Masks – why?

I’m jumping into my first post with a copy from my other blog.

Let me reveal why I was up until 2:30 am researching horror tropes last night. I’ve been preparing to pop off about the whole mask thing. You guys already know what I said about mask mandates, ableism, and HIPAA. We already know that masks don’t work. I’m just saying the same thing Anthony Fauci said before he changed his mind suddenly.
And nothing about the science changed. It’s not like those previous studies were invalidated.
So the question is why mandate the things? And most importantly, why keep mandating the things? We had theorized it was about making people uncomfortable until the election. And yet they persist.

At this point I think another explanation is required.
Now, I hate masks by default disposition. They rub up against my clothing sensitivities, my anxiety, my claustrophobia. Same for many people. But even when I find one that doesn’t upset one of these issues, I still hate them.

Because it makes me feel like some kind of faceless corporate drone.
It was that line of thinking that got me to really understand what this is all about.

Masks dehumanize people. Of course, all government-mandated uniforms dehumanize and depersonalize people to some extent, as has been pointed out by critics of school uniforms and plain-color hospital gowns. But how much more so a “uniform” that covers your face?

It’s not like there aren’t a large number of existing studies focused on facial expressions and people’s ability to feel empathy for other people. Studies have shown that people are more likely to do things they find embarrassing or wouldn’t normally do when wearing sunglasses.
A study from 2013 showed that medical masks reduce empathy and understanding in the doctor-patient relationship. Just placing something over your face increases a sense of social anonymity, which encourages antisocial behavior.

We already know this. There’s a reason why masks in history and throughout literature have symbolized loss of identity, anonymity, and being forced to hide one’s true feelings/identity, repression, conformity. (Somehow the punk crowd instantly forgot that masks were a symbol of conformity and repression.)

We know this even in the character design field, as characters without visible faces are harder to empathize with and can either seem distant and mysterious or can be killed without eliciting sympathy.

So. In an age when people are already about as distanced from each other as it’s possible to be, family structures are damaged or broken, all interaction is done over the internet (see the G.I.F.T., a similar principle) and are not allowed to socialize or gather, we are feeling less empathy for each other than ever before. And now, even when you go on your weekly outing to the grocery store, you’re not even allowed to see another human being’s face.

They want us to hate each other. That much is obvious from the last year’s rhetoric. Through masks, they even want the average person to dampen their feeling for their neighbors beyond even the damage that’s already been done. What could come of this?