Politicisation of face masks

It is now compulsory to wear face masks in shops in Scotland and from today, in England. I have seen all kind of face masks and I have also seen people without face masks. But what I have noticed the most is how the issue is becoming a vehicle for political and religious debate. People are now wearing or not wearing masks to show their support or annoyance with the government. They are wearing masks to display their support for a particular football team or for a particular cause. Some are cringe worthingly using it as a fashion accessory and posting it all over their social media stories. This needs to stop. 

In the US the idea of a mask being a political statement can be evident even more so. Here we are obliged to wear a mask by law. I am pleased to see that many people have abided by their civic duty to wear one and protect other people. Yet other people are interpreting it as a plot for government to control us. Some are seeing it as a violation of freedom and believe that the threat of covid-19 has been overblown. The issue is being politicised, perhaps not in the UK to as great an extent but certainly in America. 

In America, Trump has not imposed an obligation to wear face masks. This could link to America's strong culture of individualism where people don't want the government telling them what to do. But it could also link to their preference for a specific political party. For example, in a recent poll by The Associated Press - NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they are wearing a mask when leaving home.  This could be due to the fact that Democratic leaders have been more vocal about the importance of face masks. Many Democratic governors have made it mandatory to wear masks in public. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said if he were in the White House, he would "do everything possible to make it required that people have to wear masks in public." 

In contrast, many Republican leaders have been more hesitant to mandate masks, even as their states have started to see surges of new cases amid reopening phases. Masks are now becoming a culture war and an act of symbolism. This can be seen more so with Trump's reelection campaign ordering red Trump-branded masks and considering giving them away at events in return for donations. A terrible idea that I hope will never happen. This will only exasperate the idea of a mask being a way to express your political alignment. But maybe it will be the only way to get Republican supporters to wear a face mask. 

The issue has become politicised in the US and I think that there was a threat of this happening in the UK. We had a time period where Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland imposed face masks to be worn in shops but Johnson never in England. If Johnson never imposed an obligation, I do think this could have resulted in further separation of the union. An issue that has already been at the forefront with the pandemic as support for Scottish independence surges.  

In America, the politicisation of masks has escalated to an extent that groups have emerged on social media such as Repoen NC. A group that opposes shutdown orders in North Carolina and said masks were "muzzles" that were "ways our freedom is being eroded." The group started a "Burn Your Mask Challenge" where people post videos on social media of themselves burning their masks and use the hashtag "#IgniteFreedom". Many people link this pandemic to some sort of conspiracy theory with masks not only being a political protest but perhaps one against science? 

Yet, the reality is that wearing a mask only displays altruism. It is nothing to do with politics or science. Wearing a mask is a form of virtue-signaling. Masks are not empty symbols. Masks are tools of public health. The very simple behaviour of wearing one could help curb the transmission of an illness. An illness which has killed many - so think about it from the perspective of a member of your family dying from the coronavirus? 

Quite frankly this outlook on the wearing of face masks has to go. Lets be honest, what is not wearing a face mask really going to do for politics? It is an empty act of defiance. There is no underlying motive to wearing it than by the simple fact to protect not only the wearers but the people the wearers come in contact with. Wearing a mask is not hard. Living with a chronic illness is hard and being put on a ventilator is hard. At least when we get home from errands, we can take off our mask. You cannot take off a chronic illness, a ventilator or something as precious as our own and other people's lives.