April 22, 2020

"[W]ith the lower face covered and, often, eyes shaded by sunglasses, the usual signposts of character are hidden. The mask becomes the first signifier of the individual."

"And that means it will also become a sign of aspiration, achievement — and inequality....  [I]t is hard to avoid the nagging sense that designers are exploiting fear born during a pandemic for their own ends (and profit), and that consumers are using what is a medical necessity, one that is the most visible representation of the pain and isolation currently shared by so many, in a decorative way. Capitalist opportunities often emerge from times of trauma. This may be one of them. But that doesn’t make the origin story any less uncomfortable.... Yet you can’t argue with the need for masks, or that many of the companies making them are doing so because there is little other option: No one is buying the clothes they make, and to create something — anything — for sale is to create a lifeline for employees and suppliers...."

Writes the NYT fashion critic Vanessa Friedman in "Should Masks Be a Fashion Statement?/Capitalist opportunities often emerge from times of trauma. That doesn’t make the origin stories any less uncomfortable."

The usual topics for the fashion critic are also not happening right now, and she too must create something — anything — for sale. Here, she addresses masks and veers into the critique of capitalism. Anyone want to buy that?

I'm more interested in the loss of the "usual signposts of character" — that is, the human facial features — and the psychological effect this has on us as we venture out in public. I don't see how anything about a mask can do much good as a substitute "signifier of the individual." We're really just talking about the pattern on the fabric. Where's the income inequality in that? Brand names like "Gucci" over your mouth? Why is Friedman worried about such lame inequality signaling when what we are losing is the ability to see human faces?

And let me argue with "you can’t argue with the need for masks." When did that become beyond argument?! Just a few weeks ago, the authorities were telling us we didn't need masks at all. Now, we're supposed to accept the necessity and not even talk about it?! Maybe in NYC the need to cover up is too plain to discuss, but out here in the heartland, there are places where you can go out and walk around for miles and keep 10+ feet between yourself and anyone else. I do it every day, and I'm living in a city.

To answer the question in Friedman's title, masks — if you've got to wear one or choose to wear one — should be any kind of statement you want to make. It's bad enough to have to cover your mouth and to lose the ability to smile and frown and snarl and purse.

129 comments:

rhhardin said...

There's not much done by traditional asians with masks up till now, but they all look alike anyhow.

rhhardin said...

"My eyes are up here" still will work as male disparagement.

rhhardin said...

Breasts will become socially more important now, in recognizing people.

Kevin said...

When did that become beyond argument?!

Progs don’t do well with argument.

They’re more like screaming in your face that “the science is settled” kind of people.

rhhardin said...

A Darth Vader costume would express individuality.

rhhardin said...

There'd be a market for a two-person mask, for couples.

tim maguire said...

[I]t is hard to avoid the nagging sense that...consumers are using what is a medical necessity...in a decorative way.

Oh, the horror! Did anybody proofread this sentence?

Kevin said...

“The world isn’t perfectly equal” has become the only news some people care about.

They used to care about the weather, until having an umbrella in a rainstorm became a symbol of privilege and cultural oppression.

rhhardin said...

A regular mask plus a lone ranger mask would mark individuality.

rhhardin said...

A Richard Nixon mask with a regular mask over it would be good too.

Bruce Hayden said...

I find that so NYC centric. I just don’t see a continuing need for a mask outside the subways, ferry’s, and taxis of NYC.

Still, she isn’t completely off base. Males can hide their faces, and their expressions, with facial hair. Females often use makeup instead. And both use these tools to mask facial weaknesses or other issues. I could see a fashion movement to replace both with decorative masks, at least in places like NYC. I just don’t think that sort of fashion would become popular outside places like that in this country anytime soon. Fo me, not wearing a mask would be a proud statement that I don’t live somewhere so unhealthy that I needed a mask.

Sydney said...

I don’t feel comfortable wearing a mask in public. It makes me feel like a thug.

tim maguire said...

And let me argue with "you can’t argue with the need for masks." When did that become beyond argument?!

Standard operating procedure for the left--you don't convince people you're right, you shout them down. You win arguments by refusing to entertain any other opinion. That's not new.

The mask isn't just a virus barrier, it's a human barrier. I get by ok with the people at the stores I frequent who know me, but anybody else I run into in my rounds--interaction is very constrained. They can't even tell that I am saying "good morning." I've started doing something I used to make it a point not to do--pretend they're not there.

rhhardin said...

Creative eyeshadow is called for, so people know who you are. The clockwork orange one-eye effect would be good.

rhhardin said...

Back when Walter Carlos was Walter Carlos.

Ann Althouse said...

I haven't worn a mask yet. My approach has been to avoid going anywhere where it would be relevant. I haven't gone inside any place other than my own home since March 5th.

I get out every day and run/walk/bike but I watch where I'm going and cut a wide berth around anybody I encounter. I'll cross the street to avoid people (not in an unfriendly way... everyone knows what's going on and people, including me, smile and wave).

David Begley said...

Yes. The so-called experts flipped in a matter of weeks.

rehajm said...

I can't tell if the virus is making people more stupid or just exposing stupid that was below the water line.

rehajm said...

Hooray Captialism!

Wilbur said...

AA: "I'm living in a city"

Our friend Ms. Friedman may take issue with that statement.

Rory said...

It's a matter of principles. IF you think that it's important to be inclusive, THEN you should wear a plain old mask that just anyone could acquire. Of course, if you really are committed to inclusivity then nothing you already own stands out, so getting a signature mask probably doesn't occur to you.

Rick.T. said...

“My approach has been to avoid going anywhere where it would be relevant. I haven't gone inside any place other than my own home since March 5th. ”

With your abundance of caution I’d be interested to know your metric(s) for deciding to go back inside somewhere else, especially when some experts discussing the potential for second waves and beyond.

Laslo Spatula said...

"I haven't worn a mask yet. My approach has been to avoid going anywhere where it would be relevant. I haven't gone inside any place other than my own home since March 5th."

In other words, you are using personal judgement on assessing risks and corresponding actions.

I was under the impression that was the same as wanting people to die.

Covid Kabuki.

I am Laslo.

MayBee said...

The good thing about wearing a mask you like is you won't throw it down in the store parking lot.

MayBee said...

The line of discussion that's bothering me is the people who think the protesters should refuse medical care if they get sick, and the people who are upset with Georgia for opening up and think they "deserve" any illness they get.
But... we need people to venture forth! And we'll find what can be done and what can't, and we'll get anyone who gets sick the treatment they need (or they'll self quarantine)

The idea that people who get Coronavirus for daring to go out are bad people is a terrible way to look at things. We'll never go forward if that idea takes root. Let's look at states like Georgia as pioneer states, and we'll help them like we've helped New York. New Yorkers don't get to be the only people in the country who are sick and virtuous.

Laslo Spatula said...

"The idea that people who get Coronavirus for daring to go out are bad people is a terrible way to look at things."

The New Puritans.

I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil! And she wasn't wearing a face mask!

I am Laslo.

Fernandinande said...

"Capitalist opportunities often emerge from times of trauma."

Necessity is the mother of something or other.

A regular mask plus a lone ranger mask would mark individuality.

I was talking to a Wal*Mart employee who had his head completely wrapped up except a slot for his eyes (looked like a Ninja), he said they wouldn't let him wear a Halloween mask.

gspencer said...

"With the lower face covered"

We all get to live out the lives of covered Muslim women.

Das Leben der Anderen

J. Farmer said...

Masks don’t work makes as much sense as walls don’t work. Seems the early motive was to either prevent potential shortages or overconfidence in mask’s efficacy. Even if only helps slightly, that’s better than nothing. More importantly then protecting you from getting it, it can prevent you from spreading it. It Reduces the likelihood of you touching your mouth or face. Mandatory mask use should probably be incorporated into easing of social distancing.

MayBee said...

Reduces the likelihood of you touching your mouth or face
This I do not agree with. Masks are fiddly. People take them on and off, move them up and down, adjust them.

A Voice of Reason said...

One can describe our existence as always being in some state of either Order or Chaos. Order is good. Chaos is bad. One of the conditions (and there are countless) that fosters Order, is the ability to easily predict the behavior and reactions of those around you. By blocking the expressive face, masks greatly inhibit that. Thus they promote the Chaos side, and should be resisted.

These things aren't that hard if you think them through, grounded in a useful fundamental premise.

Temujin said...

Her comment that "Capitalist opportunities often emerge from times of trauma." is like saying...I know we need that, but it's so gross to look at. Ugh...Capitalism.

Capitalist opportunities? How about people trying to figure out how to stay in business? Or others trying to figure out how to make a living during an otherwise down time. Yes, I guess those are capitalist opportunities. So is designing a new line of clothing for a major overpriced high-end Manhattan designer who hopes to sell a dress for $1,000,000, and getting a thumbs up from the fashion director of the NY Times.

I am not saying this is bad or evil, but for the record, Ms. Friedman went to Phillips Exeter Academy, then on to Princeton University. Then onto a beautiful life working for the NY Times, living in a beautiful brownstone Townhome in Brooklyn. She is both smart and unencumbered by any worries about how to make it to the next months mortgage payment. Probably has never once had to even consider that. Capitalism has worked well for her in her life. Though she's probably not figured that out yet.

alanc709 said...

Unless you have a surgical-grade mask and know how to use it properly, all a mask does is protect others from you. The general public wearing masks would have a prophylactic effect, but would risk denying masks to health care professionals who actually need them. But the NYT couldn't care less, since they have an agenda to promote.

Laslo Spatula said...

It sounds like we just need one really big face-mask wrapped around NYC.

Christo: America needs you.

I am Laslo.

Mr. Forward said...

My mask is a silk screened photo of a younger me before the wrinkles. Now I need one for the bald spot.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

The idea that people who get Coronavirus for daring to go out are bad people is a terrible way to look at things.

I don't know. All the New Yorkers living in their packed city, politics over science and riding their filthy subways is just thinning the ranks of progressives.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

all a mask does is protect others from you.

Good enough for me!

jaydub said...

What she's talking about is entrepreneurship, not capitalism. Not surprising a NYT writer wouldn't know the difference.

J. Farmer said...

@MayBee:

Reduces the likelihood of you touching your mouth or face
This I do not agree with. Masks are fiddly. People take them on and off, move them up and down, adjust them.


That’s a possibility. Face-touching frequency may be related to stress management and social interaction, so unsure how much a mask increases, decreases, or has no effect on frequency. One tactic to reduce frequency is count how often you do it over a set time. The mere act of paying attention to a number can help lessen frequency. Kind of like biofeedback.

Even if a mask doesn’t offer much added protection to any individual person, it may help across a large number of cases.

Laslo Spatula said...

In Japan there will be vending machines where you can purchase the used face masks of young girls.

The tentacles of COVID get everywhere.

I am Laslo.

Lurker21 said...

Please, please, please! No deconstruction until I've had my morning donut!

GatorNavy said...

After reading the slate of NY Times articles as put forth by Ms. Althouse, I have reached the conclusion that NY Times contributers are worse than FIBs

Lurker21 said...

He thought he suddenly understood. For the Linconshire sergeant-major the words End of Shut Down meant that a man could touch his face. For him it meant he could touch someone else's face.

Owen said...

Worried about touching your face too much? Wear gloves covered with hooks.

Clyde said...

OT: National Spelling Bee canceled for first time since World War II

Indian-American kids hardest hit.

Even worse news: Germany cancels Oktoberfest over coronavirus

2020 sucks!


Lurker21 said...

Flu season starts in October. Pick out your Halloween mask now.

Fernandinande said...

Worried about touching your face too much? Wear gloves covered with hooks.

If you like your face you can keep touching your face.

Howard said...

The statement that you wake when you wear a mask in public is that you are inconveniencing yourself for your fellow man around you. by not wearing a mask in public these days you are telling everyone that you could give a f*** about them.

The mask you wear protects everyone else from you it doesn't protect you from everyone else unless of course everyone else is wearing a mask.

This information should be front-and-center on any reopening plan and it is conspicuously absent from what I have seen. Hopefully someone will dig up something that will prove me wrong because I hope I am wrong,

Howard said...

I find that if I put on my nitrile gloves and then wipe them with dog poop, I don't touch my face as much as I normally do

Wince said...

I'm going to take the low road here.

I looked up her picture. Friedman should welcome the trend.

As rehajm alluded: "Yay! Capitalism."

Stephanie Toral said...

Can we please resist the temptation to make designer masks a thing? Ugh. COVID chic? My smile is my first way of communicating with people. No design on a mask can replace that.

Steven said...

Vanessa Friedman's entire career is being a purely non-productive remora on the hyper-excessive pure-status-symbol fringe of the garment industry.

Let me know when she's calling for a 95% tax on, say, advertising revenue for running ads for handbags or shoes that cost more than $150, and I'll take her critiques of capitalism seriously. Nineteen for the taxman, one for the NYT.

Chris N said...

I’ve started a non-profit called Masks 4 Hope.

Liberated, creative writers and opinioneers should give early and give often. Masks shouldn’t be about poverty, race, class and gender, but they so often are.

Together we can make a better world.

Masks 4 Hope.

rcocean said...

I like wearing a mask. it makes me feel protected and safe, like I can do pretty much anything and get away with it. I feel like Antifa.

Fernandinande said...

I’ve started a non-profit called Masks 4 Hope.

Is Ludmilla going to be there? Masking for a friend.

rcocean said...

Wearing masks should be the way to reopen business. If everyone is wearing a mask, lwe should be able to go back to work - in the crowded cities. BTW, my local high class grocery store - where all the elite goes - requires masks. I'm sure its not only for safety, but to make the clientele feel they're special. They're the only business that does require a mask - and you have to provide your own.

But a mask filled society would be a great subject for one of those old Twilight Zone episodes attacking conformity. We all need to look like No. 6.

narciso said...

has vanessa friedman ever had a clue before, so she does from now on,

Chris N said...

Howard,

Can I put you down for $100?

Masks 4 Hope uses organic blend materials with globally sourced, fair wage labor. We’ve been in contact with the Obamas. The global elite must respond to empathetic grass roots change.

Masks 4 Hope.

rcocean said...

Masks, I assume will hurt makeup and lipstick sales.

Oso Negro said...

I want Federal legislation requiring all politicians to wear Bozo the Clown masks.

rcocean said...

The whole point of a mask isn't to protect you, its to protect others.

Fernandinande said...

Indian-American kids hardest hit.

An Asian kid won the Navajo spelling bee.

rcocean said...

Perhaps space suits can be made available for the faint of heart reluctant to reenter society.

Howard said...

it's your weak-ass vanity that prevents you from wearing masks because you think it makes you look foolish and people will stare and point and giggle. And that hurts your feelings because deep down you know what you are and it's not pretty and it's not brave and it's not compassionate.

Jamie said...

My daughter and I made masks from this pretty lavender floral print; mine faded to plain white the first time I soaked it in bleach solution upon my return from the grocery store. Lesson learned: we sanitized hers in the oven instead. BUT the first time I did so with mine (why not? Preserving my bleach for other uses) I forgot about it and left it in the oven for hours... and it developed brown scorch marks. Sigh.

So, mask designers, you're looking for a very durable fabric that can be sanitized and heated without losing its color or structure, but that we can still breathe through, even if with an effort.

(I don't hold out much hope. My brother-in-law is a designer and his wife is a fashion house rep, and I don't think they own an article of clothing, including for their toddler, that can go in the dryer, much less be bleached.)

RK said...

I've noticed that masks accent the bags and wrinkles around the eyes. Not great on a first date.

Jamie said...

I'm gratified by how widely everyone is trying to smile at one another, to ensure that their eyes are smiling above their masks. I wonder if we'll all keep it up when our faces are free again.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

I wear a mask only when I go into a grocery store. I have to constantly remind myself not to fiddle with it once I have it on properly. I would hate to wear one for hours at a time. They are hot and they'll be even more uncomfortable to wear in July.

Drago said...

Howard: "Hopefully someone will dig up something that will prove me wrong because I hope I am wrong,"

Yeah...I'm sure everyone is going to jump on that tasking....

Drago said...

Howard: "it's your weak-ass vanity that prevents you from wearing masks because you think it makes you look foolish..."

"Angry Mind-reading Psychologist Howard" is one of my favorite Howards.

I'm not joking.

narciso said...

this will hurt a bit

Bob Boyd said...

Your mask should clearly indicate which pigeon hole you belong in.

Howard said...

I've been working out everyday with my mask on for several weeks. It's a great booster of the immune system because it makes it like you're working out at altitude. of course because I'm a hazwoper training hazmat professional I wear the mask properly which makes it even more difficult to breathe through plus I put in extra paper towels on the interior filter.

It's like doing boot camp for the reopening rather than sitting at home watching TV and bitching on the internet about how your lost freedoms are impacting your ability to eat McDonald super-size pizza fries

President Trump said this is a war with an invisible enemy and I believe him. It seems like this is just another opportunity for you chicken hawks to not enlist in the current battle.

Chris N said...

Okay, okay.

Masks 4 Hope is a subsidiary of PPE and PPW, an LLC currently in the name of our Leader and Great Man Of History and Herstory, Dale Lonagan.

Ludmilla is still speaking truth to power. Last week she rejected the Sunshine Youth Brigade during her hour long 10 point Earth Manifesto. UPDATE: Ludmilla’s family is still a welcome part of our Community, deciding to reside in the Goat Paddock for a time. She is eating more and the family reports they are happy to be closer to natural rhythms.

Please check out our curated photo of Ludmilla’s face on one of the outside walls of the Human Pagoda. Her eyes burn with the righteous indignation of activist innocence. This is what courage looks like.

Namaste.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Jamie said...
My daughter and I made masks from this pretty lavender floral print; mine faded to plain white the first time I soaked it in bleach solution upon my return from the grocery store. Lesson learned: we sanitized hers in the oven instead. "

At least you didn't do what one dimwit did, who put his cash in the microwave to sanitize it. The good news is he successfully destroyed any germs living on his money. The bad news is he did it by destroying his money.

Howard said...

Just wash everything in soap and water rinse it out iron it bingo. Fast easy and most effective. Soap and water is the best thing for the virus because it melts the fat layer in the cell dies immediately.

These are the types of basic skills that you learn in boot camp for the invisible enemy

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Howard said...
I've been working out everyday with my mask on for several weeks."

When I see people working out or walking in the park with masks on, my first thought is, "What a neurotic bozo."

You're a male Karen, Howard.

Chris N said...

Howard,

Our Community Calisthenics happens every morning at 9 am. Are you game to inspire fitness, viral awareness and empathy?

Come on down and share those good vibes with the Community wives.

Namaste.

Howard said...

Thanks for making my point Wednesday. You people won't make wear masks because you are afraid that people will judge you like you are judging me as a Karen. Your vanity completely outstrips your pride and hubris

Howard said...

Hey Chris I think you need to run that same idea up the flagpole another dozen times before someone will actually laugh. As everyone always tells me: up your game sweetheart

Ailisha said...

What originated as a health precaution became a fashion statement in Japan: https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-japan-shows-masks-help-slow-spread-covid-19/

"Initially a personal public health decision, daily mask wearing became a social etiquette standard and then a fashion accessory. Within the past several years, 'sickness masks' have morphed into a trendsetting statement worn by celebrities and fashionistas. Daily public use is ubiquitous. Articles are written about the season’s most popular patterns. Magazines inform which color mask makes a woman more attractive. There are masks marketed to men, scented versions and even a model that purports to highlight a Japanese standard of beauty —a smaller-appearing face. The latest Japanese mask trend is the Bi Fitto Masukuru, or 'Be Fit Mask.' Cut to contour the jawline, it provides a closer fit than the typical rectangular-shaped mask. Smaller gaps provide less room for respiratory particles to escape."

Howard said...

Do idiots know why Asia is doing so well? It is because they are much more stoical on the subject of wearing masks in public.

JML said...

I swear, LASLO, you are an American treasure!

Farmer, you need a new profile photo - one in which you are wearing a mask.

Eleanor said...

I've made about 4 dozen masks at the request of family and friends. The fabric stores are closed for the most part so the masks are made from what I had on hand. When I packed them to mail them because, heaven forbid we should see each other in person, as we all know Mom has more germs than all of the people who handle a package as it goes through the mail, I naturally put fabrics that looked good together in one package. My daughter laughed when she opened hers. "Mom turned the family into a quilt". But there's no reason why wearing a mask can't have an element of fun. Maybe I should use this time to learn to quilt.

Josephbleau said...

"And that means it will also become a sign of aspiration, achievement — and inequality...."

The "fashion critic" should be reminded of this in a few months when she is ooohing at the end of the Dior runway.

I'm glad Georgia is opening up, I'm happy to learn from the mistakes of others. I don't think there will be a disaster, but it's good that they are my pioneers.

J. Farmer said...

Do idiots know why Asia is doing so well? It is because they are much more stoical on the subject of wearing masks in public.

It's not as stoical as you think. Masks in all kinds of colors and design are pretty popular. Japan was the first to do it after the Spanish flu pandemic and then became a means of dealing with air pollution. But masks are not worn so much now to prevent illness but rather to prevent spreading it. If someone is feeling unwell, wearing a mask in public is expected to prevent transmission and is enforced as a form of social etiquette. Wearing masks wasn't very popular in Taiwan until after SARS.

I think that probably explains the biggest difference between East Asia and the west. Past experience led them to be vigilant of outbreaks and have systems and procedures in place to contain them. We've been much more complacent and much more likely to assume that potential outbreaks either won't amount to much or will be confined to foreign countries far away.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

" You people won't make wear masks because you are afraid that people will judge you like you are judging me as a Karen"

No, I Won't wear a mask because there is no good medical reason to wear a mask on a bike trail with nobody within 6 or even 50 feet of me.

Really, you are a Karen.

Have you sterilized your money in the microwave yet? Called the cops on neighbors who weren't properly distancing themselves from each other in the backyard?

J. Farmer said...

Farmer, you need a new profile photo - one in which you are wearing a mask.

No thanks.

William said...

It's a step towards equality. The young and the beautiful have so many unfair advantages in life. Wearing a mask doesn't completely eliminate their edge, but it serves to diminish it.....On the other hand, I think one of the reasons women were never able to achieve any semblance of equality in strict Muslim societies was because they were never able to use their strongest bargaining chip in their public negotiations.

stlcdr said...

Maybe a joker mask?

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I haven't worn a mask, except when I had to go to the hospital for a procedure and they made me. It was bizarre. Like being in that episode of Twilight Zone The Eye of the Beholder where everyone in the hospital is wearing masks. Probably one of the best episodes. (Spoilers in the link if you want to watch the show.)

Most of the places I go there are few to zero people. The checkers in our local grocery store wear masks. I see why, because they are in close contact with people all day. It is easy to distance yourself in the store for customers.

Masks that are commonly available, as they correctly told us, are not really a preventative. Panacea. Probably won't help but don't hurt. If it makes you feel better. Fine.

If I did wear masks I would make sure to make them weird and funny. I have some great fabric. The frogs doing yoga are especially funny. I should make masks.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Asians are crammed together like New Yorkers are. It's pretty stupid to compare densely crowded Tokyo or Seoul with Madison or American suburbia.

Take NYC and environs and a few other urban hotspots out of the picture and how many cases of Wuhan flu do you have?

MD Greene said...

"The statement that you make when you wear a mask in public is that you are inconveniencing yourself for your fellow man around you."

Another statement that you make is that you are helping Chinese businesses. Got tired of making do with scarves yesterday and went on Amazon to find a couple of the black masks that are so common around here. All made in China, including, I'm guessing, the ones that don't mention their sourcing and the ones described as "Made in the USA" of US material and whose company address is a Chinese lawyer's office in Monterey Park, LA's oldest Chinese neighborhood.

Bezos needs to spend some of his money verifying the accuracy of non-Amazon sellers' claims on his website.

William said...

I wear a mask in grocery stores as a courtesy towards the other shoppers. The fact that here in NYC we're now supposed to wear one at all times in public places does not give me trust in the public authorities. How could they give wrong advice on something this basic for so many years? What else are they wrong about?.....If you just set your mask aside for a few days, wouldn't the coronavirus die a natural death? I rotate my masks. They're bootleg dental masks supplied by a neighbor who's a retired dentist. In NYC, they're mandated and impossible to buy. I see some people with fancy masks, but I don't think they have much cachet.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I vote that us women should all dress in Harem Girl Costumes for the duration when grocery shopping.

Harem Girl See there is a mask worth wearing.

I'm Not Sure said...

"Probably won't help but don't hurt. If it makes you feel better. Fine."

If that's as far as it went, sure. But it'll never end there. The scared people will insist that everybody *must* wear a mask. And if you don't, it's because you don't care if people die.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

And if you don't, it's because you don't care if people die.

You know....as time goes on, as I get older, seen some sh*t, and people become more and more stupid....you may be right.

Night Owl said...

As of last week masks are required now in all grocery stores in MD. So I had to wear one yesterday for my weekly shopping. My homemade mask fogged my glasses and itched my face, so I ended up touching my face way more than ever.

Outside of crowded inner cities this is just silly safety theater. But if wearing masks means shopkeepers can open their stores, I'll play my part; until enough people get tired of it and we all stop.

But I'll not be wearing a mask to walk the dog.

Francisco D said...

Ann Althouse said... I haven't worn a mask yet. My approach has been to avoid going anywhere where it would be relevant. I haven't gone inside any place other than my own home since March 5th. I get out every day and run/walk/bike but I watch where I'm going and cut a wide berth around anybody I encounter.

My wife and I are outside every day because the weather is beautiful here in Tucson. The vast majority of mask wearers are cyclists. Very few, if any runners and walkers wear them.

Clayton Hennesey said...

"Ma'am, I know this is difficult, but can you try to give us a description of the man who shot your husband and abducted your little girl?"

"I-I-I'm not sure...he was masked...I think he might have been white...maybe..."

Cheryl said...

I made masks for my family. The guys get the outside made from outgrown cotton shirts, because literally any print looks too feminine. And a lot of colors look feminine. Apparently I only had girly colors and prints in my stash. The girls' masks are pretty cute.

I only wear mine at the grocery store and absolutely hate it. I live in the South, and it's customary to chat up or smile at most of the people you encounter on an aisle. I actually love it--I've been shopping at the same store for twenty years and know at least half of the employees and many of the customers. Wearing a mask is like putting a wall up. Very little chatting, no smiling. It's depressing. I can't wait to get rid of it.

I'm Not Sure said...

"as I get older, seen some sh*t, and people become more and more stupid"

I don't know... I think the stupid have always been with us. It's just a lot easier to advertise your stupidity to the world these days than it used to be, what with ubiquitous available high speed connection to the intertubes and all.

And to be clear- I don't think there's anything stupid or wrong with wearing a mask if you feel the need. It's the desire to force everybody else to bend to your preferences where I have to disagree. This virus is shaping up to be similar to a pretty bad flu season in the number of people affected but the flu comes around every year without the push to wear masks that we've seen lately. Why is that?

Earlier this morning, I did a little googling on face masks and was not surprised to find that they are helpful in preventing the transmission of disease but are not guaranteed to protect you, either from spreading or getting one. And that helpfulness has a cost- masks must be worn and handled properly. Even with cursory observation, it's clear that for many wearers, masks are not much more than "security theater".

MayBee said...

Chris N- I live for your posts

RigelDog said...

"It's bad enough to have to cover your mouth and to lose the ability to smile and frown and snarl and purse."

It's bad enough to have to cover your nose and mouth when you discover that it triggers your claustrophobia. As I have sadly found. Maybe wearing one (which I do when going into the store or other buildings) will help me with my phobia though, through habituation?

RigelDog said...

Rhhardin posits: Breasts will become socially more important now, in recognizing people.

Thank you for that, it really made me LOL!

Sebastian said...

" "you can’t argue with the need for masks." When did that become beyond argument?! Just a few weeks ago, the authorities were telling us we didn't need masks at all."

That's the problem with "follow the experts," which Althouse herself advocated not so long ago. When they change their mind, you must as well. And when they change back, so must you. That's the way it goes in the Church of Scientism.

Of course, in this case, experts both fuel and follow The Panic.

In any case, "you can't argue with x" is prog MO; and if you do: vengeance. The fact that Althouse and Meade both succumbed, briefly, was a prime indicator of The Panic and the insanity epidemic.

RigelDog said...

William noted: If you just set your mask aside for a few days, wouldn't the coronavirus die a natural death? I rotate my masks. }}

Exactly! Why is everyone obsessed with attempting to sterilize their masks? If they are cloth, hopefully you have several and they can be rotated, and washed. We happen to have 4 surgical masks that were given to us in the past few weeks at doctor's appointments. We go into a store or pharmacy once or twice a week, so by only putting the mask on at the door, then taking it off in the car and leaving it there for days, any virii will have disintegrated by the next time we use them.

loudogblog said...

Riverside County, in Southern California, has mandated the wearing of face coverings in public. It's happened to me a couple of times where, I've been at the store, and smiled at someone...only to suddenly realize that they can't see me smiling. It's a weird sensation. I've also noticed that I'm starting to see ads for masks with specific graphics. (Like Star Trek or Star Wars themed masks.) Most people have a need to express their individuality. We've been having weekly online staff meetings and I usually dress up in a silly costume for them. I think I'm going to go to the store dressed as Gilligan(with a mask)today since I might as well have some fun with this. (And it might cheer up some other people.)

RigelDog said...

And ANOTHER mask-al rant: Why the focus on whether or not a wearer is touching/fiddling with the mask? Yes, if you are wearing the mask in a place where you are touching surfaces, and then you touch underneath the mask, you are "touching your face" and potentially getting viral particles in the areas where they can enter your body and begin their nefarious operations. But if you are touching only the outside of the mask, then you aren't "touching your face" at all---because there's a mask there between your fingers and your face! Hopefully you will become more conscious of NOT touching your mask at all if you can help it, but adjusting on the outside should be OK. Probably better than no mask at all because you are still preventing a lot of your exhaled droplets from getting to other people's faces. So far, I'm unable to wear the mask if I can't touch it on the outside to adjust. Alternatively, if you are wearing the mask while out of doors to exercise and will not be touching any public surfaces at all, then why the hell shouldn't you adjust it any time and any way you want?

mikee said...

Imma get me a mask that looks like a mask. Soooo meta. I shall wear it 'ronical-like.

I saw the first mask displaying the logo of my alma mater recently. Made me smile. Those bastards at the university will sell anything for a buck.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Howard wrote of working out with a mask on:

"It's a great booster of the immune system because it makes it like you're working out at altitude."

I'm asking this without snark: Are there are any scientific studies which show this? I think it helps you psychologically to believe it's helping your immune system and of course, there's nothing wrong with that.

I'm curious because it seems to me athletes training at lower altitudes would have latched onto this prior to the corona virus outbreak if it really had any positive effects on the immune system or performance.

Inga said...

“In any case, "you can't argue with x" is prog MO; and if you do: vengeance. The fact that Althouse and Meade both succumbed, briefly, was a prime indicator of The Panic and the insanity epidemic.”

“Succumbed briefly”? Althouse is still not leaving her home to go into public buildings. She goes outside daily and keeps her distance from other people. You won’t see people like Althouse at these protests, for good reason.

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Paco Wové said...

"to make the clientele feel they're special."

"Excuse me, ma'am, I'll have to ask you to leave our store. Your mask is obviously a cheap, ineffective knock-off."

Richard Dolan said...

"Maybe in NYC the need to cover up is too plain to discuss, but out here in the heartland, there are places where you can go out and walk around for miles and keep 10+ feet between yourself and anyone else."

You've apparently forgotten what life is really like in NYC. Today is a lovely day in Brooklyn but still not many people outside and it's quite easy to maintain a reasonable distance. We take a walk along the river (Brooklyn Bridge Park, by the waterfront in the Heights and Dumbo) most days, and also go out to do some shopping in the neighborhood. Many of the people walking don't use masks, and from what I've seen, most of the bike riders and runners aren't using them. There is also a clear male/female divide -- very noticeable that fewer men are sporting masks. No one is getting hassled by cops about masks or distancing or any of that. What seems to be happening is that those most at risk -- older, with pre-existing health issues -- are staying inside; and those at less risk are deciding for themselves what works. Haven't been on the subway in a month or so but reports I've gotten is that it's mostly empty. The few stores that are open (mostly groceries or pharmacies) are restricting the number of people who can enter -- so people line up along the sidewalk, the store-owners have helpfully marked the six-foot spacing between would-be shoppers by tape. The sidewalk has become a stage where your place in the drama is all blocked out. All very sensible and all being done more or less spontaneously.

Despite all the doom and gloom from the usual suspects in the media, my section of NYC is doing fine. Sorry if that disappoints anyone out there.

Narr said...

I hate wearing my bandanna-mask--it's hot, but then as you say it's all theater . . .

If some clever person could devise a convincing-looking and manly sort of mask that wasn't hot, I'd probably just start wearing it all the time, everywhere forevermore. And only a year ago I was stating a personal preference here for less physical contact all around, including handshakes. Yay me!

Right now NOT wearing a mask is considered threatening. How long before wearing masks is considered threatening?

Narr
That'll be interesting

ALP said...

Masks: best acne cure ever. Cover up my decades of acne scars? You don't have to ask me twice. Don't have to put on makeup to cover uneven skin tone? Sign me up. Fewer people asking me to smile due to Resting Bitch Face? Can you say amen?

However - like one poster said above, how the EFF do those wearing glasses keep them from fogging up?

Sebastian said...

RD: "What seems to be happening is that those most at risk -- older, with pre-existing health issues -- are staying inside; and those at less risk are deciding for themselves what works ... All very sensible and all being done more or less spontaneously."

What a concept! Sensible, spontaneous, and isolating those actually at risk! Even in New York City! You mean, like, we actually don't need to tank the whole economy to accomplish that?

JaimeRoberto said...

Masks 4 Hope should apply to the Human Fund for a grant.

buwaya said...

In Spain and, I am informed, in the Philippines, the usual mask is cloth, home made or sold by the hundreds of thousands in stores and markets. These are often stylish and thematic.

Cloth is way more usable and comfortable for extended wear than those N95 horrors (I have a supply of some allegedly comfortable contractors N95 masks).

There is your personality marker, in cloth - basic conservative black or flamboyant in your own personal style.

buwaya said...

Anyone with a sewing machine and scraps of cloth (old clothing say) can make dozens of masks a day. There are lots of patterns on the Internet if you need one.

stevew said...

I have a mask that mrs. stevew sewed for me. It is made from cloth that has a pattern she decided was appropriate for me. No statement being made (I've seen the "penis" masks some woman is making and selling for charity donations), just a utilitarian device. It is black with some colored dots on it, small dots, not polka dots.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and a mask is just a mask.

Narr said...

My wife used to sew, and make her own clothes, but that ceased as soon as we sprang big bucks on a top-of-the-line Pfaff. I think it's still in a box here, 40 years later.

I suggested she should start making masks, but even though she's way more paranoid about this stuff than I am she won't bother.

Narr
Advertising algorithm, how do it work?

wildswan said...

Masks remind me of wearing a school uniform. Each uniform as worn became a statement about the wearer. The signals might be called subtle but since everyone wore the uniform all day at school, you soon picked them up. Similarly, I'm getting used to masks - there's business-like, there's tidy but feminine. There's one I never saw before: it's an "I am hidden" expression.

Helmut for Boskone said...

I want a mask with a picture of a Penny-farthing bicycle with the number 6 superimposed on it.

Eric Wilner said...

No one's allowed to question the masks, because we're playing Calvinball. Which is also why the rules keep changing; the only fixed rule is that we never play it the same way twice.

Johnathan Birks said...

One side benefit of masks: they defeat the ubiquitous facial-recognition software. Bank robbers and Antifa were ahead of the curve.

Unknown said...

Howard: Or not wearing a mask could be saying, "I've already had it, so even if I'm spitting stuff everywhere, it's not Wu-Flu stuff."

Masculine masks: They're called shmogs, which the intertubes tell me is spelled "shemagh". You can even choose which special forces tie-up you want to use. I haven't had a glasses-fogging-up problem with one. Also, since the tie-up part is not in front of your face, it can be adjusted without touching your face.

Laslo: I've passed on "Christo: America needs you."

Anthony said...

I got take-out from a local restaurant last night and even though the young lady was wearing a mask, when I mentioned that they looked busy and that we were all trying as hard as we can to hep them out, her eyes gave me a wonderful look of gratitude.

Or so I thought. Anyway, I felt good about it.