I’ve Been Shamed

I’ve been shamed for wearing a mask. Okay, people haven’t called me out, on the street, “Hey you! You’re a loser. You’re afraid!!!” But, when I scroll through my feed on Instagram or Facebook, I see too many posts accusing people who choose to wear masks of doing it because we’re afraid. And, for me, and for my husband, and for others that I speak to and know, we aren’t doing it because we’re afraid, we’re doing it because we see the importance of wearing a mask. In other words, we’re not doing it for ourselves, we’re doing it for others.

Here’s one post that I saw:

“I see people walking around in fear. Fear lowers immunity. That’s why I meditate. I know I’m healthy. If you’re healthy, you don’t need to be afraid. You don’t need to wear a mask.”

Half of that is true. Yes, anxiety lowers your immune system. Meditation is a great tool to alleviate stress. But the healthy part, not so fast. You don’t know if you’re a carrier and when you wear a mask you protect others. A new study shows, “how long speech-generated droplets can linger in the air: not cough- or sneeze-generated droplets, but plain old conversation level emissions. . . . they can stay airborne for anywhere between eight and 14 minutes. . . . But the new study’s underlying message is clear: as a safety precaution and a sign of respect to those around you, wear a mask.”