Why People Refuse to Wear Masks

It is a simple thing to do yet people refuse to do it and ever more, they attack those who choose to do it despite evidence that doing this simple task can prevent the spread of the virus and save precious lives from the virus we now know as COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

I am talking about wearing a mask.

A simple task that shows concern for yourself and others. Something simple we can do to stop the virus from spreading throughout our communities and infecting others.

It has been said that during this pandemic, more than 40% of Americans who were polled said they refused to wear a mask for one of the following three reasons.

1. They think it violates their rights and freedoms.
2. It makes them feel weak.
3. They do not think the virus is real or that serious.

To some, wearing a mask means admitting a fear they may not have consciously confronted yet the grave threat that this virus poses to their health and safety and they feel that wearing one is a sign of weakness and fear and they do not want to be associated with that.

They believe the false belief that the virus is “no worse than the flu” and they never wear a mask during flu season, so why should they wear one now, or they believe that the mask will make them feel weak and for many of them, weakness is something worse than getting sick with the virus.

Let me address the first point.

For some odd reason they think that it infringes on their rights to wear a mask, which is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard as a mask is meant to protect you and others from getting sick or giving the virus to someone else, has nothing to do with your rights.

The suggestion to wear a mask does not violate your rights, nowhere in the Bill of Rights does it say that safety gear like a mask takes any of your rights away, nor does it say that you have a right to refuse these PPE (personal protective equipment) items during a public health crisis such as the one we are in now.

Suggestions nor requirements to wear a mask violate any of your rights.

That brings me to my second point.

Many think that wearing a mask makes them weak and they are seen as fearful and this also, is a false belief system and one that has no basis in reality whatsoever.

This is the type of thinking that many in our country have though. The line of thought that those who take precautions are weak and fearful while those who put themselves and others at risk are somehow heroes and role models, this is some strange type of thinking, but yet it is how they operate.

Protecting yourself from this virus and thinking of others is the opposite of being weak and fearful. It is being smart and caring of others and this goes for more than just wearing a mask, it goes for the other measures we should take to beat this pandemic like social distancing and staying home.

The third and final point I would like to address of why people do not wear masks is that they just do not care about others. It is an act of selfishness and being self-centered and in many cases, they believe the lies from the POTUS that it is “a harmless flu” or “a hoax” or the other thousand things he has falsely said about the Coronavirus.

They believe that it is fake and that it is no big deal so they do not protect themselves or others by wearing a mask.

They do not take it seriously. They do not believe that it is real or if they do, then they do not think that it is that bad and that is yet another reason why they do not or will not take the precautions and wear a mask when they are around others.

Whatever the reason is, they are making everyone less safe.

Just look around when you go out to get your essentials or go to the doctor or work. People are not only not socially distancing from others, but they are not wearing the one thing that protects them and others from getting this horrible virus and it is a clear act of selfishness, or stupidity — or both.

I talked about selfishness and stupidity in a previous article in relation to the lockdowns and people not following them and this goes along the same lines as that. the very same lines.

Wearing a mask is not only smart, but it is kind and a compassionate thing to do to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect our health. It is not weak or fearful or a violation of your rights. The virus is real and it is deadly and it is here to stay and that is why we must wear a mask and do whatever we can to protect each other.

The goal is to protect public health and the best way that we can do that is by wearing a mask. We need to stop with the belief that we are weak or that wearing PPE shows weakness or these masks are reserved for the healthcare workers, there are there for us to all to protect us from this virus and are a smart thing to do.

Grocery stores and other businesses would not let their employees wear masks in the beginning of this crisis for fear that people would be scared away and that caused many employees to become positive for this virus and this was a grave error on their part.

Businesses who have told people they cannot enter the store without a mask have had tragedy strike them.

For example, there was a Family Dollar security guard who was shot and killed because he told someone to wear a mask in order to enter the store and they came back and killed him.

There was also a Dollar General employee who was punched for telling someone to put on their mask, and there have been numerous more cases of similar instances where people went into rage because they refused to wear a mask and were asked to put one on.

Not wearing a mask has become something that instead of being meant to help people, that is being interrupted as something that makes them go into fits of rage and feel like they are being persecuted and in a time when we are to be coming together to protect each other and our health, we are moving apart and fighting about the very thing that was meant to save us.

Whether it is simply not wearing a mask out of ignorance or being misinformed about our public health threat or it is the violence that comes from being told to wear one when they do not want to or even just going near people without one in an act of selfishness.

One thing is for sure. That thing is that those who do not wear masks put our lives at risk and do not care about this serious pandemic that we all are going through and dying from and they prove that by their actions of refusing to put public safety first.

Think of others. Wear a mask. Do the right thing!