Is a mask (or lack thereof) the uniform of your enemy?

Originally posted by The Gray Man at American Partisan.

The new phenomenon in American and Western society now is that everyone is wearing masks to prevent catching the COVID-19 virus. It's the latest and greatest way to identify who your enemies are, who you should hate and revile. Get caught in public without one and, God forbid, have your picture posted on Facebook or Twitter and you're in for an onslaught of hate and insults. For those unlucky enough to live in a really progressive location, your badged friends may even be called to write you a fine for it.

But what effect does wearing a cloth mask or a basic medical-type mask actually have? Let's ask one of the few medical publications that are still at least moderately non-politicized (for now), the New England Journal of Medicine in this article:

"We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic."

Oh, I see.

Now it's worth mentioning that the masks they're talking about are not the N95 type. Those can keep you safe from infection, under the assumption that the mask is the right size for you and has been fitted properly and that you're trained or knowledgeable in putting them on and taking them off properly. And no, it's not as simple as it sounds.

Regardless, the vast majority of people are not wearing properly fitted and donned N95 masks. Most are wearing non-sealing cloth masks or basic paper medical masks which offer no protection for the wearer at all, and like the NEJM states, is really only effective in making the wearer feel better about themselves and, here's the real key, worse about those who aren't following suit.

IF you have symptoms, the theory is that wearing a mask like this can keep you from spreading it to others, but even that is not totally effective. If you have symptoms, stay at home until you heal up. If you think you've been exposed to the virus, quarantine from people for ten days (notice I didn't say you have to lock yourself inside your room and avoid the outdoors). Masks are not having nearly the effect the powers in charge say they are. It's in my own professional opinion as an emergency room RN (who is now seeing a massive increase of COVID in my area) that masks are primarily pushed by those in charge because of their use as a dividing tool. Everything in the media today is designed to divide people against each other. A mask (or lack thereof) is a visual indicator of who your enemies are.

Is it any surprise that the media is saying that evil right wingers are less likely to wear a mask?