On Friday, July 24, you ran an article dealing with responses of local people to mask wearing. Unfortunately, you chose to start the article with a very negative response which doesn’t seem to match the tone of the rest of the article. A person who refuses to wear a seat belt doesn’t bother me since the person is risking their own life. The same can be said for cyclists who do not wear helmets. They do not want to put us with the inconvenience of wearing a mask. I call such people I/ME since they only care for themselves.
Not wearing masks is different from not wearing seat belts. A properly worn mask is protection for others. This is a YOU/US approach. While a mask will keep some airborne particles, which might contain a virus from reaching the wearer, the main purpose of the mask is to prevent potential virus containing particles coming from the wearer from reaching others. In that respect, wearing a mask is being respectful of others and not wearing one says you really do not care about others.
Unfortunately, there are so many variables that one is never absolutely sure the mask will protect. But what is sure is that spreading the virus is highly probable without a mask and wearing a mask makes transmission much less probable. Be nice. Wear a mask when you are close to others.
For a very succinct version of the preceding paragraphs, I suggest you look at the comic strip “Thatababy” in the Monday, July27 Times-Union. A copy of this strip should be handed out to anyone who refuses to wear a mask.
