Masks

You don’t care and you probably won’t read this whole thing, but this is why I have issues with masks. My reasons are not political, but based on logic, reason, and my personal experiences. I don’t write this so you will debate me. It’s just to state my reasoning and my point of view. Please don’t attack me. I’m more fragile than you realize.

I’ll start with the personal:

• -       I have anxiety which manifests in many ways, but one major way is by affecting my ability to get enough air. Wearing a mask makes me somewhat panicky because I am not getting fresh air. So, yes, you will see me touching my mask a lot, because I’m pulling it away from my mouth enough to breathe. If you have never experienced this kind of anxiety, you really, truly don’t know what it’s like, and I imagine I’m not the only person who experiences it. Some people are fine breathing warm, stale air through a mask, but it freaks me out.
• -       Wearing a mask for more than a few minutes makes my nose runny, which is kind of ironic because if I’m not wearing one, my nose is dry and not emitting moisture. Which leads to logic and reason.

Logic and Reason:

• -       How do viruses spread? ON MOISTURE PARTICLES. They are not free-roaming through the air. For someone who is breathing normally, through their nose, germs do not escape their nose hairs, linger in the air until an unsuspecting human comes along, then clamber up their nose, past their nose hairs, and lodge themselves in those mucous membranes. The evidence people share that masks are better, such as the photograph of the girl blowing into cold air to make mist with and without a mask, universally include a person forcing air, whether through a sneeze, cough, spit, or blowing. Normal, gentle breathing through the nose does not expel enough moisture to carry viruses. This used to be common knowledge before everyone jumped on the bandwagon of terror.
• -       I am not sick. How do I know this? First, I don't breathe in close proximity to others, and now that there is plexiglass everywhere, I don’t even talk to cashiers without the barrier. I’m not breathing in anyone’s germs. I’ve had a long habit of washing my hands when I get home from shopping- this because stores can be really gross. Thus, I have protected my own mucous membranes. Now, you will yell at me that I could be asymptomatic. Well, if I’m not coughing or sneezing, see the first point here.
• -       Propaganda is a tool that is used by companies, governments, and religions. It’s real, and they use it because it works. Propaganda isn’t always inherently evil (aka Nazis) but is usually manipulative and that sends my antenna straight up. If you’re being manipulated, it’s often because someone has an agenda and is bending the truth to convince you of something. Propaganda being gleefully spread by most of you, billboards, and advertisers:

o   You are in danger- see “stay safe”. Whenever I hear this I think, “Why? Is there a grizzly in Walmart? A lion lounging in my yard?” With an extremely high recovery rate, I suspect I am safe, even if I’m exposed and happen to catch it in spite of my precautions. I would much prefer “stay healthy”.

o   You are selfish [bad] if you don’t wear a mask- see “I’m doing it for…” or “a mask isn’t to protect you, it’s to protect others [from your dangerous self]”. This is blatant manipulation and I’m shocked more people don’t see that.

-       Positive test numbers do not equal deaths. The number of CASES are being used to justify mask mandates (at least in Utah). Logic tells us that the number of cases will go up when you test more widely. This is not equal to deaths or hospitalizations.

-       It’s being said a lot, and I have to agree with the logic of it- if masks prevent spreading the virus, then why social distance and plexiglass? If social distancing works, then why masks? And if masks work, then why keep anything closed or limited? Open movie theaters, resume normal operations at the zoo! If they are as effective as the propaganda tells us they are, then why are we still sitting so far apart at church? And if we’re staying far apart, why do we need to wear a mask? The lack of logic sends me in circles.

-       I was on board for the “flatten the curve” slogan. For a few weeks. Then that was forgotten and now we have been convinced that we are not safe and won’t be safe until we have been vaccinated from this. When will that be? There are promises, there are developments, but I hesitate to use a brand new vaccine, especially if it’s been rushed to the public to quell the terror.

So the question I have for everyone who is pro-forced-mask-wearing is this: until when? We will never be “safe.” It’s a virus. The likelihood of us rendering it incapacitated by well people wearing masks is unlikely. It will still survive on moisture particles for a few minutes when someone sneezes (which most people remove their masks to do, btw), and someone else will neglect to wash their hands before eating and may get it. Do you want this to be forever? “If it saves ONE life, then yes, I’ll wear a mask forever!!” I hear you say. Well, that’s bully for you, but the truth is a non-mask wearing person isn’t the one who killed grandma. The virus did. That’s what viruses do to those with underlying problems. Any virus.

I will wear a mask when required, but I’m absolutely not wearing one when I am outdoors. I will simply stay away from public places as much as possible. Which is depressing. I went to Costco yesterday, and in the hour or so that I was there (wearing my mask- don’t yell at me), I noticed that a lot of people just look defeated. We aren’t smiling at each other (something that has been unequivocally proven to be important to humans), and we aren’t connecting or interacting. We have come to believe that everyone around us is dangerous, and that we are too. This isn’t healthy societally or psychologically.

Let’s look at the numbers in Utah. As of today, Utah has had 447,806 people tested, with 526,288 total tests reported (not sure how that works), and of those, there have been 32,572 cases, 1,984 of which required hospitalization. The number of deaths for the state is 235. 235 is .72% of 35,572. Less than 1% of diagnosed cases have been fatal, which is horrible for them, but is a very, very small percentage.

To compare, the black plague wiped out 30-60% of the entire population of Europe- not just people who caught it. Why do I bring up the plague? Because the world is acting like covid is a plague. Like it is so deadly and so dangerous that we need to lock ourselves in our homes, avoid any contact with other humans, and cover our faces every time we leave the house. Covid is not a plague. It’s a virus. It’s deadly to a number of people, most of whom have some other underlying condition (meaning they would probably also have died had they caught the flu), but it’s no plague.

The decisions about how to handle this were based on faulty projections that there would be millions of deaths, and that has proven not to be the case. But there’s no going back. This is the freight train of fear and it’s unstoppable and will go on as long as the news and politicians let it.

I would much rather focus on the positive. In Utah, those numbers mean that 32,337 people have had the dreaded covid and lived to tell the tale. That’s a fantastic number- 99.28% of people in Utah who have been positively diagnosed have survived. I’ve heard personal testimony that for some people it’s like a bad cold, and they’ve been sicker in the past, which should also give us hope.

And the numbers are even better if you’re a kid or teen- which can’t be said for flu, which kills teens every year.

But what do I know.