It wasn’t really all that long ago that it was commonplace to sit down in a restaurant, even in the non-smoking section (often designated by a line on the floor) and be surrounded by tendrils of cigarette smoke from the person seated behind you. Once the health implications of second hand smoke became known, things changed. We altered our behavior and changed the rules to protect the health of the community.

Cue the conversation around masks.

I realize that this has become a wildly emotional hot button issue. What I don’t understand is why. Why are some of us so angry about being asked to wear a mask? Why the hostility? They don’t hurt, they don’t break the bank, they don’t prevent you from going about your day. Yes the glasses fog up and we all look a little dumb, but unless you have an extraordinary physical condition or legit claustrophobia masks are mildly annoying at worst.

I’m trying to envision a disaster movie where the hero refuses to save the city because it’s not convenient, or they look foolish doing it. Maybe that’s the problem, maybe masks are too easy? I don’t know.

It’s true the mask you wear won’t protect you. Well, not unless you are wearing an N95 or other serious respirator, which, unless you’re a front line worker you probably are not. The masks the rest of us wear, either store bought or homemade, are meant to protect everyone else. I realize we are not seeing the awful devastation that major cities have seen (and thank goodness for that) but that doesn’t mean the virus is not here. We know this virus can spread from folks who don’t look or feel sick, and now more than ever with folks moving about from away and a lot closer than 6 feet, this simple act of civic responsibility becomes ever more important in saving actual lives.

I get that the concept is not 100% intuitive. To that end, there are some great memes going around. One of my favorites shows two men, no pants. (They’re line cartoons, it’s OK.) The point is, when person A pees, it goes all over person B and he gets soaked. If person B has pants on, some of the pee gets through, but not as bad. But, if person A has pants on, the pee stays with them and doesn’t get on anyone else. That, essentially, is the point of the masks, they keep our germs from spilling all over everyone else. Masks are “face pants.”

We hope for a cure, or better still, a vaccination, but those aren’t available yet. Masks, in a wide array of styles and fabrics, are. All the available evidence to date points to them being vital in slowing the spread.If new data comes in and the evidence changes, our ideas should too. But for now, wearing a mask (and I mean wearing one properly, if it is under your nose, or worn as a neck accessory, it’s not helping), ought to be a basic expectation of being in public, like shirts and shoes. Even more so because masks on the beach are still a good idea.

Fashion-wise, you have options. You can go with a begrudging “hospital paper” style, or elaborate prints to complement your wardrobe. Your choice.

Regardless of fashion statement, what every mask is really saying is, “I care about my community.”  I am masking up for you, thanks for masking up for us.

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