So simple, yes.
Tigerlily75, many folks have come to a conclusion as to "why the hate on masks", so I'll assume a rhetorical question? from you in Australia as to answering the prompt you have due to TOS. I would point you to the answer by google for such instead if you are a new member here inquiring.
It takes time to educate many individuals? Even then, some may not wear seatbelts or condoms. And then, even with laws,some still do not wear seatbelts. It's a very deep understanding of dynamics as to non compliance, and welcome to the thread!
I think the big issue with the mask debate is on one side of the debate you have those who have a need to downplay the reality of the pandemic and on the other, those who believe you have to accept the reality in order to effectively deal with it.
The pandemic has hurt economies worldwide. Quite a bit. That was one of my first concerns on these threads when this was still just in China.
Shut downs were super controversial. So to avoid or prevent shut downs, the magnitude of the virus had to be downplayed.
Well you can’t downplay a virus while wearing a mask. Because that’s visual proof that the virus is a danger.
So, masks don’t work. Masks cause more harm than good. Masks are for scaredy cats. If you want to live in fear go ahead but I won’t. God will protect me. Etc.
What’s terribly ironic is that if people were educated and civic-minded enough to wear masks, our economy could have rebounded so much more quickly.
But IMO, the fact that people resisted staying at home and wearing masks until we could get the numbers low enough to effectively contact trace and isolate, and even now that places have opened up, refuse to wear masks and/or socially distance and/or be part of contract tracing efforts, means that we are going to continue to have serious issues with the economy.
I used to eat out a lot. I used to travel. But because people view not wearing a mask and not socially distancing as a badge of honor, I and many like me no longer do so and likely won’t for a long time.
I would feel much more confident if a) I knew most people wore masks in public when appropriate and b) I knew most people took this seriously. Then I would have less concern about being in public places, especially eating out when masks are not possible. Thus far in this entire pandemic I have gone out to eat only twice. The first time I wore my mask the whole time and took my food to go. The second I didn’t wear a mask.
Now I find myself deciding who to socialize with, how close I can get to them and whether we can do certain things like eating, based on how serious they take the virus. Including family.
I admire our American independence, defiance, individualism, fearlessness. Those things are wonderful attributes in many ways. But mostly when tempered by civic responsibility.
I’ve seen that sense of responsibility disappearing and that’s a shame. Despite all our historic issues and controversies, caring for one another and taking care of one another is actually something that has also been a cornerstone of the American character. You can see that in how people crawl out of the rubble after an earthquake or tornado and instantly go next door to try to rescue neighbors. Or how people risk their lives in floods, hurricanes and fires to rescue others. Often total strangers.
We need that ethos now.
It gets crazier:
