On Masking Up

The story is out that the CDC is relaxing its masking guidelines.  Well, pin a rose on them.

I hate the covid mask with every fiber of my being.  With every fiber of my being, I hate, loathe, despise, execrate and in all other ways cannot stand the mask.  It is the imposition of the last two years that I have hated above all other impositions that have affected me personally.  Even not being able to go to Mass and receive the Sacraments during the time when the churches were closed did not trigger the internal temper tantrum in me that being forced to cover my nose and mouth does.  What this indicates about my priorities may not be much to my credit.

The mask is an unprecedented intrusion onto our persons, that has set us up to accept the even grosser intrusion on our persons that is forced vaccinations.  It's one thing to have a dress code; it's quite something else to make people cover up orifices that God intended to be exposed to the open air for our survival.  And in consenting to this, we have completely taken leave of our senses.  It is a one-size-fits-all "remedy" imposed on everyone with utter disregard to individual needs and sensibilities.  It is claimed, incredibly, that a mask does not restrict our breathing, when clearly it does.  Thus, besides the proverbial nitwits driving alone in a car with a mask, we have seen the spectacle of people exercising and playing sports and engaging in other high-intensity physical activity with masks on, somehow convinced that this is compatible with, and indeed necessary for, health.  We see pregnant women restricting their oxygen flow with masks.  As a fat broad, I need more oxygen, not less; yet, during this "pandemic," I have been forced to attend in-person court with a filthy mask that not only turns me into a faceless cypher and diminishes my courtroom presence but fogs up my glasses and gives me a headache at a time when I need to be concentrating on giving my clients the best representation I can.  But, it is replied, doctors and nurses mask up in surgical theaters for hours at a time, and it doesn't hurt them!  The rejoinder is that an operating room has extra oxygen pumped in to compensate for the covered noses and mouths.  This setup does not exist in a courtroom, or pretty much anywhere else.  We have even been stupid enough to require masking in security-intensive places, like banks, where up to now face coverings had been illegal -- for what used to be obvious reasons.

The mask also has dire psychological consequences that nobody seems to want to talk about.  It is bad for children and their development to have to mask up -- and they, very sensibly, hate masks -- and to not be able to see the faces of others.  The wearing of masks to avoid being contaminated by other human beings is a superstitious practice, which is a sin.  The ostracizing and public shaming of anyone who doesn't want to wear a mask is an outrage against charity.  The mask is a sign of fear and hatred (yes, hatred) and suspicion of our fellow man.  It robs us of our individual identities.  It robs us of our common sense: why are we taking portraits and publicity photos in masks?  It turns on its head the (rightful) cultural perception of hiding our faces as a sign of shame, dishonesty and criminality.  It stifles communication and meaningful human interaction.  It's a form of ritual humiliation. It wasn't that long ago that we all understood this as it relates to countries where women are forbidden to show their faces in public; but now that understanding is out the window.  I personally feel very humiliated by having to cover my face, even where everyone else is forced to do the same.  If I were forced to go around wearing a dunce cap, or wearing my underwear over my head, the fact that everyone else had to do the same wouldn't make it any less humiliating.  The worst outrage of all is to see clerics masking up at Mass.  How this is not yet another slap in the face of Jesus Christ present on the altar is beyond me.

What about the efficacy of masks?  To begin with, we were told that it was useless; then the Powers that Shouldn't Be did an about-face and told us we would Kill Grandma without it -- these same Powers who are all in favor of using physicians to euthanize that same Grandma.  It is worth noting that these Powers are also the same who, claiming the greatest knowledge of The Bug and how to beat it, do not fear the risk of contagion enough to mask up themselves, or to follow any other restriction that they blithely place on the rest of us.  But even if masks did function as intended, there must surely come a point when their health benefits are outweighed by their dehumanizing effects.  Did we ever really believe that it's better to die on our feet than live on our knees bowed to tyranny?  If the last two years are anything to go by, that's just a lot of hot air.  Evidently, love of pleasure, fear of death and horror of eternity are more important than leading a worthy life.

The covid mask is humiliating.  It is dehumanizing.  It is stupid.  It is prideful (we know better than the God Who made us about being able to breathe freely and show our faces).  It looks like an S&M fetish (especially the black ones so popular with professionals). It is far more harmful than the disease it is alleged to combat.  It is the product of evil people bent on tyranny.

And it's time we face up to all that.

Convert us, O God, and shew us Thy face, and we shall be saved.  Psalm 79:4

Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant; save me in Thy mercy.  Psalm 30:17

Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered; and let them that hate Him flee from before His face.  Psalm 67:2