How Did Face Masks Become a Controversial Issue?
The sky was a luminous royal blue dome swarming with huge lazy whorls of stars, Van Gogh stars that would have been invisible in New York, drowned in light pollution. It made you reminisced your visit to Windsor Castle many summers ago, impressed at the paintings adorning the walls of one end of a castle. (You don't have any idea about Rembrandt until you stared at some of his works. They were impressive, but your favorite artwork was "The Judgment of Paris" by Peter Paul Rubens. How did Queen Elizabeth II acquire such a collection?) And then one of your coursemates, a tennis fan, messaged you. He was looking forward to the US Open (after spectators weren't allowed last year), but the organizers would require locals to present proof of vaccination. You didn't ask him if he was vaccinated, not even reminding him that there was a mobile vaccination clinic in the city. It all started with a face mask. How it became a huge source of controversy?
A face mask is usually a cloth with two stretchy bands at two ends. You put it on your face, so you can cover your mouth and nose. It acts as a barrier between you and the rest of America, but many fight passionately against them, saying it impairs individual freedom. Is it? The answer depends on what political party you're affiliated with. You keep your political views to yourself after your mother became distraught with the news of her old (college) friend. She was a freelance writer, mostly spending her time inside her apartment. But she was Covid positive. Complications included pneumonia. (You didn't ask your mother if her friend was vaccinated or if she wore a mask whenever she went out of her apartment.) To wear a face mask or not - that is not the question. However, it turned into a "culture war". Some businesses have put up signs telling patrons they are required not to wear face masks while retail employees have to confront angry customers who refuse to wear them. It became an issue in your university. (And you can't believe your other coursemates. They are thinking about Freshers Week, and how to make it more memorable than the previous editions.) You became confused, unable to analyze the information that you've been reading on the Internet (and the emails that your university is sending to your inbox). You might return to remote learning before the end of the year, so you decided to look back at the past year, of how traumatic it was.
Here's What We Know About Face Masks
Why face masks became a divisive political issue? Then-President Donald Trump suggested that wearing a face mask could be seen as a political statement against him. He even mocked Joe Biden, then presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, for wearing a mask in public.
When did the backlash against face masks started? You remembered the mask-less protest last year, and you didn't foresee how it would spiral into a wider anti-mask sentiment. In fact, your neighbor, who worked in a local business, would tell your parents that she would find herself on the frontline of a masked debate. There has been an uptick in the number of angry customers who lash out whenever she (or another colleague) tried to turn them away for not wearing masks. (These customers might not have a clue about an extreme case in Flint, Michigan.)
Why do people say they are against face masks? Some would argue that the wearing of face masks was one-way individual freedom was being eroded while others thought that this was a "plan-demic" conspiracy theory. Is it a communist dictatorship order? You pretended not to read the question, as this could be the result of confusing public messaging coming from public health officials. Some officials discouraged people from buying face masks if they weren't showing symptoms, but Anthony Fauci, the epidemiologist leading the US response against Covid-19, admitted that there was a shortage of masks for essential healthcare workers.
What do public health officials now say about face masks? Public health experts unanimously agree that face masks could help slow the transmission of Covid-19. It should be followed with another question: Do you need a booster shot? The answer would be another issue, which should be discussed in another post. Dr. Fauci insisted that wearing a face mask should be purely a public health issue, not a political issue.
The Delta variant Is Stirring Uncertainty on Universities for Fall
In a few weeks, tens of thousands of university students from across America (and the world) will descend upon New England (and other major cities), as universities attempt their first full, in-person semester since 2019. However, a surge in Covid-19 cases fueled by the Delta variant would complicate that migration, leaving many universities on a brink of another (school) year without a clear picture of what student life will look like. (It would be more challenging to 20-somethings who graduated from college. Working remotely could be trickier than for longtime employees.) Most institutions will have full dorms, side-by-side desks, and in-person activities, a blissful rush of normalcy that you've been wishing for these past months. But the Delta variant is extremely contagious. No one knows what the colder months will bring. Wearing a face mask is a requirement - and your responsibility.
