Masked Egoism

I'm really getting tired of all those anti-maskers. You know the type; they go on and on about their rights and freedoms being taken away by the government and act like they're the last line of defense for those supposed freedoms. They go off on tantrums when they're politely asked to wear a mask when shopping. They'll claim the whole pandemic is based on government lies and repeat Trump's lie about the virus just being the same as the flew. These people are so damn egoistic...

I'm going to say something that might surprise you; I don't care if you think the virus or the pandemic are real or if you believe it's all a bunch of lies cooked up in a conspiracy to take away our freedoms and to amp up the surveillance state. That doesn't matter in the slightest when confronted with the choice to wear a mask or not. Here's something else that might surprise some of you: this whole mask-debate and how we behave towards each other during this pandemic is somewhat comparable with religion and how we behave towards each other in every day life. Let me explain...

I'm not a religious person at all. I do not believe in the God of the Bible, nor in any other deity. But I know that millions upon millions of people do believe in God, which is why I try to be considerate of their feelings; I don't go around saying to all those people that what they believe is a bunch of BS. I will not claim that you're a stupid person if you believe in God. Because you're probably not. Also it's in my own best interest to get along with those millions of people. And also they believe what they believe because the sum of their experiences has brought them to believe what they believe, just like I believe things for that very same reason. In short; even if I do not believe in God, I try to be considerate of those who do believe in God. This is just common decency. I do on occasion write posts arguing against organized religion, or about how the separation between church and state fails, but that's a whole other topic on another level. Ultimately we need to get along with each other in society, we're not hermits.

Same goes for wearing a mask; even if you do not believe one iota of what's claimed about covid-19, and even if you're 100 percent sure that you won't be affected by the virus, or even if you don't believe the virus exists at all, you know that millions upon millions of people don't agree with you. And I do not care one little bit if you believe those millions to be delusional. I also don't deny your right to to express your opinion about this whole ordeal; if you think it's a government conspiracy to take away your personal rights, which is true to some extent in my opinion, as I do believe the pandemic is used by our rulers for that exact purpose, by all means talk about it, write about it, protest against it. But if you do so in public, wear the damn mask! Your right to your personal freedom does not trump the right of those millions to feel or be safe! If for some reason you can't get access to a mask, you're excused of course. But don't act like you're fighting for the freedoms of others by refusing to wear a mask; you're not, you're just making a fool of yourself and showing just how much of an inconsiderate egoist you are.

In America, and other countries as well, this debate has been completely politicized and has become yet another front in the culture wars:

The wearing of masks has become a flashpoint of partisan disagreement, a new front in the culture wars. On one level, this seems puzzling. Why doesn’t everyone simply wear a mask for the sake of public health? For two reasons: First, many Americans consider mask mandates a violation of individual liberty. They don’t want the government to force them to wear a mask. Second, many Americans resent governing elites who claim to derive their authority from science. Here, the debate over masks is similar to the partisan disagreement on climate change. Many supporters of President Trump share his resentment of elites and experts. They don’t trust experts who tell them they should wear a mask to reduce the spread of the coronavirus any more than they trust experts who say they should pay a carbon tax to alleviate climate change. The resistance to wearing a mask is not about public health; it’s about politics.
_{source: The Harvard Gazette}

I advice you all to read the entire above linked article, as it has some interesting things to say about ethical obligations, something that doesn't exist in the minds of those who refuse to wear a mask. And when watching the below linked video full of anti-mask tantrums, keep in mind that there are only very few medical conditions that would prevent adults from wearing a face mask, like extreme facial deformities or an extremely sensitive skin. Even respiratory conditions are generally not an excuse to not wear a mask.

The bottom line: Neither Dr. Kaufman nor Dr. Keany has received any specific, official guidelines on who would be exempt from wearing a face mask—and that it's more important to worry about how to wear a face mask, rather than who may or may not have to. “I believe that most people need education on proper use rather than exemption from such a simple and effective device to keep them and others safe,” Dr. Keany says.

In Dr. Keany’s opinion, if your respiratory status is truly that tenuous that you’re not able to breathe through a cloth face covering, you should stay home and not expose yourself to any risk. “If you are truly that fragile, a COVID-19 infection could be a death sentence,” he says.
_{source: health.com}

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