Masks on, everyone!..

A disclaimer first. If you honestly believe that wearing masks in time of COVID-19 is a good idea, protects you and others, pauses no harm to anyone, and generally is good for health and humanity, read no further.

If you, however, have some doubts about the above, do not believe that there is sufficient scientific evidence for wearing masks, or that this evidence is somewhat “controversial”, or that compulsory wearing face masks causes or might cause more harm that it prevents or might prevent, but feel somewhat helpless to do anything about making your opinion count, you might consider the following…

As far as I know, governments and local authorities often make wearing face masks compulsory in certain settings, bars, restaurants, shopping malls etc. Fair enough. They do not give us much choice (at least until the next elections ;-). So, let us all wear face masks!

Now, here’s the trick. Who said it should be any particular kind of mask? A Mickey Mouse mask, a Cinderella mask, a Joker mask, a Venetian carnival “bauta” mask, or a medieval Plague Doctor mask cover nose and mouth as well as any disposable medical face mask, and equally prevent your saliva from spreading in the air around you, no?

So, whenever you are required by law to wear a “face mask”, you can simply cover your nose and mouth with something, well, “different”… And, if we are no longer allowed to show our own human faces to each other, why not “replacing” them with some other familiar images, sending the message to those “in charge”. If you think, for instance, that the whole thing is plain ridiculous, you can wear a Mickey mask. If you think it’s scary, put on a Joker or a Plague Doctor mask. If you believe we should resist, wear a Dali mask from the Spanish La Casa de Papel/Money Heist series. Feel free to wear a Boris or a Trump mask, if you think the whole thing is just a political scam, or a Bill Gates mask if you firmly believe in conspiracy theories. And if there are three of you - and you are still allowed to hang out together - each of you can put on a Little Piglet one, collectively affirming that you are not afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, be it The Virus or an oppressive and/or incompetent government.

The more of us manage to do it, the more likely the message is to be heard, at least until the next elections. Unless, of course, these are cancelled for fear of a “second wave”, or our governments get scared enough to issue a special regulation about the size, shape, color, and design of the compulsory “face muzzles” (sorry, slip of a tongue, “face masks”), banning the use of the Mickey ones in public places outside of the Disneyland compounds (allegedly not to violate intellectual property rights…)

The final point. Like many of us, I am a reasonably well-educated individual with sufficient general knowledge about health-related issues, big data, statistics and research. And I believe I am sufficiently capable to analyze available scientific and political information from various sources, to assess health risks to me and my family, and to make responsible decisions myself.

That is why these days I would generally avoid crowded pubs and restaurants, I would wear a face mask when I go to a supermarket, and - as my mom taught me 50+ years ago – I will continue washing my hands before eating, using forks and spoons, drinking only boiled or bottled water, and generally avoiding touching things in public places.

I have nothing against face masks per se. I am just strongly against someone else making arbitrary decisions about MY health and safety on my behalf (and with little or none scientific evidence). And maybe we all need to act fast: the “compulsory” vaccine, with still largely unknown and mostly unpredictable health effects, is coming soon…

P.S. By the way. The character masks I was talking about are usually made from paper or plastic. Unlike medical masks made from tissue, masks made of paper, cardboard and plastic prevent any liquid or even aerosol particles from getting through completely (ever saw these transparent plastic face shields?..). Which ones are safer? It’s up to you to decide…