Mask Liberation

The pandemic is not over, but it sure felt that way when they lifted the mask mandate.

The announcement about face masks and social distancing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, relayed to most of us through the White House two weeks ago, came as a shock and a relief. That evening, as I contemplated the news, it felt like the end of more than a year of uncertainty. Now things can return to normal, or something like it.

I remembered back to the beginning of the pandemic and how it felt to be locked down with no end in sight. As the weeks went by, I realized that this would be a life changing event, even if no one I knew got sick. It disrupted every part of our lives including how we make a living. I wondered what was happening to all those people I have heard about - average Americans - who don’t have enough money saved to cover an unexpected expense of more than $400. Where are they all, I thought as I looked out my window, and what will happen to them?

The mask is the major symbol of the pandemic. Each time I put it on I wondered how much longer I would have to continue the ritual. Very early on it felt so constricting for me that I considered where I might move to avoid its necessity. I just did not want to live the rest of my life wearing a mask and if Madagascar or Wyoming was willing to take me I might have considered leaving the next day.

More questions came when the mask rule was lifted. Can I really go out without a mask? It wasn’t about safety anymore it was about what is socially acceptable. I went out for an evening walk and I noted that I, and those I came across, continued the habit of walking in a wide half circle around anyone we were about to pass on the sidewalk. Signaling intent from blocks away in some cases.

The next day I went to the grocery store. I’m fully vaccinated. Can I go in without a mask? No. The sign on the door still says, masks required. As I passed through the front door I glanced to the side where a few months ago I would have had to wait in line as a store employee kept track of how many customers were inside with a clicker. We’ve gotten past that point, but it appears not everyone is ready to go all the way, regardless of the guidance. There is the question of the un-vaccinated among us. Maybe that’s the biggest question. How do we tell each other apart and does it matter for anyone but the un-vaccinated?

After being told for months that masks were the best way to survive, it feels too good to be true to be told we don’t need one if we’ve gotten the shot. It has become a security blanket and it may be difficult for some of us to give up.

A marketplace built around mask wearing has sprung up. They’re marketed as impulse buy items at the grocery store, they are advertised as fashion apparel on the internet, there is a market for people who prefer traditional masks that evolved from surgical masks and those who prefer the tube scarf that evolved from the bandana. People are making a living designing, manufacturing and selling masks. There is an economic incentive to continue the practice of mask wearing so the industry can survive.

As early as last fall, during a cold and windy trip through the canyons of New York City, I began to see how and why a permanent mask culture might extend past the pandemic. For one thing, in the winter, it’s warmer to wear a mask. Another side effect is the reduction in other airborne diseases. During this pandemic year cases of the flu were way down. Partly due to increased vaccinations, partly due to social distancing, but no doubt partly due to the wearing of masks. In a health conscious society, perhaps mask wearing is a sacrifice people are willing to continue to make regardless of what the experts say. No expert is going to advise against it.

It is interesting to ponder how the pandemic will effect the rest of our lives. Like children who grew up during the Depression or World War II, or those who were of draft age during the Vietnam War; how have the lives of today’s children been forever changed, especially if they lost someone? We are only beginning to find out. I think our reluctance to dispense with masks at the first opportunity is a small sign that a pre-pandemic normal may never return.