Masks Are The New Black

Maybe it's my artistic temperament, but I happen to have a slightly higher tolerance than normal for standing out in a crowd. After seeing this video a week ago it became obvious to me that even though the powers-that-be were saying otherwise, it was glaring common sense that wearing a mask over your face while in public would decrease the likelihood of getting Covid-19.

Having been thus persuaded, I determined to start wearing a mask in all of my outings, particularly during my shopping trips. With everything else shut down, grocery stores have now become communal funnels. It’s the one place where we all still have to go, infected or not, and as such it’s where i’m at the greatest risk of picking up the virus and transmitting it to someone else.

Fortunately I have a few N-95 masks left over from some renovation projects and that along with some nitrile gloves have become my standard shopping accoutrements. It quickly becomes apparent when wearing this stuff that others think you are weird. The upside is the wide berth that others give you, which certainly helps with the social distancing.

I’ve got good reasons to wear the mask. I’m convinced by the arguments for the masks, but the fact that there is an altruistic quality to it -- that I am not just protecting myself, but feel like I am helping others by stopping the spread -- makes it even easier to make the choice. 

Even still, It feels super awkward. I feel like I am on the threshold of feeling silly enough to not do it, and it makes sense to me why people choose not to. I have volunteered to be the designated errand-runner in the family, but my wife still has certain errands she has to run in person. She is 6 months pregnant and is now on a schedule of bi-weekly doctor’s appointments. Not surprisingly, I’ve insisted that when she goes to her appointments, and not surprisingly she really doesn’t like to wear the masks when she goes out. The moment you see anyone else not wearing a mask you feel silly. 

Here we are in a crisis, where lives will certainly be at stake. We have something we can do to make a difference. As more information comes in, it seems more and more clear that wearing masks could make a big difference, and yet we may not do this that could end up saving us.

Chuck Marohn talks about this from a broader vantage point on the latest Strong Towns podcast. There are a multitude of potential threats to our health, safety and existence as humans and yet it is possible we may not be open to solutions that could save us because they are just socially uncomfortable. He calls out the particular case, elaborated in Jared Diamond’s Collapse of the Greenlanders who basically starved to death because they were unwilling to change their cultural habits. It sounds stupid, just like letting a virus spread because we are unwilling to wear masks sounds stupid. 

I could leave it at that, and waggle my finger and scold all you non-mask wearers for being stupid and not listening to facts, but I think there is potential for a more important insight here that may actually help us to solve the problem. Not just the problem of why we aren’t wearing masks, but why humans do and believe all sorts of stupid things that get us into trouble. 

I’m sure at some point, you have observed a group of people doing or believing in something that is obviously stupid to you. Maybe it’s flat-earthers, or incels or depending on your political perspective, it’s either people who believe in religious utopias on one hand or socialist utopias on the other.  Our initial response is usually disbelief that others can be so ignorant of facts, but eventually we settle into some sort of conclusion of writing them off as stupid -- whether that is characterising them as “voting against their own interest” or as oversensitive, SJW snowflakes.

This serves a convenient purpose, as there is nothing like mocking another group of people to give your own tribe a sense of solidarity, and to provide a personal sense of self-satisfaction. Unfortunately, that convenient purpose also comes with some big liabilities, not the least of which is a decreased ability for self introspection, and lack of awareness of the failings and threats within your own tribe.

An alternative response when seeing others acting stupid is to ask what it is about human nature that makes people believe what they believe. This is a far superior approach because once we can apply the error broadly to human nature, we can start to have an awareness of how the same error emerges in ourselves and within our respective communities. Jesus’s admonition to remove the mote in your own eye first is excellent advice personally and communally. 

While the reasons we make errors are complex, one thing is certain - we far over-rate how much rationality and facts determine the decisions we make, and under-rate how influenced we are by the opinions of others. We get very uncomfortable doing and believing things that others do not do and do not believe. This can be seen in the results of the Asch Conformity Experiments and in the Preference Falscification work of Timur Kuran, but it is evident in any of our own communities and lives if we pay enough attention. 

Religious people believe religious things because most of their friends are religious, progressives believe progressive things because most of their friends are progressive. The consequences of stepping out of line are real and severe (although they become less so the more broadly we are willing to associate with a diverse group of opinions and viewpoints). Seeing our own blind spots is not easy, but it helps if we start with the assumption that they are there and are likely to be informed and solidified by cultural consensus. Covid-19 is not the first, nor will it be the last novel threat we will have to face and learning how to recognize potential interventions and overcome occasional cultural barricades will be critical to our success as a species.

One thing that is certain is that it does take some individuals willing to take a chance and show a tiny bit of courage to change public opinion. It can be hard being a lone voice lobbying for change, but the second you have an ally it changes everything. The second you see another person at the store with a mask, you gain some solidarity. Your job, if you want to make positive change, is to find that first ally.

This is a frustrating time crisis to face. Humans like comfort and ease, but when we see a challenge, particularly a challenge that we face together, we want the opportunity to show courage and make a difference. Our medical practitioners, truck drivers and store clerks are on the front line right now and deserve our admiration. Others are doing what they can to contribute whether it is 3D printing masks, supporting local businesses, or making donations. For many of the rest of us, it’s hard to feel brave or useful when all we are asked to do is do nothing.

So let me make a suggestion that the one brave thing you do is to wear a mask when you go out in public. Be willing to be the one person who looks silly, so the next guy feels a bit more comfortable doing the same. Fortunately, the powers-that-be have started to come around on this point. I’m not going to pretend like it is some big heroic act to wear a mask, but that is not to say that the effects will not be dramatic. If we can all do it, if we can adopt the culture that has become commonplace for our friends in Asia, we can slow the spread of the virus, and we will certainly save lives. Maybe we can also learn a lesson that will help us to prepare for the many future crises we are certain to face as human beings.