Oliver Bateman Does the WorkVerified account

If the mask directive had been rolled out right at the beginning, with backing from the health authorities who cautioned against their use, mask compliance would probably be somewhat higher right now. This would’ve become a panic-driven behavior, and more would still be doing it

We’d also be spared copious “masking as culture” essays, since this is now and forever after a political issue, unlike how it is treated in parts of Asia (a health/safety behavior tied to various other behaviors). But that ship has sailed here

One side will go hard on the mask use well beyond their limited utility, bc it is also reflective of the nature of the society they’re hoping to engineer, and the other will resist angrily, as they resist all such directives(often in ways that make them fodder for online “dunks”)