It’s wild to me that masks got looped into the culture war stuff. People around the world have worn masks in public - for various reasons - for decades. When urban pollution is high, or there’s a lot of respiratory nastiness in circulation, especially in crowded places, it’s such an easy way to reduce what you breathe in.

The whole Covid-era “masks don’t work” thing was nonsense. Nothing’s perfect, but if masks didn’t help reduce stuff you don’t want to breathe in, then doctors and dentists wouldn’t wear them.

Most “behavioral mandates” are obviously problematic (although I think masks fall more along the lines of stoplights and seatbelts, and are not akin to vax mandates or fois gras farms, which is how many people reacted).

And if you’re dealing with a health condition that makes you more susceptible to stuff, that’s a great reason to protect yourself.

Respect 🤜🤛