MaskCarthyism

As the latest (and strictest) state and local mandates requiring masks were recently signed, we entered the next round of the contentious battle of Mask versus No-Mask. Or we could say “mask-vigilant” -vs- “mask-weary”. As polarity continues to grow in 2020, and middle ground continues to shrink, let’s not forget the wisdom in having “our conversations always be full of grace” (Colossians 4:6). I’ve seen caustic conversations as of late. Too many of them. I’ve seen friends and loved ones berated by fellow believers for holding a different opinion than them. Ugly words spoken fast remind me that “sin is not decreased by the multiplication of words”. And such, “slow to listen and quick to speak” is becoming a 2020 proverb. Passion for your beliefs is great, but, in our passion, let us not miss the mark. The mark being love. The mode being patience, kindness, gentleness, humility and respect.

I wanted to take this opportunity to make a quick defense for the “mask-weary” among us. Those horrible creatures fellow citizens that choose not to wear a mask in certain public situations or maybe at all. I feel a need to defend them, not because they all have righteous motives, but because maybe they’re not a cult. Maybe it’s not as cut and dry as some people think. And maybe because I am moving toward mask-weariness myself. Below are a few common myths about the mask-weary and the rebuttals.

MYTH 1: The mask-weary don’t care about Grandma X. They don’t care if their actions put someone else’s life at risk (e.g., the elderly and the immunocompromised). This myth is also known as: they don’t love their neighbors as themselves.

TRUTH: The mask-weary shed their masks for many reasons— just like the mask-vigilant wear their masks for many reasons. I think it’s fair to say that not every mask-wearer is thinking about Grandma X (or their love of neighbor) when they strap it on. I would venture to say many more are wearing a mask for one or more of these reasons: (1) they are paranoid about being exposed the virus themselves, (2) they are people-pleasers and crowd-followers (I don’t say that pejoratively; “belonging” is a biological survival strategy), or (3) they don’t have the energy to cause a scene (i.e., “to deal with Karen”, as the Twitter kids say). So, please don’t create the false division of “neighbor-lovers” and “nayba’-haters” based on mask usage. Truth is, the mask-weary may be non-compliant here, not because they don’t love their neighbor, but because they truly believe in their heart of hearts and brain of brains that wearing the commonly-available masks doesn’t offer significant enough collective benefit to warrant the perceived personal and collective loss. See subsequent myths for elaboration on this.

MYTH 2: The mask-weary are anti-science dumbbells.

TRUTH: Some of the mask-weary are indeed dumbbells (I say that with affection). But I’ve also seen mask-vigilant folks wearing masks fashioned out of jock-straps and fishnet stockings. Dumbbells come in all flavors. Truth is, many of the mask-weary are scientists themselves. Some are renown epidemiologists and physicians. Some are health care practitioners who have been silenced. Some have biology/chemistry degrees and are employed by a medical company, like me. Others like to read the medical literature because they want to be informed people. Others listen to the health experts on TV or radio or livestream. And what are the mask-weary hearing in all of this? They’re hearing experts change or completely reverse (and then sometimes reverse back) their mask recommendations (whether it’s the overall effectiveness, the best types, when/where to wear them, etc.). CDC, WHO, FDA, Dr. Fauci, the surgeon general, etc. have all made several changes in their recommendations over the past few months, some rather contradictory, until they seemingly settled on the current narrative (which was not due to the publishing of a new well-executed study). I’m not sure who President Trump’s public health informant is, but he’s changed his position more times than someone trying to sleep with sciatica (can someone empathize with me on that). Yeah, after a mask-weary detour, he’s back on the mask train, this week saying: “masks are terrific…makes me look like the Lone Ranger”. Truth is there is no consensus in the medical world. Science journals and leading infectious disease experts have contradicted the talking heads several times since March. Earlier related studies on masks and influenza showed low significance in the positive effect of mask wearing as it relates to viral transmission rates. Yes, Covid-19 is not influenza, but they are both respiratory viruses spread mainly by airborne droplets. The FDA, when studying influenza, said if 50% of people wore masks, the effect “might be” substantial—oh wait… that’s only if it’s a high-filtration surgical mask, not your old repurposed t-shirt or coffee filter. What about the most commonly used disposable cloth mask? Here’s what a high-profile science journal said in April: “while cloth masks might not be dangerous or make things worse, their ability to protect people seems limited. There are reasons to think that a broad recommendation for everyone to wear masks might be counterproductive.” The CDC stance for cloth masks at the time was “it’s probably a little better than nothing”. Nationally-renown infectious disease expert Lisa Brosseau, ScD, said: "What we’re seeing is a lot of magical thinking. A lot of wishful thinking. Cloth masks are wishful thinking." This should be settled science by now, right? Guess not. Another valid question is, how many people are washing their reusable masks every day or discarding their disposable masks every day, per recommendation? Poor maintenance practices will quickly turn a mask from an item of containment to a vector of contamination.

All that to say, masks may have a net benefit in protecting others and self, per the current narrative. But the mask-weary aren’t yet entirely convinced of that due to the lack of consensus. But they are also leery because they don’t believe theoretical science should drive potentially precedent-setting-personal-freedom-limiting mandates.

Side Note 1: The PA health commissioner advises children playing sports to wear masks now. Wearing masks while exercising is one of the few things that nearly has a scientific consensus, which is “don’t do it, it’s dangerous!” Should we listen to someone just because they have “health” in their title… or should we use common (science) sense? And, while we’re at it, why are people driving with masks on, as if they will catch the virus while driving down the highway by themselves at 70 MPH? Are people even thinking logically anymore or is groupthink that powerful? These observations cause the mask-weary to pause and question.

Side Note 2: It’s a shame that masks get the red-carpet treatment for prevention, while proven natural immune boosters, natural anti-virals, the Vitamin D studies, etc. all get relegated to hippie chatrooms. It would be nice if the talking heads promoted these things once in a while. Let’s prepare our bodies the best we can to fight off the infection.

MYTH 3: The mask-weary are all right-wing nuts— the guns-and-religion-and-tinfoil-hat types

TRUTH: This much may be true: in an ideological cage-match between 80-year olds, if you were to pick Ron Paul over Bernie Sanders, you may be more likely to ditch the mask. But it’s probably not an Elephant -vs- Donkey issue (as much as the media would want you to buy that). It’s probably more due to a perceived threat to personal liberty or a skepticism of groupthink. Yes, some may go a step further and say it’s another domino falling in the direction of our “Marxist” future. Okay, that sounds conspiratorial and I wouldn’t go there myself yet. But people watching the news the past month have been given fodder for that train of thought and may process these current events through different lenses than you. That’s still okay in America, right?

Other self-described freedom-fighters are wondering if forced masks are a precursor to forced vaccinations? I realize some of you are all for that. What we need to remember is that vaccines historically take half a decade or longer to develop and competently trial, and even then have inherent risk. Rushing a vaccine means rushing the science discussions and clinical trials necessary to properly evaluate its efficacy, purity and side effects. After all, can we know long-term effects using a short-term trial? Ethics personnel are part of the decision process and we wonder if some of those important questions will be circumvented. Forcing a rushed vaccine is not a conspiracy theory, it’s been a recommendation by people in power. Some of us remember or heard about the rushed swine flu vaccine in the 1970s. More than 500 people were thought to have developed Guillain-Barre syndrome right after receiving the vaccine and a few dozen people died. And for those who are uncomfortable with a rushed vaccine, will their freedom to buy and sell and travel be restricted (e.g. a vaccine card has been suggested by people in power).

Just like the mask-vigilant folks, the mask-weary are critical thinkers who, due to experiential or academic (or even genetic) predispositions, may ask different questions than you. That’s okay, right? We can still respect people with different ideas and ideals in 2020, right?

I should note that there have been a large number of articles lambasting the mask-weary as “conspiracy theorists”, with the Christians authors even invoking the imperative of the prophet Isaiah, who said “don’t call everything a conspiracy that these <unbelieving> people do”. So, are the mask-weary just seeing masked boogiemen? Maybe, sometimes. But they do see governors across the nation telling people to “stay home”, “maintain social distancing at all times”, and “gather only if necessary and keep the numbers low”. Then they see those same governors allow, advertise, and even join in shoulder-to-shoulder protests with thousands of people that same week. Many mask-weary folks are in favor of the (peaceful) protests for black lives. Protests can be powerful change-agents in society (let’s always protect the right to peacefully protest). But if we’re allowed to amass thousands to protest, please don’t tells us the next day that we should consider cancelling our 4th of July picnics and fireworks. Don’t place a ban on much smaller non-protest assemblies or even singing in churches (ala CA governor Newsome). Your wagging finger won’t make us believe that viruses are somehow more transmissible at churches than protests. It’s disingenuous. It reeks of agenda. It makes the mask-weary wonder if there is something bigger at play here, be it fuel for a political machine or something even more sinister by the powers that be. I say this as a political orphan who cares deeply about protections for our communities and the individuals in those communities.

So, no, not all mask-weary folk are far-right-wingers. There are many different people choosing not to wear a mask all the time for different reasons. Note: some mask-weary are even motivated by Creation Care and wonder what 100 billion disposable (and non-decomposable) masks mean for our planet and the poor communities that environmental degradation disproportionately affects. Let these people have a voice, too.

CONCLUSION (AND PERSONAL NOTES)

The mask-weary are generally compassionate people who have genuine concerns that prevent them from full compliance to the mask mandates. And we have other questions not stated above. Like what are the psychological, social and physical effects of long-term mask usage if politicians want us to wear them until a vaccine is available. How is the mask-vigilance affecting our developing children? Are we training them for a life of paranoia? How will the all-day mask-wearing at school affect their developing lungs? Are we basing all the hysteria and mandates on an inherently faulty test (deserves an article itself)? Are science and medical artifacts earning more faith from Christians than God and the intuitive bodies He spoke into existence?

One particular disappointment for me is seeing how the Church has fared in these discussions. Not everyone, of course, but many. Too many. I’ve seen mask-vigilant Christians cancelling, blacklisting and excommunicating their mask-weary brothers and sisters. Most of this is done under the veil of social media, unfortunately, where a screen apparently filters out Christian civility.

Connecting someone’s spiritual fitness and their love of neighbor based on whether or not they wear a mask is a dangerous precedent to set. How often do we judge our brothers’ and sisters’ Christlikeness and love for neighbor based on their theological bents or their stance on politics or other controversial topics. It’s a long list. And the one who prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour is suddenly going hungry because Christians are eating their own. It’s a fast in which the lion would gladly participate.

And the world watches.

They will know we are followers of Jesus by our… compliance to world mandates? Our lack of diversity of thought? Our unity centered around mask-wearing?

No, they will know us by our love. And love allows differences. Love welcomes differences. People have been protesting for equality and unity in our diversity. Let’s extend that to the mask wearing discussion. Let’s leave the condemnation to the Satan and the conviction to the Spirit. Mask or no mask, remember: "Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony." (Colossians 3:14). Whether you wear a mask or not, do it all for the glory of God.

Time to end the MaskCarthyism,

And resume our civil, love-motivated conversation.