AFAIK masks outside in big cities is because people otherwise tend to forget to put them on when going inside (say in a shop). Add this to surgical masks being designed to protect others rather than the wearer, (it was really noticeable to me when after switching from a surgical to a FFP2 mask my ~hay fever symptoms disappeared), and you can see how it makes sense to switch that mandate on when it looks like hospitals are going to overflow soon.

I'm not talking about a gaiters and ski masks situation. I'm talking about a normal winter day, walking down the street, wearing a normal standard cloth mask. It keeps my face warm and I like it. If you assume I or others are doing it because of covid, it just a reflection of your personal biases.

> Kids sitting indoors isolated from their peers in front of computer screens is not a good thing. You didn't comment on that at all.

In my experience as a teacher, some of my students flourished in this setting, others did not. It's not a good thing in some ways, it's a good thing in other ways (hence this article). If you want to see more of my thoughts on this see my other post I just wrote.

I look forward to looking at your other post and hearing your experiences as a teacher. My wife and her colleagues have experiences that are not positive but perhaps that's a reflection of the age group.

I think you are not understanding that it's not a bias if I see people wearing mask outdoors in completely mild weather and assume it's for the virus. Do you really think that people need to keep their faces warm when it's 65° and sunny? If I was walking around in freezing cold temperatures complaining about this you would have some fair point although a cloth mask is a grossly inferior way to keep your face warm compared to a gator where a ski mask.

Do you wear your mask outdoors when it's 70°? If you saw someone wearing a mask outdoors and 70° weather wouldn't you assume it's for disease protection?

What you originally said was:

  When you see people walking around outside wearing masks, know that they have bought into a foolish lie completely removed from any form of science.

Now you've shifted to:

  it's not a bias if I see people wearing mask outdoors in completely mild weather and assume it's for the virus.

Which is much more reasonable. You've qualified it to particular situations rather than a blanket "outdoors", and then said you assume rather than you know.

Other possible explanations people wear masks outdoors other than being gullible fools:

- they forgot to take it off. That happens to me sometimes when I'm deep in thought.

- they have a cold sore and want to hide that.

- they came from indoors and their hands are full so they can't take it off.

- they came from indoors and are going indoors into another building.

etc.

Did you ever consider any of these alternatives? Or actually, have you asked any of these people why they wear a mask outdoors?

I certainly haven't conducted street surveys of any kind, but yes I actually have asked people in a polite and kind manner why they are wearing mask outside. I did this when I would go pick up my son from his school and we all had to wait out front in about half of the parents were wearing mask while waiting outdoors. As I recall this was in May. I did ask a lady whose daughter was in my son's class. She bluntly stated that it was due to an abundance of caution regarding the virus. In neighboring Boulder County, it was mandatory to wear a mask while picking up children outside of school. I know this for a fact because I accompanied a buddy to pick up his daughter one day and we had to wear masks to comply with the school regulations.

I find it odd that you are expecting me to have a null hypothesis that the masks that have become widely worn in large cities in the midst of a pandemic are not related to the pandemic.

If it was remotely common to see people wearing face coverings 2 years ago I would understand your point. It wasn't as we all know. It became a thing as a result of the pandemic.

That being said all of the explanations you offered are reasonable although the cold sore one was rather amusing to me. I haven't had one in many years but I'm sure by the time I get my next one the masks Will be long gone and I will wish they were a thing again.

The aspect of it that does bug me is the performative nature of explicitly putting on masks in outdoor situations. President Biden came to my area yesterday due to the recent wildfires we experienced. He was outdoors the entire time wearing a mask along with his entire team. He's sitting there trying to connect with people who have lost their homes but they can't see each other's faces at all. For no reason at all based on science. The performative nature of this is rather obvious because you frequently see scenes where they are not wearing a mask of any sort until a camera shows up in which case they immediately put a mask on before posing for the picture.

My primary complaint is not people incidentally wearing a mask as they come out of a building but people who are fairly aggressive and demanding that others wear face coverings outdoors whenever they are near them. I had to go to LA for work several months ago and discovered that it is common to have people yell out their car windows at you if you were walking around on a horse trail in a suburban neighborhood (I was somewhere not too far from Brentwood on this trail) without a mask on. My coworker was laughing when I looked at him with an incredulous face. His response was "that's how it is out here."

Anyway you make a good point that I should not be so quick to judge in the case of the exceptions above. Fair. I will concede. That being said requiring people legally to wear them outdoors is stupid and nonsensical and not in line with any form of science.