MASK SHAMING: A NEW KIND OF BULLYING

BY Danelle Carvell

When you think of bullying, you probably think of something that happens among teens or children. But this year, I’m seeing a new kind of bullying among adults known as mask shaming. I haven’t experienced it yet in person, but online it is a daily occurrence.

The reason I’m so outspoken about this issue is that I see how it is dividing us. A nation divided cannot stand. And if we quietly comply to the face mask, what will be next? Forced vaccines? Gun control? I don’t want the government or anyone telling me what I should wear, what I should inject into my body, or anything else that I should have the freedom to decide for myself.

I consider the forced face mask as a form of assault, no different than if you held a pillow over my nose and mouth to slowly suffocate me. The crazy thing is that your eyes have the same ability to take in the coronavirus. Maybe I shouldn’t share that. I might be asked to wear goggles next.

The argument I hear most from mask shamers is that I don’t care about others if I don’t wear a mask, because “my mask protects you and your mask protects me.” Let’s break down the logic of that claim. 

So any cloth mask I wear will offer one-way protection from a virus. And because that cloth only offers one-way protection, we must both wear one. What kind of cloth has the intelligence to filter a virus only in one direction? How do I know that I’m wearing the mask with my face on the right side of the cloth? If it only filters in one direction, I would have to wear it properly in order for it to work. Right?

Another thing I don’t understand is why weren’t you concerned about me wearing a mask during the last cold/flu season? The flu is just as deadly as COVID. If I’m being selfish by going maskless, aren’t you being the same by demanding that the healthy majority do something that they are not comfortable with? Why should I suffer based on your assumption that I’m sick? 

But wearing a mask isn’t suffering. It’s a small sacrifice, just a slight  inconvenience. Really? I saw masked employees looking miserable on a hot day last week while working in an open-air snack bar. If that continues, I won’t be surprised if some of them start passing out. It’s easy to prove that wearing a mask causes an obvious drop in oxygen levels. That can be done with an oxygen sensor. Combining a lack of oxygen with an overheated body is a disaster waiting to happen. 

What are the negative side effects of wearing a face mask? A weakened immune system due to reduced levels of oxygen is my favorite one to mention. But here are seven more side effects according to an investigation by MSN Lifestyle News: shortness of breath, lightheadedness, headaches, acne, development of chronic dermatitis due to chemicals in the mask fiber, new patterns of skin wrinkling, and the development of chronic respiratory conditions due to inhalation of microfibers in the material of the mask.  

On June 5, the World Health Organization released this statement: “The wide use of masks by healthy people in the community setting is not supported by current evidence and carries uncertainties and critical risks. Those risks were listed as self-contamination by touching and reusing the mask, potential breathing difficulties, and a false sense of security leading to less hand washing and closer distances between people. 

Do mask shamers know the health history of everyone they are shaming? Some people can’t tolerate a mask due to pre-existing health conditions. Rebreathing your own exhaled air is not healthy. It causes an acidotic state in your blood and a ph-imbalance in your body. This affects everyone differently. I can’t tolerate oxygen deprivation. I get headaches, nausea, lightheadedness and it makes me tired. 

Are you caring about me by asking me to endure that?  Are you having a heart and loving your neighbor? And what about the emotional and mental harm that masks might cause? Children are the most susceptible to this. Some people have anxiety and panic attacks while wearing a mask. I feel like I’m suffocating. I would probably be one of those people having a panic attack if I wore a mask for hours. 

I’m baffled by the boldness of people who demand that I do something with an assumed benefit that can’t be proven. An investigation sent to the Trump Administration on April 8  said, “There are no studies of individuals wearing homemade fabric masks in the course of their typical lives. The current level of benefit, if any, is not possible to access.” 

So you can’t prove the mask is beneficial, but you want to bully me into wearing one? But what if I could prove that the mask doesn’t protect against viruses? Would you believe something that was written in the Singapore Medical Journal in 2004? The journal said, “Since the coronavirus is an extremely small virus, it can pass through the pores of both the surgical mask and the N 95 mask.”

The coronavirus is nothing new, and the N95 mask is the most protective mask available. According to Lung, a peer-reviewed Medical Journal, the possibility that the coronavirus can pass through the N95 mask has already been reported. 

“The pore size of the N95 mask is about 3 to 5 times larger than the size of the virus,” the 2006 journal stated. 

So if you believe that a microscopic virus can be stopped by a face mask, you might want to screen your deck with a chain-link fence to keep those mosquitos out this summer. I’m not buying it. I choose freedom.