Dear Editor,
I greatly appreciated Emma Cummins’ observations in “Resist Masktopia” (Collegian, 22 Oct. 2020). I can understand how, in certain limited, specific situations, the wearing of properly constructed masks and following proper medical protocols regarding use, handling, and changing, could be beneficial. But the universal wearing of masks, in all situations, strikes me as ill-considered and dangerous.
Universal mask-wearing is dehumanizing. We are being conditioned to regard each other as biohazards and objects to be feared, instead of fellow human beings. Whether this is intentional or not, it’s one of the most horrible and sinister trends I’ve seen in my lifetime.
If someone feels safer with a mask, I don’t begrudge them wearing it. But those who wear masks as a form of conformist virtue-signaling — let’s just say their commitment to liberty is suspect. What other purpose does a mask serve when one is walking outdoors with the nearest person 100 yards away, or one is driving alone in one’s car?
Those who disagree with me are welcome to direct me to all the double-blind, peer-reviewed studies showing that general masking stops the spread of the coronavirus. I’ll be happy to be corrected. Until then, I’m skeptical that our public health experts have such evidence, simply because their other remedy – general lockdowns – were imposed with exactly zero consideration of the costs and consequences, and they’ve inflicted great damage on people. (And thank you to professor of chemistry Christopher Hamilton for sending me a few sources.)
I’m grateful to Emma Cummins for speaking out against what looks to me like an awful lot of unthinking conformity.
Charles N. Steele
Associate professor of economics, Herman A. and Suzanne S. Dettwiler chair in economics
