So I recently talked with some family and friends to get their honest opinions about masks. My family votes Republican and are big time Trump supporters, but not really tech savvy, so they aren't on here. I have friends who occupy a wide spectrum of ideologies, but none of them terribly insane. Without speaking for them, I'll tell you guys where I land on this mask business.

On a personal note, I wear a mask to keep my nasty breath and germs to myself, but I feel that a lot of people seem to think the masks will save them. It's a lot of security theater that they have in their mind's eye. The only masks that can block viruses are the ones specifically rated for it (the N95s for the nose and mouth, and the full on face seal masks with appropriate filters). I can understand the desire to wear the cloth masks, though, since it can prevent coughs and droplets from spreading as widely.

That said, the outright demands to wear them, to the point of imposing jail time, makes it really hard to want to use them. Not only that, it comes from, usually, a place of condescension and self-imposed authority that steps on the bounds of civil liberties. It's the same as when businesses were demanded to close down. My thoughts on this are the masks can help, but by demanding obedience, they dismissed any chance of willful compliance by simply asking us to comply. The fact that authoritarians fail to see this indicates they care very little not only for us but for our country and its core values. I feel the whole mask debate could have been avoided and not been a, frankly, stupid hot topic that both sides have made it out to be.

It's not difficult to wear a mask, but it's also not difficult to simply ask politely to wear a mask. At the end of the day, this has become far too stupid of an argument and I'm frankly sick of both extremes of it. You guys stay safe, I love you guys, and let's try and get full Republican control for the next 4 years. I'm sick of these Communists breaking shit.