Wearing a Mask Is Kind; Not Wearing One Endangers Others

There is a broad consensus among public health experts that wearing face masks can help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.[1] Sadly, wearing a face mask has become a partisan political issue: Conservative Republicans are apparently less likely to wear them.[2] This is perhaps not surprising given that President Trump has avoided wearing a mask in public, despite advice from health experts.

People might feel that being told to wear a mask is a threat to their freedom to do what they want. This response can be explained by reactance theory, which proposes that people desire to have freedom of choice and therefore have a negative, unpleasant, aversive reaction to having their freedoms restricted by other people or by external forces.[3][4] The term reactance refers specifically to the negative feelings people experience when their freedom is reduced or eliminated. For example, if the governor of your state or a specific store establishes a mask-wearing rule, some people might experience reactance if they feel that rule is a threat to their freedom.

Reactance produces three main consequences.[3] First, reactance makes people want the forbidden option more and/or makes it seem more attractive. For example, people think that wearing masks makes them look weak or unattractive. Second, reactance may make people take steps to try to reclaim the lost option, often described as “reasserting your freedom.” For example, people might intentionally not wear a mask in a store that requires them. Third, reactance may make people feel or act aggressively toward the person who has restricted their freedom. For example, people might lash out at others who tell them that they must wear a mask.

As specific examples, the owner of Little Man Ice Cream in Colorado reported that some customers were outraged by a policy to wear masks, and responded by spitting on an employee and coughing all over the counter and on other customers.[5] In Michigan, a man who was denied service at Quality Dairy became angry and stabbed another customer who asked him to put on a mask. When the police tried to apprehend the man later, he approached the police with the knife, and the officer shot and killed him.[6] In Illinois, two sisters stabbed a security guard 27 times who told them to wear masks.[7] In Florida, two shoppers in a Walmart got into an argument about wearing masks, and the man without a mask pulled out a gun and threatened to kill the man who was wearing a mask.[8] In Buffalo, New York an 80-year-old man was killed after confronting a 65-year-old man about not wearing a mask, who pushed him hard to the ground causing "blunt force trauma to the head" [9]. In Georgia, a supermarket cashier was shot and killed by a customer in a dispute over the wearing of a face mask [10] In France, where masks are mandatory on public transportation, three passengers brutally assaulted a bus driver who told them to wear masks; the driver died three days later.[11] It is obvious that these incidents are aggressive. What is less obvious is that not wearing a mask can also be seen as aggressive because it can harm or even kill others.

My friend who knows I do research on "hangry" (hungry + angry) suggested I coin a new term "mangry" (mask + angry) for people who become angry because they have to wear a mask. People should not become angry when they have to wear a mask because it is an act of kindness that protects others. When everyone wears masks, everyone is protected.

Viewing masks as political does not encourage freedom or liberty as much as it encourages the spread of COVID-19. Although much is yet unknown about COVID-19, we do know that it can be spread from people who are presymptomatic (they don’t have symptoms yet) or asymptomatic (they won’t ever have symptoms).[12] What this means is that even if people feel perfectly fine, they could still be spreading COVID-19 without knowing it.

One way to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is by wearing masks, but the effectiveness of masks is determined by how many people wear them. The more people who wear masks in public, the safer we all are.[13] Universal mask wearing could save 130,000 lives in the US alone.[14]

One’s own rights stop when they infringe on the rights of others. For example, if you are over the minimum age for consuming alcohol, you can drink. But you cannot drive while intoxicated because that behavior could harm others. A similar logic can be applied here. If wearing masks was about protecting one’s own health, arguments about freedom and liberty might hold more weight. But wearing masks is about protecting others and the community as a whole.

There are some hopeful signs that wearing a mask might become less politicized. For example, some Republican leaders are now encouraging Americans to wear masks..

In summary, wearing a mask is an act of compassion for others. In contrast, not wearing a mask is an act that endangers others. Please show caring for your fellow humans by wearing a mask in public.