One thing has become obvious over the course of the pandemic, we aren’t going to be able to make everyone wear a mask. Regardless of how you feel about that choice, or what it means about the person, it’s the reality and we have to be pragmatic about it.
Those who want to feel as if they are doing their part to help curb the spread of the pandemic can continue to mask whenever and wherever they like. They can also take the vaccine to help keep themselves safe and minimize the risk of spreading it to others.
Those who feel they are willing to take the risk, for whatever reasons and ideology seem valid to them, can – and will – continue to eschew masks and/or the vaccine.
We can’t tell others what they must do, or even what they should do. While we might be able to have productive conversations in person about why masking is the minimum and most considerate thing you can do to protect the immunocompromised, and why some might be concerned that mask mandates are a slippery slope to government overreach, most conversations today occur online rather than in person. The pandemic and quarantine only exacerbated the issue – even if it was unavoidable.
But, since the internet (and specifically social media) is where nuance and critical thought go to die, soon folks were entrenched in their respective camps and a public health issue was politicized in a way it never should have been. We all know that, and we all know that’s why we ended up where we are today – that and opportunistic politicians who will use any excuse to polarize their opponents via culture wars rather than address brass tacks issues like healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
But it’s worth rehashing, because the truth is, we’re ambivalent on the mask issue and think we all should be. Even if you’ve accepted that something is the best course of action at the moment – and we fully believe masking and vaccination are the best ways to prevent the spread of the virus, both because it’s logical and the science says so – that doesn’t mean you have to accept that as an indefinite status quo. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t continue to question the wisdom and efficacy of the measure. Because that’s how we come up with better ideas.
One of the things you have to learn with children is what battles to pick. You simply won’t have the energy for all of them, and risk tainting my relationships with them if you do. So you need to choose carefully, and choose those that are most likely to impart a lesson they are willing and able to receive. It doesn’t mean that sometimes they aren’t going to be forced to do things for their own good they don’t understand or like. It means that you try to minimize those instances. You may not always successful (we’re not), but you’re trying.
This is something we need to think about with social issues as well, and how we engage on them.
Like families, communities rely on folks getting along with those living alongside them. You don’t have to agree on everything, or like the same things, but you need to get along. To do that we’re going to have to step outside our boxes when necessary, and pick our battles carefully.
That brings us to our ideas on masking. If you see us out in the community, he will have masks with us even if we don’t have them on. If we are in a small group of friends and colleagues, we may not. If we are in a large group, where spacing isn’t possible, we probably will. Likewise, if we see you with a mask on, we’ll put ours on. It’s none of our business why you are masked, but there’s always the possibility you are immunocompromised, or live with someone who is, and we don’t want to be the reason you or they get sick. So, we’ll respect your decision and put ours on, and endure the steamed up glasses until we go our separate ways.
There is also always the possibility you are masking to keep from spreading your own germs – as we are when we put on ours – and actually are saving us from illness if you have it. In that case, we’ll take our cue from you as well and add another layer of protection.
No matter what the case, if you ask us to put our masks on, we will. And will do so gladly and with no sense of resentment or feelings of insult.
We’d like to hope you’d all take a queue from us and follow this line of logic too, but if you have other ideas, we’re glad to hear them. But let’s do it in person, or in a well-thought-out letter to the editor. Because as tired as we are of the virus, we’re even more tired of the negativity and division that social media has helped perpetuate. We’re tired of how easy it has made it to forget who our real neighbors are, and why they’re worth protecting.
