relaxed standards they held to paid off financially, emotionally, and in terms of child development and education. Suicides that occurred in their societies had little to do with COVID. And so far, no official in either locale has tearfully had to explain that suicides out numbered deaths by COVID by a factor of three to one, as Kirk Uhler explained in Placer County, Calif. (It is also of interest to me that Sweden is chilly and damp while Florida is warm and humid. Very different weather, yet the relaxed approach worked equally well.)

     

     

    • #22
  23. I Walton Member
    I Walton
    @IWalton

    Good post.  Agree.  The only questions are how much do the folks being pushed by and pushing this movement understand where it’s heading, why its being pushed, who is pushing them and what happens if it continues.  The only thing that is across the board among the pushers is that the aim is to win the next two elections one way or the other.  

    • #23
  24. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    I Walton (View Comment):

    Good post. Agree. The only questions are how much do the folks being pushed by and pushing this movement understand where it’s heading, why its being pushed, who is pushing them and what happens if it continues. The only thing that is across the board among the pushers is that the aim is to win the next two elections one way or the other.

    I think most people are clueless about the insidious nature of this effort.

    • #24
  25. Chet Ross Member
    Chet Ross
    @ChetRoss

    I very much agree. If it were not so sad it would be laughable. I believe the initial mask wearing push was a physical manifestation of political correctness, because this always constitutes a large and lasting following. One additional bi-product to long-term mask wearing and isolation might be the consequences resulting from overly isolating the body from other bacteria and not allowing it to build immunities. I believe the fearful mask wearers are less resistant and more vulnerable to other forms of sickness. The only people who should be wearing a mask are those who are sick, so the mask wearing will help protect others from contracting their illness.

    • #25
  26. David B. Sable Inactive
    David B. Sable
    @DavidSable

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Also, if you wear a mask just to fit in, that’s about a fear of rejection.

    Perhaps.  Or it can be discerning that not everything has to be a fight.  Save your energy for things that matter to you.

    • #26
  27. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    David B. Sable (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Also, if you wear a mask just to fit in, that’s about a fear of rejection.

    Perhaps. Or it can be discerning that not everything has to be a fight. Save your energy for things that matter to you.

    Good point. Like, “Do I want to die on that hill?” I guess the people I know aren’t wearing masks to avoid a fight. They’re doing it for their own sense of wellbeing. Not only that, people have the option of not patronizing places if they have to wear a mask needlessly (in their opinion). There are very few of us who anticipate a fight.

    Just this morning I had to go to a little post office annex run by a married couple. They still require masks; I don’t know if the post office mandates that requirement. But they are quick and convenient and friendly. So I wear a mask. For all of ten minutes.

    • #27
  28. Jim George Member
    Jim George
    @JimGeorge

    Susan Quinn:

    Do you agree with my concerns?

    Do you see long-term consequences for society?

    Yes to both for reasons cited in my comment of last night and, much more importantly, for the many, many scientifically sound reasons cited and discussed in great detail in Dr. Scott Atlas’ recent, and superb, book, “A Plague Upon Our House” , in which he discusses his four month tenure serving in the White House at the request of President Trump and his interactions with the “Covid Task Force.” In this comment I hope to summarize his findings, and those of the many studies, one of which he quotes as concluding: “Now that we have properly rigorous scientific research we can rely on, the evidence shows that wearing masks in the community does not significantly reduce the rates of infection.” (p. 295, quoting from two physicians at the University of Oxford’s Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine).

    Susan, here is a very brief sketch of some of the findings related by Dr. Atlas (pp. 285 and following):

    April 2020: New England Journal of Medicine, “wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection” and, directly relevant to the concerns raised in your post about your friends’ refusal to give up their masks- “In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.”

    June 2020: WHO — “no direct evidence .. on the effectiveness of universal masking of healthy people…”

    November 2020: Oxford– “results of randomized tests did not show a clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of ..masks during seasonal influenza.”

    November 2020: Denmark’s Danmask-19 study, referred to above and regarded as the most reliable of all studies cited by Dr. Atlas: “That study showed there was no statistically significant difference between those who wore masks and those who did not when it came to being infected by the SARS2 coronavirus-nothing different between masks and no masks.” (pp. 294-295) 

    May 2021: University of Louisville- ” … mask mandates and use are not associated with lower SARSCoV-2 spread among US states.”

    Susan Quinn: What most alarms me is that living in fear will seem normal.

    There is a passage in Dr. Atlas’ book which expresses your concern precisely. He states, at p. 296, “Perhaps the clearest indication of the deeply damaged psyche of many Americans is their refusal to accept that masks are not needed after vaccinations.”

    While not in any way suggesting there is anything in the slightest humorous about this entire sad episode in our history, one really must make note of the perhaps mischievous way he concludes his chapter on the uselessness of masks– by quoting “Dr.” Fauci in March 2020: “There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.”

    As I noted in an earlier comment, the word “fear” appears on almost every page of this book. We have the frauds, Drs. Birx and Fauci, to thank for that. 

    Sincerely, Jim

     

    • #28
  29. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Jim George (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn:

    Do you agree with my concerns?

    Do you see long-term consequences for society?

    Yes to both for reasons cited in my comment of last night and, much more importantly, for the many, many scientifically sound reasons cited and discussed in great detail in Dr. Scott Atlas’ recent, and superb, book, “A Plague Upon Our House” , in which he discusses his four month tenure serving in the White House at the request of President Trump and his interactions with the “Covid Task Force.” In this comment I hope to summarize his findings, and those of the many studies, one of which he quotes as concluding: “Now that we have properly rigorous scientific research we can rely on, the evidence shows that wearing masks in the community does not significantly reduce the rates of infection.” (p. 295, quoting from two physicians at the University of Oxford’s Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine).

    Susan, here is a very brief sketch of some of the findings related by Dr. Atlas (pp. 285 and following):

    April 2020: New England Journal of Medicine, “wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection” and, directly relevant to the concerns raised in your post about your friends’ refusal to give up their masks- “In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.”

    June 2020: WHO — “no direct evidence .. on the effectiveness of universal masking of healthy people…”

    November 2020: Oxford– “results of randomized tests did not show a clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of ..masks during seasonal influenza.”

    November 2020: Denmark’s Danmask-19 study, referred to above and regarded as the most reliable of all studies cited by Dr. Atlas: “That study showed there was no statistically significant difference between those who wore masks and those who did not when it came to being infected by the SARS2 coronavirus-nothing different between masks and no masks.” (pp. 294-295)

    May 2021: University of Louisville- ” … mask mandates and use are not associated with lower SARSCoV-2 spread among US states.”

    Susan Quinn: What most alarms me is that living in fear will seem normal.

    There is a passage in Dr. Atlas’ book which expresses your concern precisely. He states, at p. 296, “Perhaps the clearest indication of the deeply damaged psyche of many Americans is their refusal to accept that masks are not needed after vaccinations.”

    While not in any way suggesting there is anything in the slightest humorous about this entire sad episode in our history, one really must make note of the perhaps mischievous way he concludes his chapter on the uselessness of masks– by quoting “Dr.” Fauci in March 2020: “There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.”

    As I noted in an earlier comment, the word “fear” appears on almost every page of this book. We have the frauds, Drs. Birx and Fauci, to thank for that.

    Sincerely, Jim

     

    Jim, thanks so much for your excellent summary of some of Atlas’ key points!! Although I must admit that I get little satisfaction of his confirming my thoughts (since I’ve held him in high esteem from the start). 

    This particularly disturbed me:

    There is a passage in Dr. Atlas’ book which expresses your concern precisely. He states, at p. 296, “Perhaps the clearest indication of the deeply damaged psyche of many Americans is their refusal to accept that masks are not needed after vaccinations.”

    It’s tragic.

    • #29
  30. Vince Guerra Inactive
    Vince Guerra
    @VinceGuerra

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):
    They still require masks; I don’t know if the post office mandates that requirement. But they are quick and convenient and friendly. So I wear a mask. For all of ten minutes.

    With respect, Susan, wearing a mask for those ten minutes is perpetuating the problem and reinforcing their irrational fear. It’s the same at the coffee shop, at the grocery store, or at your workplace. Anytime we acquiesce to meaningless rituals – especially ones we believe are harmful, as you’re discovering – we’re tacitly condoning that ritual. Imagine the impact if every customer walked in smiling and maskless. That is a image of freedom we want to be reinforcing every chance we get. 

    Also, the Post Office annexes up here have never required masks, and a few regular post office employees up here don’t either. 

    • #30
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