The mask as a symbol – of stupidity

Vincent J. Curtis

14 Mar 21

RE: The Mask as Symbol.  An editorial by Paul Berton editor in chief of the Hamilton Spectator.  (Berton is an extreme progressive.)

As usual in progressive analysis, people can be divided into two types: the smart and the stupid.  More particularly, those who obey the dictates of progressivism, and those who object.  This is the sort of argument used to convince lemmings.

The argument is that mask wearing is smart, and objecting to them is, in the ultimate analysis, stupid.  This time last year, the progressive position was that masks are unnecessary, and besides, what PPE we have should be saved for health care workers.  Then, in July, mask wearing became the rage – as the excuse for lifting the first lockdown.  Mask mandates date from the very beginning of the second wave, and a U.S. study showed that eighty percent of people who caught COVID wore masks all the time.  Wearing useless masks may have given a false sense of security.

The problem with mask wearing is that nearly all masks don’t work against viruses.  Unless the mask is NIOSH approved – and surgical masks aren’t – they have little chance of adding to the protection you get from social distancing.  It used to be that you wore a mask when social distancing was impossible, and now you’re supposed to wear two masks while outdoors and alone.  This is a sure sign that mask wearing doesn’t do much.

If mask wearing worked, people wouldn’t need encouragement, let alone shaming.  But masks don’t work, and all the orders and shaming turns the mask wearing into a symbol of cultural control – between progressivism and the smart people.

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