Mask or No Mask: Fight Fear with Love

in #covid-194 years ago (edited)

‪My social feeds are full of people saying masks are just for sheeple signifying compliance to their rulers and also full of people sharing diagrams, studies, and statistics on how masks prevent droplets from spreading the virus.‬

‪I respect both groups, but I see these groups disrespecting each other.‬

‪Pro-maskers think the other group is uneducated, selfish, and irrational, and don’t understand why such a simple act which is clearly effective and works well when everyone participates is rebelled against.‬

‪Non-maskers think the other group is unthinkingly fearful of a statistical non-issue while ignoring the real issue of compliance training which can lead to subservience and at worst, democide.‬

‪I’m holding space for the idea that both may be right.‬

‪I do think there is an actual virus which appears new to humans, and it does seem to mess with the human body in really nasty ways much worse than the flu. It’s possible some forms of it are far worse than others. It’s also possible high dose vitamin C and such may keep people healthy while the scare over it was out of place due to lower spread and mortality rates than previously thought. And maybe it’s possible social distancing and mask wearing has decreased spread numbers, though I know others who contest that idea. I understand that lives are at stake here and people are suffering. Many are suffering economically. Some are suffering personally due to the virus or people they know directly impacted by it.‬

‪I see fear of being ruled and fear of getting sick (or getting someone else sick).‬

‪Let’s replace fear with love.‬

‪I can walk down the street without a mask and smile at those who have them, knowing they are taking the steps they feel are necessary to manage their fear. I can go into a store with a mask and see someone not wearing one and smile (though they won’t see my smile, of course), becuase that person is doing what they feel is right to manage their fear (even if they categorize it as non-fear). If either chooses to give social distance to the other, so be it.‬

‪Whenever we judge others for actions they choose for themselves we are often doing so out of fear. Yes, the actions of others can impact me, but so can “acts of god” (in the legal sense of the phrase). Attempting to control others (through shaming, manipulation, disrespect, etc) is, in my opinion, a tragic expression of an unmet need. Well, love is all you need.‬

‪You can virtue signal with your mask or you can virtue signal with your meme making fun of those wearing masks, but I still see it as two sides of the same coin creating tribal divisions along ideological lines. Yes this stuff is important and yes you are probably convinced you are right with nothing able to change your mind. Please at least consider those who disagree with you completely feel the same way and the best path forward may be to hold space for that in love.‬

Sort:  

I believe there is a lot of misinformation. My wife is a nurse and has been working in a hospital for 10 years. Then she made a shift in her career and became a salesperson for hospital equipment. She sells masks on top of many other products. If just every single one of those not wearing a mask had to spend 2 hours seeing how healthcare personnel has been dealing with COVID19 ill people every day and ended up getting ill themselves and some even dying, most of the people not wearing a mask would change their mind.

There is a risk wherever there are people together. Washing your hands often, wearing a mask whenever you are around unknown people (especially old ones which are the most vulnerable), and keeping some distance is the easiest way to prevent it.

Even if you do not believe in politicians and government policies (which I agree most of the time react very late and the worst way) anyone shout wear a mask in solidarity with healthcare professionals. At least until there is a vaccine to work against the pandemic.

image.png

imho, people wouldn't be so afraid of mask and social distancing laws if they had a sunset clause. The issue with this is we don't know when it's all going to be over. People get scared when they see these laws because they're passed as indefinite even though they're intended to be a temporary response to an emergency. The people opposing these laws are mostly people who supported Trump's use of emergency power.

I have been wearing a mask in crowded areas long before they were government mandated here in Ireland. Actually from the very first signs of the outbreak here. We don't seem to have the same Left-right divide that many countries seem to have on the issue. I ware it because of logic and science and not because of any signal of virtue or obedience to a side.
Dr. Fauchi already came out and said he was lying about their effectiveness to try and stop a run on them like toilet paper. I just wish people would do their own research into things and not just try and find a side to follow out of crowd think.
It can be hard to love the stupidity of some people.

Masks won't give complete protection, but in high risk situations they could reduce the risks a bit. Some of us may be more vulnerable to the virus than we realise or we could pass it on to others. Is it worth that risk to somehow feel superior to the 'sheeple'. I see a lot of name-calling amongst those who think they have some special knowledge of what might be going on. What if there is no great conspiracy? Of course some governments will exploit the crisis and we have to beware of creeping legislation, but I see more incompetence than malice. It's all people rather than some master race of lizards.

I'm not going to criticise anyone for wearing a mask, but those who deliberately endanger others should think again. They are exploiting the situation to make political points that may not help anyone apart from their own ego.

I think it should be a personal choice not government mandated, if you want to wear one go ahead, if not don't! I think we should all have that choice and bare the consequences of our decisions, I think we're making this out to be a polarising and political statement and I feel its pushing people into having to take a position and dig their heels in, I feel you should choose the right situation for you. I feel sad that we have to debate this and people are so passionate about it fighting one another, we should be focusing on helping one another as best we can not worrying about whats on or not on our face

The problem is you're not just choosing for you. You're choosing for everyone you interact with. Wearing a mask protects them. Not wearing a mask puts them at risk.

"Sure, you're free to risk the lives of strangers you interact with throughout the day" is the position you're taking. As one of those potential strangers... no. You refusing to take steps to protect me means you are violating the non-aggression principle by putting my life at risk.

Yes, we should be focusing on helping one another: That means wearing masks, social distancing, washing your hands, and staying home when you can. That's what "focus on helping one another" means right now.

If you're not doing that, then you are, objectively, "not helping one another."

You might appreciate this discussion. I think of it in terms of negative rights vs. positive rights and how it's not an act of aggression to exist. Public spaces vs. private spaces does make it a little confusing as well. I also think it becomes challenging when we don't clearly define what are reasonable vs. unreasonable expectations. During flu season, is it reasonable for me to expect to not get the flu from anyone else if I got outside of my home? Reasonable for me to expect anyone with the flu should stay home or wear a mask, etc?

I'm quite happy with people wearing masks voluntarily but I refuse to wear one if they are compulsory (as they are in Israel).
While they may have some benefits if worn precisely right and replaced regularly (which almost no one does) they also have big negatives including depersonalising, undermining social cohesion and generally making people look scary and ugly.

The first statement in the Hypocratic Oath is "First, do no harm." So many COVID measures have caused enormous harm, often with little or no benefit.

Luke, while I appreciate your goal, I'm afraid you're letting idealism get in the way of objective reality.

There is a steadily increasing body of objective scientific evidence that wearing a mask does little to protect you from catching COVID19 from others. It does, however, dramatically reduce the chance of them catching it from you.

It's not a matter of "just virtue signaling your side." The bothsiderism you're showing here, while I'm sure is well-intentioned, is misguided and dangerous.

If you walk down the street without a mask and smile at someone, it's not you respecting their view. It's you actively signaling "I don't know if I am going to get you sick and possibly have you die by not mildly inconveniencing myself, but I'm going to do it anyway because I don't care about your health."

The idea that "trying to not kill other people accidentally" is reduced to just tribal signaling is itself actively dangerous. Of course, that is actively being pushed by those who benefit from creating a deeper right/left divide, and it's working. And you, in this post, are buying into it, by saying the science doesn't matter and it's "just tribalism."

To @apshamilton below (above?), mask wearing is quite common and boring in China and many other East Asian countries that have spent more time dealing with disease outbreaks. The idea that it is "depersonalizing" or "undermining social cohesion" is simply not born out there, as many of those countries have much stronger social cohesion than the US does. And "make people look scary and ugly," yeah, I'm not even going to dignify that with a response.

Wearing a mask is a form of social cohesion, because you're showing respect for your community members.

Bothsiderism isn't a solution to tribalism; it's just further undermining of the concept that objective fact and truth actually exist, which is one of the great sicknesses of our day.

I think my reply here probably covers some of your post as well. "Bothsiderism" is an interesting term, but when it comes to relationships with people I care about who are convinced they are right, I'm willing to engage them respectfully instead of assuming they are idiots, immoral, or stupid, as I've discussed before.

I don't see it as "dangerous" because people who believe strongly enough about their views are going to do whatever they want. The only path forward I see for any chance of consensus is to have respectful dialogue, even if I don't agree with someone.

I don't think open dialogue is dangerous.

I think not having open dialogue is dangerous. I think shaming, shunning, etc people for their views before having open dialogue with them is dangerous.

This is my way, and I know it's not for everyone. Some prefer to just sever relationships and move on when people are strongly in disagreement. I prefer to respect both sides as to where they are at talk about it.

I respect that; unfortunately, it requires the other person to also be willing to engage. Prisoner's Dilemma.

This isn't entirely hypothetical. A person in my close social circle has recently decided to double down on Trump, Fox News, All Lives Matter, the whole 9 yards, and actively refuses to even discuss or speak about it, going as far as "don't confuse me with facts, my mind is made up." (Nearly a direct quote.) There's really nothing you can do at that point, but people are still dying, so...

This may be a data point for you to know your approach isn't working. People convince themselves of things via biases. Even the most unbiased person, if truthful, will admit this. We like to think the scientific method is without bias, but it is not. It's maybe the best thing we have going but it has limits. Some people need to be connected to relationally before they will ever understand you factually. "People need to know that you care before they care what you know."

This is inefficient, frustrating, and at times annoying. It simply is. No way around it. We can either disconnect and hope for the best, or we can try different approaches which are more relationally based. I'm reminded of the dude who hung out with KKK members and befriended them in order to win them over to his perspective.

Love your enemies.

Everything that frustrates you.

It's a hard call to action and not for everyone, but I do see the value in trying, and I don't think it validates anything or makes things worse. Open, truthful, respectful, dialogue with true humility (not feigned humility where you really know you're right and they are completely wrong) can create results.