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> In Japan & Korea, wearing a mask when sick in public is expected, like wearing clothing over your underwear. No, this isn't even close to true. I've spent fa
by timr 6y ago
> In Japan & Korea, wearing a mask when sick in public is expected, like wearing clothing over your underwear.
No, this isn't even close to true. I've spent far too many hours crammed into trains, classrooms, offices and bars, next to sniffling Japanese people who were walking around sans masks, to believe this silly narrative. Getting on a crowded train and having a guy repeatedly sniffing his runny nose six inches from your face is practically a running joke.
The Japanese people I know mostly seemed to wear masks to keep their faces warm in winter, and to reduce allergies during the cedar season. Girls would sometimes wear them to hide their faces or to hide a blemish. Maybe some people wore them to prevent disease, but it was far from a universal goal.
> So a Japanese or Korean person who feels a little under the weather will opt to keep their mask on when attending a maskless gathering, but an American in the same situation will likely take theirs off.
This is a great example of stereotyping and asian exceptionalism. If anything, Japanese people are immensely aware of social pressure, and won't go against obvious social cues.
- strogonoff 6y agoJapan and Korea weren’t hit much by the original SARS in 200x (no confirmed deaths). However, it was a huge deal in Hong Kong (considering the deadliness of the disease and high population density). IMO for an example of strong mask-wearing practices for primarily infection-related purposes one could look there, though I’m willing to be corrected.
- mleonhard 6y ago> ... to believe this silly narrative. :( I interpret that as a personal insult. Let's disagree without insulting each other. > > So a Japanese or Korean person who feels a little under the weather will opt to keep their mask on when attending a maskless gathering, but an American in the same situation will likely take theirs off. > This is a great example of stereotyping and asian exceptionalism. Yes, we're talking about millions of people in aggregate. This requires stereotyping. Stereotyping is only bad when you expect an individual to behave like the aggregate. > If anything, Japanese people are immensely aware of social pressure, and won't go against obvious social cues. That's what I was trying to convey with my statement that wearing a mask is expected like wearing clothing over underwear. Your point about people sniffling on the train is compatible with a social expectation of wearing masks when sick. Every society has some non-conformists. The difference is that sick-no-maskers in Japan & Korea are outliers and in many parts of USA they are the majority. This is what I meant about many small differences adding up.
- strogonoff 6y agoIMO you may be mistakenly attributing Western individualism here. If your friends are not wearing masks in some situation, you may choose to wear one and not fret about it, but not everywhere is like that. This is not about individual no-maskers, but rather a peculiar social norm to collectively forgo wearing masks in certain situations.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]