Thank you for putting into clear and simple words, all "that" about masks that is so hard to easily comprehend, articulate, and understand (irrational behavior). I always find difficulty in reacting with empathy as I know I should when engaging or observing "the masked" but my revulsion is undeniable. As a highly visual person and artist, from the beginning of this sad chapter for humanity the masking bothered me the most. (Prelude and preparation for easy and unquestioning behavioral acceptance of the poison. ) What a time to be alive and aware, the seeming unreality of it all haunts me on a daily basis. I feel like I move in and out of shock.
Great article, but one quibble: Propaganda isn't violence. It's coercive and fraudulent, which in it's own way is worse than violence, because it's harder to identify how harmful it can be. Propaganda is often a prelude to mass violence, from wars to BLM riots.
Understanding propaganda and rhetoric, and the use of logical fallacies and proper application of logic to determine the accuracy of arguments, is essential and needs to be inculcated in our culture, starting at the personal/family level.
I like your point, I was perhaps stretching one psychologically. Thank you. I'd call it an act of mental coercion and any coercion to me is 'violent' in its essential nature.
Very well written. I know a bit about masks and respirators myself. And handled a lot of situations in a very similar way when out in public. Wanting to ask if they understood the basis of what they were doing, the benefits and risks of wearing one. What they think a mask can and cannot do. Would they wear it working with asbestos? How big are our respiratory droplets, the fine aerosols we exhale? How big is a particle of asbestos?
Why do you think so many people wore them outside btw? In NZ that was never part of messaging that I saw…but people did it and I can’t grasp why (and why it didn’t show a failure of messaging as it was so so pointless yet public health never addressed it).
Thank you for putting into clear and simple words, all "that" about masks that is so hard to easily comprehend, articulate, and understand (irrational behavior). I always find difficulty in reacting with empathy as I know I should when engaging or observing "the masked" but my revulsion is undeniable. As a highly visual person and artist, from the beginning of this sad chapter for humanity the masking bothered me the most. (Prelude and preparation for easy and unquestioning behavioral acceptance of the poison. ) What a time to be alive and aware, the seeming unreality of it all haunts me on a daily basis. I feel like I move in and out of shock.
Great article, but one quibble: Propaganda isn't violence. It's coercive and fraudulent, which in it's own way is worse than violence, because it's harder to identify how harmful it can be. Propaganda is often a prelude to mass violence, from wars to BLM riots.
Understanding propaganda and rhetoric, and the use of logical fallacies and proper application of logic to determine the accuracy of arguments, is essential and needs to be inculcated in our culture, starting at the personal/family level.
I like your point, I was perhaps stretching one psychologically. Thank you. I'd call it an act of mental coercion and any coercion to me is 'violent' in its essential nature.
Achtully... (Prelude to outing myself as a word nerd) :p
Violence and propaganda are both forms of coercion, one is overt and obvious, the other less so.
But they both suck, and so do those who trespass on others with them.
Very well written. I know a bit about masks and respirators myself. And handled a lot of situations in a very similar way when out in public. Wanting to ask if they understood the basis of what they were doing, the benefits and risks of wearing one. What they think a mask can and cannot do. Would they wear it working with asbestos? How big are our respiratory droplets, the fine aerosols we exhale? How big is a particle of asbestos?
Almost always I never bothered.
I recently rode in the car of someone who has a pile of masks, one on top of the other, gathering dust, and whatever. Yuck!
Why do you think so many people wore them outside btw? In NZ that was never part of messaging that I saw…but people did it and I can’t grasp why (and why it didn’t show a failure of messaging as it was so so pointless yet public health never addressed it).