The coronavirus changed that. What used to be ideological disagreements are now matters of life and death. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Helen, an accountant, began working from the family’s home, near Chicago. She closely follows guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce her risk of infection by wearing a mask and social distancing when she goes out in public. Richard is a civilian military worker who routinely interacts with others on his job but refuses to take coronavirus safety measures because he believes the virus isn’t a big deal. “As time goes on, he’s become way more contrary. I cannot wrap my brain around his logic anymore. A lot of it just seems to be resentment,” Helen says. “Our daughter wears a mask and he just refuses. He’ll throw up these ridiculous excuses, talking about his freedom. There’s just so much anger.” Helen is beyond distressed. She believes Richard’s defiance cancels out her own efforts and heightens the risk she and the couple’s 12-year-old daughter face. She is absolutely correct, says William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist and professor of preventive medicine and health policy at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. “If you’re living in the same dwelling, and you’re being observant and somebody else is not, then you have a much more acute problem,” he says. “You have to have some kind of discussion and come to some accommodation. In this situation, the careful person is almost obliged to assume a certain amount of risk that they would not choose.” RELATED: Do You Really Need to Wear a Mask This Summer?
A Political Rorschach Test
Dress codes have been enforced for decades everywhere from workplaces to restaurants (“No shirt, no shoes, no service”) with minimal pushback. But mask wearing has become a political Rorschach test and the latest flashpoint in this country’s cultural wars. Finding a solution is more difficult and the stakes are even greater when the battle is among members of the same household. While the initial guidance from health experts about mask wearing was contradictory, with mixed messages from the CDC that eroded public trust, researchers have continued to find that masks can greatly limit coronavirus transmission. A recent study conducted by Texas A&M University concluded that masks prevented 66,000 infections in New York City in less than a month. “Our results clearly show that airborne transmission via respiratory aerosols represents the dominant route for the spread of COVID-19,” wrote lead author Renyi Zhang, PhD, a professor of atmospheric sciences. “We conclude that wearing a face mask in public corresponds to the most effective means to prevent interhuman transmission.” Yet many Americans remains opposed. A May 27 tracking poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 70 percent of Democrats say they wear a mask “every time” they leave their house, while only 37 percent of Republicans do. Some of those who refuse to mask up argue that doing so is not only ineffective but dangerous. One false claim, which has been circulating widely on social media, alleges that wearing a mask causes oxygen deficiency and possibly even death. Plandemic, a slickly produced video loaded with conspiracy theories and misinformation about the coronavirus, also asserted that wearing a mask “literally activates your own virus.” The video garnered more than eight million views before YouTube and Facebook took it down. RELATED: 10 Misconceptions About the Coronavirus
The Politics and Psychology of Noncompliance
For months, President Trump and Vice President Pence have outright refused to wear masks in public (although both appear to be softening their stances as cases of COVID-19 in the South and West soar), sending a strong message to supporters to follow suit. At Trump’s most recent public events in Tulsa and Phoenix, thousands of maskless adherents huddled close together for hours, seemingly as a show of loyalty. Many of the people who view mask wearing as an infringement on their personal liberties seem hostile to those who take the opposite view. Hillstone Restaurant Group in Texas forbid its employees from wearing masks and refused to schedule them for shifts if they insisted. The owner of Liberty Tree Tavern in Elgin, Texas, denied entry and service to anyone wearing a mask. David Abrams, PhD, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at the NYU School of Global Public Health in New York City, says in times of heightened uncertainty, mask wars may also be about a sense of belonging. “Those who don’t wear masks may feel a sense of solidarity, and those that do likely regard it as an act of altruism and a way of helping each other out,” he explains. Richard McAnulty, PhD, associate professor of psychological science at The University of North Carolina in Charlotte, has researched the psychology of noncompliance with health directives. He says denial, a common reaction to threat, provides a sense of control in uncertain situations and can take the form of minimizing or dismissing the threat or one’s vulnerability to it. “People estimate the probability of risk — and decide the odds outweigh probable danger,” says Dr. McAnulty. “In contrast, the probability of enjoying social connections with family and friends seems high. The likelihood of exposure to the threat seems low and distant compared with that of having fun.” RELATED: Your COVID-19 Summer Safety Guide
Masked While Black
Masks wars are also exposing issues surrounding racism and raising the already heightened risk of coronavirus infection in Black households. Nikita Blakeney-Williams of Charlotte, North Carolina, is a cancer survivor with a nursing background who avoids crowds and always wears a mask. Her daughters and youngest son follow suit, but her older sons and husband do not. “Attempting to remain healthy for some of us in the African American community has different complexities,” Blakeney-Williams says. “The older boys don’t wear a mask when they go out because of their desire to avoid unnecessary confrontations. I can’t help but wonder if my husband too shares a fear of being ‘masked while black’ and the possible negative outcome that can accompany it.” Despite statistics showing Black communities are disproportionately affected by the virus, many Black men feel wearing a mask is a bigger threat than COVID-19. After the CDC began recommending mask wearing, in April, Aaron Thomas of Columbus, Ohio, expressed his fear on Twitter. “I don’t feel safe wearing a handkerchief or something else that isn’t CLEARLY a protective mask covering my face to the store because I am a Black man living in this world. I want to stay alive but I also want to stay alive.” In a tacit acknowledgement of the potential risk masked Black men face, Lincoln County, Oregon, initially exempted Black residents from its mask mandate. Officials reversed the policy when Black locals complained that it would lead to more, not less, harassment and discrimination. Vickie Mays, PhD, a professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health in Los Angeles, has been tracking incidents of such harassment. “Which death do they choose? COVID-19 or police shooting?” she asks rhetorically. “We have African Americans who have been dragged out of stores, who have been ordered by police and store guards to pull their masks down or take their masks off.” That is precisely what happened to 35-year-old Illinois State Senator Kam Buckner. After a statewide mask mandate went into effect, Buckner wore a mask to a Chicago-area hardware store. When he tried to exit with his purchases, a uniformed officer demanded to see his receipt and ID, while making no such request of white customers. Buckner posted about the incident on Twitter. “When I asked why, he said, ‘I can’t see your face. You look like you might have been up to something.’” The CDC reported more than 52,000 new coronavirus infections on July 5 as cases rise in 40 states. While government officials and public health experts grapple with how to contain the spread, the pitched battle over masks shows no signs of abating. RELATED: Black Americans Have Been Hit Hardest by COVID-19 — Here’s Why
