You’re thinking about masks wrong.

No mask is going to provide 100% protection from Covid-19, only a full hazmat suit will do that. But that’s not the point, and it never was. Mask wearing is about reducing the spread overall to save as many lives as possible, protect the vulnerable, to save medical resources, and to buy time for a vaccine. Consequently, it will stop the economy from tanking further and allow us all to reengage with our lives.

The more people who wear masks and social distance as much as possible, the less the overall spread, the fewer people get sick, the less money we lose mitigating a cascade of poor outcomes, the better off we are. The quicker we can get back to our lives.

It’s not about one person did this, one person refuses to do that. It’s what we do as a whole — as team Humanity, or team America (or wherever you happen to be from).

We must act as a community on issues that affect the community. Pandemics most certainly qualify as a community level threat deserving a community level response.

This is not about our lives as individuals. This is about our lives as part of a community.

As far as the “shaming” goes, I would say that if people want to play the freedom card, then they must respect the rights of others to point out that they’re being a blithering idiot when they’re being a blithering idiot. One doesn’t get freedom of speech without everyone having the same freedom of speech. If people want to play the personal responsibility card, then be personally responsible for their emotional state. No one can shame a person without that person’s consent. If that person’s cause was so righteous and just, that person would not be feeling shame. If they do, it’s probably because deep down they know they’re wrong and they know they’re doing harm.