First, pandemic policymakers averred masks weren’t useful in stopping the spread of COVID-19. Now, these authoritarians in government, health care, and the media are demanding citizens wear masks. What gives?
Throughout this COVID-19 pandemic, by their own admissions and actions, the pandemic policymakers have been wrong. Egregious and injuriously errant models regarding mortality and hospitalizations; the unprecedented societal and economic damage these models caused by instigating the lockdown of entire states; the lethal nursing home policies placing COVID-19-positive seniors in with non-infected seniors; the now-discredited warnings the virus was easily transmissible on surfaces—their flip-flops, revisions, and disasters go on and compound daily.
Unabashed by their abysmal track record, the pandemic policymakers now demand everyone wear a mask under the pain of prosecution, starvation, isolation, societal shaming, or all of the above. The irony of pandemic policymakers—who should be ashamed of their failures—arguing you be shamed for disregarding them is as ironic as it is tyrannical.
But never let it be said the experts allow failure to diminish their self-esteem.
Symbols Over Substance
Dr. Anthony Fauci weighed in that he wears a mask because he believes it is “effective.” While conceding the mask is “not 100 percent effective,” he doesn’t say how effective it actually is in stopping transmission of the COVID-19 virus.
Instead, despite not being a doctor of sociology, he asserts wearing a mask is very effective in evincing a “sort of respect for another person, and [having] that other person respect you . . . I want to make it be a symbol for people to see that that’s the kind of thing you should be doing.”
Charitably, a mask is the kind of thing one should be wearing when leaving the scene of a crime. But when walking your dog?
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See Also:
(1) A bizarre, unfathomable pandemic screw-up Canadian officials will have to answer for
(2) The ‘economic cost’ of lockdowns in developing nations ‘outweighs’ health benefit
(3) No Coronavirus Spike in States That Lifted Lockdowns Early, ABC Reports
(4) Without fossil fuels, the Wuhan Flu would have us beat
(5) Trump cuts off World Health Organization over China coronavirus ‘coverup’
I will not go as far as the author of this article in stating that the goal of the masking of America is to reduce the population to serfdom. Regardless of their flip-flops, I believe — perhaps naively — that most “experts” were doling out advice in good faith … while failing to acknowledge that they didn’t and still don’t have enough information about this vile plague to be able to state with 100% certainty how it should be dealt with. Fear of the unknown is what initially drove the lockdown, IMO. However, what should have been locked down were the borders — of towns, cities, provinces/states & countries. And those infected should definitely have been isolated, not integrated into vulnerable communities.
As far as the practicality of wearing a mask or not, I’m concerned about its effect on the wearer. Putting aside the question of whether it prevents the virus from coming in or going out … I worry about the effect of breathing in one’s own carbon dioxide for long periods of time. I have some support in thinking that, especially where healthcare workers are concerned:
https://www.targetliberty.com/2020/05/neurosurgeon-face-masks-pose-serious.html
“As to the cause of the headaches, while straps and pressure from the mask could be causative, the bulk of the evidence points toward hypoxia and/or hypercapnia as the cause. That is, a reduction in blood oxygenation (hypoxia) or an elevation in blood C02 (hypercapnia).” (emphasis mine)
I’ve often had the same reaction whenever I see a parent pushing a child’s stroller firmly enveloped by a plastic cover. Rather than getting some fresh air, the child breathes in his/her own CO2 — which is great for greening the planet and other beneficial uses like this https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2020/04/17/coronavirus-to-burst-another-bubble-carbonation-shortage-threatens-seltzer-beer-and-soda/#6c6062fe702a — but not recommended for continued inhalation.
As for me, I wear a mask when entering elevators or other tightly enclosed spaces and will probably wear one when stores reopen (I already do when grocery shopping). Caution does not diminish my personal freedom, IMO. Closing down all human activity for a prolonged period of time does.