Gun-control activist David Hogg says he will keep wearing a mask, despite being fully vaccinated, in order to prevent people from mistakenly assuming he is a conservative.
It's easy to make fun of statements like this, and I feel that temptation myself! However, people often engage in symbolic acts in order to signal political or religious allegiance. Consider, e.g., the Trumpists who wear MAGA hats to signal loyalty to their Great Leader. No one thinks wearing them is actually necessary for health reasons!
So instead of mockery, I offer constructive suggestions to those vaccinated people who would like to drop their masks, but are afraid of being mistaken for conservatives or Republicans:
Wear a Black Lives Matter pin, instead. It's an even better signal than a mask! A good many conservatives still wear masks. But far fewer would ever wear a BLM pin.
A Biden pin or Democratic Party pin will also work, though probably won't look as cool.
If you want to go really hard-core, wear an Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders pin from the 2020 campaign (both are still available at various websites, often at a discount!). Warren and Sanders are even less popular in right-wing circles than BLM and Biden.
The theory of costly signalling! | Ecency
Goodell to risk looking like the ass he is. arbitration ·
