The Confusion of Masks

I was surprised to learn that many Americans do not understand basic science because somehow we all forgot that masks have been working to protect doctors for so many years now that it's silly that experts have to waste their time explaining something as simple as masks to the public. Why do they have to waste so much time doing experiments to prove that masks work without harming us? It boggles my mind.

I was also shocked to learn that some people believe that by the government asking us to wear masks, they are controlling the public too much. There is not some great conspiracy theory about government control that people need to be worried about. Why would the government want you to hide your faces from cameras that cops use to identify suspects in crimes? It's actually against the law to conceal your face and commit a crime, so why would the government as you to cover your face as a way to control you? It simply doesn't make sense.

People have become enraged over the issue of masks. I was in the car with my husband, and we had just pulled out of a drive-thru for coffee. As a courtesy, my husband wears a mask when in contact with someone at a drive-thru window. They are still within 6 ft from the car so he logically puts his mask on. As we pulled out and were turning to drive onto the road, someone from another car honked their horn at us and a man started yelling profanities out of his window because my husband still had his mask on. This is shocking behavior that upset my husband because he's not used to being screamed at for no reason (well... unless it's by his wife). This kind of behavior showed that people will lost their minds over the weirdest things. Had the driver of the car been minding his own business, then the masks we wear shouldn't bother him. That person also had no idea if my husband could have been wearing the mask to protect his passenger in the car.

It's insane what this world is coming to due to the pandemic. People are becoming increasingly angry, and this anger pours out of them and explodes onto everyone around. Everyone needs to calm down so that we can try to get along and get through this together. There's no reason to confront another person about their decision to wear a mask. This lunacy about it's appropriateness needs to stop. Masks do save lives. Doctors have been using them safely since they were first invented. Experts should not have to waste their time explaining simple things all adults should have been taught in basic science classes.

It doesn't help us when our leaders give us confusing messages, either. I remember how President Trump himself made fun of Joe Biden for wearing a mask. Trump now says that mask-wearing is "patriotic,” which is incredibly confusing and harmful because it sent a mixed message. It was clear that we were being told to wear masks but if we did, we also risked humiliating ourselves. If we had better leadership with more consistent messages coming out of the White House, from the CDC, and the WHO then maybe the public would be less confused about something as simple as the use of masks.

We've spent months wasting time while the administration has done very little to actually shut down the pandemic. A virus like this needs to be snuffed out by giving it no other hosts to grow in. This can only be accomplished by going through a mandatory quarantine period that must be enforced. As long as there are people out there spreading this virus, we will have people dying at rates we've never seen before.

I don't necessarily blame the American people for not fully understanding everything that is happening because the leadership has been botched from the start. The public has been confused and misled by an administration that doesn't really seem to want to put public safety first. Medical decisions should not be politicized, and I feel that's what the Trump administration is now trying to do. It shows that we are not really ready to open schools yet because nobody is prepared, teachers aren't virologists, there's a lack of effective leadership, the death rate is increasing daily, and we have clearly not been able to eradicate the virus successfully so far. I hope people realize that they are going to have to research this thing on their own in-depth before making any decisions about going back to work or going back to school in the future.