link to original reddit post by /u/PaperbackWriter66
I am posting this here to register my opposition to the mask mandate (not my opposition to masks, I am fine with them when there is a good reason for it) in a place where I know this won't be deleted.
So let me get this straight:
A single, unelected official working for the county can issue you an order---with no vote, no appeal, no election, not even so much as a hearing---and you're just going to go along with it?
That's not democracy. In a democracy, our laws are passed by votes in legislatures, not by un-elected government bureaucrats. They have a name for a system of government where a single government official can issue orders to private citizens and the citizens have no choice but to obey it. You know what that word is, I don't have to say it.
Furthermore, if I proposed we privatize law enforcement---we should have no government cops at all, all laws will be enforced by private companies---I'm guessing most of you here would be outraged by the idea and vehemently opposed to it.
Why then are you okay with that when it comes to mask mandates? The government has dragooned private businesses into being its enforcers of its edicts---again, an order issued by a single, unelected official whose name is almost unknown to the general public---and y'all are happy they're doing it?
And on top of all this, the officers issuing these orders can't even give us a clear rationale for why or at what point or under what conditions the order can be rescinded. That's a recipe for endless lockdowns, mandates, and perpetual, "emergency" powers never being relinquished. That is not healthy in a democracy.
This is not about masks, it's about mandates. If you want to wear a mask because it makes you feel safer or you live with someone who is especially vulnerable, or whatever the case me be: great! You go for it, you do you. But don't force that choice on the rest of us.
I'm not against masks. I wore a mask diligently all throughout the previous year and would be willing to do so again if there is a good reason for it. I'm not against vaccines; I got vaccinated as soon as I could because vaccines work.
If you can provide me a good, solid, evidence-based reason to wear a mask, I will wear one. But mandates and orders are not reason, they are force. And if you can't peacefully persuade people to adhere to your ideas but instead need to force them to follow your ideas, under threat of violence (because that's what a fine is, money being taken from you by force and if you resist, you will be met with violence)....then I think your ideas probably aren't very sound. If they were, you could reason with people peacefully.
Now, remember: when the mandate was originally imposed more than a year ago, the justification was to prevent the hospital system from being overwhelmed. That is now no longer a going concern, because so many people are vaccinated and the vaccine does a very good job at preventing people from being hospitalized if they get sick. So what is the justification for the mandate now? I would point out also that, in 2020, deaths rose dramatically when there was a spike in new cases; that is not what's happening now, thanks to the vaccine.
New cases are surging, but deaths are not. If you look at this chart of daily COVID deaths in all California, the number of deaths is remaining pretty much flat despite the surge in new cases. The number of deaths in late July/early August are about the same as they were back in March/April/May. Granted, deaths are a lagging indicator, and perhaps we will see a surge in deaths at the end of August, but that remains to be seen. Even assuming that happens, we can see in our country and other countries that among vaccinated people, cases can increase sharply and yet deaths remain relatively low. Even though, yes, deaths are increasing as cases increase, the increase is a lot less than it was pre-vaccine. Put another way: we are in much better shape now than a year ago, thanks to the vaccine.
So why is a mask mandate justified by a spike in new cases when the danger from those cases is dramatically less than it was pre-vaccine? What are we trying to accomplish with a mask mandate?
Here's my attempt at reasoning with you peacefully: vaccines work.
A new study from Singapore shows that vaccinated people are much less likely to get sick from the Delta variant and if they do get sick, their illnesses are shorter and less severe. Similar fact patterns have been observed in Israel and the UK. Moreover, in both the UK and the US, the surge in new cases is occurring primarily among the young, people under 30, who are at the lowest risk of dying. Just look at the data from Contra Costa County!
It includes this astonishing figure: 98.7% of all COVID deaths have been among unvaccinated people.
And what of the ~1.5% or so who were vaccinated? The county health officers of the Bay Area had this to say [at a recent press event:](https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/Coronavirus-vaccinations-across-California-and-16354735.php0
Every health official in the briefing said the vast majority of hospitalizations in their respective counties are unvaccinated patients and that when hospitals do encounter a vaccinated patient, that patient is either elderly or has a serious underlying health condition.
If you're vaccinated, and you're not very old or in poor health: you are very well protected against COVID---so why should we be forced to wear a mask if we do not want to?
Vaccines are readily available free of charge practically everywhere. Moreover, the Bay Area has some of the highest vaccination rates in the US. If you're not vaccinated: 1, get vaccinated, and 2, it's because you choose to be. Which, I think, is fine. Your body, your choice. You are, at this point, mainly hurting yourself by choosing not to get vaccinated. By forcing us to wear masks, who are we supposed to be protecting? What purpose is being served by the mandate if not to protect those who choose not to protect themelves?
I am sympathetic to those who are vaccinated but elderly or have underlying health conditions, of course, but at this point it is far easier to adopt targeted measures to protect a vulnerable sub-set of the population than blanket measures that apply to everyone. Instead of forcing everyone to wear masks, why not just have the old and sick stay at home? And if you're a friend or family member to such a person, by all means: wear a mask if you think it's necessary.
But the idea that vaccinated people need to wear a mask to "stay safe" just isn't true. The vaccine, not masks, is what will keep us safe, yes, even against the variants. So where is the justification for the mandate?
"But it's CDC guidance!" I hear some people say. Oh yeah? Here's what the CDC has to say:
COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized in the United States have been shown to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 infections, including asymptomatic and symptomatic infection, severe disease, and death. These findings, along with the early evidence for reduced viral load in vaccinated people who develop COVID-19, suggest that any associated transmission risk is likely to be substantially reduced in vaccinated people. While vaccine effectiveness against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants remains under investigation, available evidence suggests that the COVID-19 vaccines presently authorized in the United States offer protection against known emerging variants, including the Delta variant, particularly against hospitalization and death.
Yes, I understand that breakthrough infections are possible even among those who are vaccinated, but the good news is that these are RARE. Data from Virginia shows the breakthrough hospitalization rate is 0.0032 percent and the breakthrough death rate is 0.0009 percent. Source.
When breakthrough infections happen, most often they are asymptomatic. In those few individuals who do get sick and have symptoms, the symptoms are mild for the overwhelming majority. Yes, even with the Delta variant, the vaccine offers solid protection.
So where is the justification for a mandate?
And if you are vaccinated: don't wear a mask...unless you want to. Again: your body, your choice.
And at this point, if you're not vaccinated....why should we protect you? Why should we the vaccinated be forced to protect you when you refuse to protect yourself? You've
I'm vaccinated. Based on science, I am protected from COVID and its most prominent variants. Yes, a variant could emerge against which the vaccine is not effective, but that has yet to occur. Yes, children under 12 are largely unvaccinated, but they are at an incredibly low risk of being hospitalized or dying from this virus.
Who are we protecting with mask mandates? How is a mandate at this point justified?
I say it is not. Certainly, without a vote by the county boards, I don't think it is justified for a single unelected official to issue orders to private citizens to wear masks on private property or public spaces.
I will not be complying with the mask mandate and I will refuse to give my business to businesses which enforce it. If a business asks me to wear a mask because the business owner wants me to wear a mask, I will wear one if I really need to be in that business, but if they say I need to wear a mask because "it's the law" or because "they say you do"---to hell with that. Blind obedience and unquestioning trust in authority is not part of "science", and neither should it be part of American values. If you want me to wear a mask: give me a good reason, don't just say "you have to" because then I will show you that I do not in fact "have to."
"But wearing a mask is such a minor inconvenience!"---so was sitting at the back of the bus, yet when Rosa Parks refused to do that, no one told her "Why don't you just sit at the back of the bus? It would be a lot easier if you did! You're making the life of the bus driver really difficult!"
The mask itself is, indeed, a minor inconvenience, but the principles at stake here are anything but minor. Bodily autonomy, the rights of the individual, and democracy itself are all at stake in this fight to end the mandate.
Similarly, if you're an employee or owner of a business, I no longer have any sympathy for your continued enforcement of the mandate. I hear it said a lot "I don't make the rules blah blah blah"---yeah well, if you enforce them then that makes you complicit in the rules no different than if you had made them. Bull Connor didn't make the rules, but we rightly condemn him for enforcing them. And, again, if you want people to wear masks because you think it makes you safer or you have a particular reason for it, that's different than merely carrying out the orders of the government; give me a good reason, and I'll wear a mask. But at this point, you can either choose to enforce the law or not, but continuing to enforce the mandate makes you just as guilty in perpetuating this nonsense as the government officials who imposed it.
Civil disobedience is a proud tradition in America, from Thoreau to Rosa Parks, and we need to practice it more often.