4 ms·

Do you feel the same way about seatbelts? If people choose to be safer by wearing masks, judging them is pretty extreme. This kind of attitude is what made th

by ctur 6y ago

Do you feel the same way about seatbelts? If people choose to be safer by wearing masks, judging them is pretty extreme. This kind of attitude is what made the early days of the pandemic a mess.

TheBlight 6y ago
This is a silly false equivalence but I'll engage with it because it seems annoyingly popular. The evidence of efficacy of seatbelt usage in crash scenarios is abundantly clear. The same isn't true for wearing a cloth/surgical mask in public during a pandemic featuring an airborne virus. I'm aware there are hand-wavy meta-studies and extrapolated surveys on the issue (but 1 RCT from Denmark which showed no statistical significance between control and experimental groups. See https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/m20-6817 https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/m20-6817) but common sense and being able to evaluate statistics of mask mandated regions vs. not indicates to me their findings are dubious at best. Even n95s are not likely useful against an airborne virus if not properly fitted and regularly replaced. What wearing the mask does show me is that a person is extremely susceptible to propaganda and likely has conformist tendencies. This isn't necessarily true in all cases but I think it will be for the majority of them. This sort of person is dangerous to bring in to your social circle because they can easily be manipulated into being an instrument of the state. I don't want to have to police my own thoughts and opinions in front of my friends and in an increasing totalitarian "cancel culture" environment this risk becomes increasingly more substantial and existential.
- sofixa 6y ago
  Is it not obvious, common sense and proven that masks stop you from spreading the virus if you have it and don't know yet? Are there still people unaware of that? Out of curiosity, where do you live? And you should tell frontline medical personnel that masks don't protect them, they'll be glad your non-conformist ultra intelligent mind managed to figure it out.
  - TheBlight 6y ago
    I seem to have upset the hive. Lol.
Mediterraneo10 6y ago
Masks cover one's facial expressions. Showing one's own facial expression and being able to see others’ is an important part of social interaction in many cultures. Indeed, whether one person feels he or she can instinctively trust another is often based on getting a view of the other person’s face. This behavior can be suspended temporarily on a short-term basis when a population perceives an urgent state of pandemic or (as in Japan) when an individual says he has a cold, but it may not be sustainable at a society-wide scale beyond that. Seatbelts faced cultural resistance before adoption, sure, but much less than masks would once the acute COVID risk has passed.

by ctur 6y ago

Do you feel the same way about seatbelts? If people choose to be safer by wearing masks, judging them is pretty extreme. This kind of attitude is what made the early days of the pandemic a mess.

TheBlight 6y ago

This is a silly false equivalence but I'll engage with it because it seems annoyingly popular. The evidence of efficacy of seatbelt usage in crash scenarios is abundantly clear. The same isn't true for wearing a cloth/surgical mask in public during a pandemic featuring an airborne virus. I'm aware there are hand-wavy meta-studies and extrapolated surveys on the issue (but 1 RCT from Denmark which showed no statistical significance between control and experimental groups. See https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/m20-6817 https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/m20-6817) but common sense and being able to evaluate statistics of mask mandated regions vs. not indicates to me their findings are dubious at best. Even n95s are not likely useful against an airborne virus if not properly fitted and regularly replaced. What wearing the mask does show me is that a person is extremely susceptible to propaganda and likely has conformist tendencies. This isn't necessarily true in all cases but I think it will be for the majority of them. This sort of person is dangerous to bring in to your social circle because they can easily be manipulated into being an instrument of the state. I don't want to have to police my own thoughts and opinions in front of my friends and in an increasing totalitarian "cancel culture" environment this risk becomes increasingly more substantial and existential.

sofixa 6y ago
Is it not obvious, common sense and proven that masks stop you from spreading the virus if you have it and don't know yet? Are there still people unaware of that? Out of curiosity, where do you live? And you should tell frontline medical personnel that masks don't protect them, they'll be glad your non-conformist ultra intelligent mind managed to figure it out.
- TheBlight 6y ago
  I seem to have upset the hive. Lol.

Mediterraneo10 6y ago

Masks cover one's facial expressions. Showing one's own facial expression and being able to see others’ is an important part of social interaction in many cultures. Indeed, whether one person feels he or she can instinctively trust another is often based on getting a view of the other person’s face. This behavior can be suspended temporarily on a short-term basis when a population perceives an urgent state of pandemic or (as in Japan) when an individual says he has a cold, but it may not be sustainable at a society-wide scale beyond that. Seatbelts faced cultural resistance before adoption, sure, but much less than masks would once the acute COVID risk has passed.