Why Mask Mandates Are A Socialist Attempt To Make Us All Say What We Don't All Believe

In every group, it seems, there is a Karen, using whatever they can to signal their virtue by calling out those they think are not virtuous.  The latest way to virtue signal is to loudly shout about the latest dictates from our mini-Cuomo, Governor Cooper.  Our local tyrant has decided that there shall be a statewide mandate to wear masks whenever in public.  This news is dutifully reported by masked talking heads on the local news channels.

So, let me explain, again, why I find this mask wearing both unhelpful and a socialist way to make us say things we don't truly believe, but we also don't want to get crosswise with the local constabulary.  I contend that this is the true reason why it is being mandated, and not to protect the public, or prevent the spread of the virus.

Wearing a mask in the open air, while keeping reasonable distances does no good, except as a way to virtue signal.  Furthermore, most of the masks are...how should I put it...as useless as tits on a boar hog.  Cloth masks, which of course are washable, are also sieves for the virus.  I have read that such masks may be at most 7% effective.  But of course, as soon as you put them on, they become filled with a load of bacteria and viruses, not to mention various bodily fluids.  Paper masks are also not that effective, should be changed often, and of course, if you are a man with facial hair, probably about as effective as...well you get the idea.  Masks should be properly fitted to be effective.

Of course, Karens will point out that if one doesn't wear a mask, one simply doesn't care about others.  Really?  If I do not have the virus, then who, prey tell, am I endangering?  If I am not sick, then I can not spread the disease to someone who is particularly vulnerable.  But, again I think those most vulnerable should know their own condition and take necessary precautions.  It is not up to everyone else to know the individual situations of everyone else they meet.  But if they did have such a responsibility, then they would have to wear more extensive containment systems, assuming again that they were sick in the first place.  Is this beginning to seem a circular argument?

Oh, but here is where the arguments for masks start to spiral in on themselves.  The proponents of masks will point out that you don't know you are sick.  You might have the virus, and not know it.  To be sure, there is the famous case of Typhoid Mary. However, every time I go to work, they take my temperature, which is usually somewhat on the cool side. If I were sick, wouldn't I have even a mild temperature?  After all, the invasion of a virus generates a response from the immune system that results in some, if even mild, inflammation.  It is only by going through some level of inflammation that the body can generate antibodies.

Now, if you really want to see how to control infections, here is some Covid-19 Protection Advice From A Dentist.

So imagine my bewilderment in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic at all the politicians, pundits, and talking heads who've suddenly become experts in infection control — not to mention all the lay people wearing masks of every conceivable design and standing six feet away from others, as if six feet were some magic number. Poor sheeple — they think they're safe, they're following the "science," and far be it from me to disabuse them of their imaginary sense of security.

As I was saying, I'm just a dentist — with forty-five years of studying and practicing infection control — and here's how I see it. We live in a sea of bacteria, viruses, and Spirochetes (Lyme Disease, syphilis), a veritable Grand Central Station of pathogens, all of them vying to take us down. They're on doorknobs and newspapers, in our air and water, and emanating from the mouths (and other orifices!) of our fellow human beings.

One way to protect yourself from these ubiquitous bugs is to raise your immune status. Eat better, exercise more, get your sleep, and manage your stress. Like the USS Enterprise from Star Trek, you want your shields up at full capacity and the warp engines working. Run yourself into the ground with bad habits or bad thoughts, and you get sick.

I won't give advice on diet here, except to say that certain doctors have a lot of clinical patients to show that NOT eating some items reduces inflamation, which helps to control weight, makes moving easier, and improves your immune system and its response. 'nough said.

You enter a treatment room, and after several minutes of witty repartee with your patient, you wash your hands thoroughly with warm water and soap, and long enough to hum the theme song to Gilligan's Island. Then you carefully put on a mask, protective goggles, and gloves. Done right, the patient's protected from you, and you're protected from the patient.

Now, here's the exciting part. When you're done abusing the poor patient's molars, all your PPE is contaminated, chock-full of pathogens and bodily fluids. You throw your mask and gloves away and leave your goggles to be disinfected by the assistant who later cleans up the operatory. Because you just touched your contaminated PPE, you wash your hands again before leaving the room, this time humming the theme to Mr. Ed. A horse is a horse, of course.

And you do this again and again and again, going through boxes of gloves and masks every day, and spending thousands of dollars on high-tech goggles so there's one pair in every room. If your dentist walks around the office with glasses or loupes hanging from his neck, he ain't doing it right. If he doesn't wash his hands at a sink, but instead rubs a little Purell on them, he's faking it. I've probably spent 10–15% of my time on the planet washing my hands — so much so that my arm hair ends exactly where an latex glove would begin. But my infection control protocol works. I've treated coughing, hacking, sneezing patients for entire winters without catching a cold.

So, if you want to do something more that just virtue signal, which I have always found to be...well...as useless as...you get the idea...then try you might want to consider following the advice given here:

Wash your hands,

Keep your areas clean,

If you are sick don’t go to work but go to the doctor and

Don’t hang around with people you know are sick.

Oh, and by the way, that hand sanitizer that has become ubiquitous everywhere...don't bother.  Sanitizing is not the same as sterilizing.  Sanitizing is like mowing the lawn.  It tends to cut down the amount of bacteria and other things on you hands, but it doesn't get rid of them, and bacteria reproduce pretty fast. Sterilization, which most people think they are doing by using hand sanitizer, kills every living thing on the surface of the object.  it is usually accomplished by placing the object in an autoclave.  If you did it to your hands, and if you could stand the pain, your hands would now be as dead as a brick. and would be totally useless.   And using hand sanitizer doesn't really clean your hands.  Instead, even using just water is more effective.  After all, you don't really want to get rid of the bacteria on your hands.  They are a part of your micobiome, and help to protect you more than that useless mask.