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Quote of the Day: Just a Tool
“Masks are a tool, useful in the right application. They’ve become a political fetish object for reasons that have nothing to do with their utility.” – Prof. Glenn “Instapundit” Reynolds
I never expected to hear this much debate over masks outside of a superhero comic convention. Posts here bounce back and forth between people who wear masks and those who oppose them. Then you have people who are constantly watching for someone to not wear their mask. It’s no longer just a layer of absorbent material worn over the nose and mouth, it is a symbol of fighting against the pandemic — a literal virtue signal.
I think the word “fetish” is well-chosen. While commonly associated with people’s kinks – people deriving sexual interest from non-sexual objects like leather clothing, feet, diapers, uniforms, etc., the older meaning of fetish is related to magical talismans. In essence, medieval peasants looking to touch a saint’s toe, tribal people wearing bone charms, and the modern new-age person into crystals and dreamcatchers are all seeking objects of magical power. It’s not based on a testable proposition (experimental science like biochemistry) or inference to the best explanation (historical science like geology), it is based on belief and magical principles.
A mask is a tool. When used properly, it will reduce the number of viral particles crossing the mask filter material. Even the most virulent anti-mask person would expect their surgeon to wear a surgical mask. Thicker, more tightly woven fabric or fiber is better at stopping infectious material, but is harder to breathe through. An N95 respirator is even more effective when fit to the face. The gold standard for stopping particles is a P100 cartridge respirator, which is used for mold, lead, and asbestos remediation. Those are pricey and need to be fit to the face like a gas mask, while being rough to breathe through. I wear various masks in various circumstances and sometimes I do not wear a mask at all. When I wear the mask, I am not trying to express my devotion to the pandemic response or expecting it to be a Mask of Warding Coronavirus +3. When I don’t wear a mask, I am not trying to repel the Karen legions of Darth Gretchen or blaspheme against the false god of Progressivism. It is just a tool, useful when used properly in some circumstances and not in others.
This is something more general. Hydroxychloroquine has moved from a drug to some kind of totem of your view of Trump. Imagine if aspirin or penicillin was treated the same way, where taking a medication was not just to make you feel better, but a political statement. Guns are tools. It is just as silly to not carry a gun to show your moral superiority as it is to carry a gun to prove you are a real man or as a magical talisman to ward off criminals. When I decided to obtain a gun, I looked into what gun to carry and went with an experienced friend to practice. A gun has no morality. It is not magical. It is only a tool. The same applies to driving a Prius (nicknamed the Pious). The most conservative man I knew in grad school drove a Prius because he liked the gas mileage. It’s a tool to get around, not a sanctuary of worship for mother Earth.
Some things are meant to be symbols — like a cross or a flag. Their whole purpose is to convey a deeper meaning. For other items, we need to remind people that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Published in Group Writing
How about 120K death threshold-is that high enough? Or do you want more?
50,000 deaths from the “normal” flu were acceptable. I haven’t heard anyone say that because of those numbers we were foolish to not be wearing masks in the past. Again, what reason would there be for ever removing a mask?
As soon as police departments get tired of masks rendering CCTV and facial recognition software useless, masks will once again be prohibited.
DRINK!
There’s at least a chance that Covid-19 is simply going to weaken. Then there’s the fact that some people don’t have lifestyles that favor mask-wearing except perhaps in limited circumstances. And then there are likely tens of millions of people who have either not worn masks at all or done so only when required, and who have not contracted the virus.
Two of the three examples that I gave above indicate that many, many people already have removed their masks if they ever wore them–some entirely, some except in limited circumstances. I’ve been getting emails from some of our popular restaurants showing people dining at sidewalk cafes without masks. I see people jogging without masks. I see people walking their dogs and pumping gas without masks. Your “magic number” question does not need to be asked. It does not appear to serve any purpose based on what’s actually going on.
It serves a purpose b/c he asked for a reason-so I proposed a number-as in what # of deaths is enough to justify wearing a mask.
Actually, I’d have little-to-no issue with (politely) asking people who have the flu to wear a mask if they simply cannot stay at home.
Maybe because the flu isn’t like covid. There aren’t large numbers of asymptomatic people walking around spreading the flu. Some, but not like covid. Something like 40% of covid carriers never even get symptoms but can still infect others. Almost every unvaccinated person who gets the flu is going to get some degree of illness.
Another instance where I should have read all the previous comments before commenting.
Thank you!
There may be a point when you and and a critical mass of those around you deem it not worth the trouble. Seat-of-the-pants cost-benefit analysis.
Story of my Ricochet life.