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Letter: Wearing a mask is basic human decency?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people wear cloth face coverings in public settings. Cloth face covering MAY (emphasis mine) help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others.

This is hardly a ringing endorsement of settled science. Universal mask wearing may help, and it may not. The majority of people that wear masks do so incorrectly. They wear them below the nose or on the chin. They don’t clean or dispose of their masks properly. People are constantly touching their masks or pulling them down periodically.  

The scientific studies probably did not include any of these behaviors. Masks may work or they may not; however, we have a mandate, so let’s all mask up. It gets us into bars, restaurants and other retail establishments that desperately need us. 



Masks are mostly a symbol. It is a symbol that we are a caring, decent person. It shows we are part of some mythical social contract that mask-wearing people are good and decent, and those that do not are something much less. This is nothing but virtue shaming arrogance and self -righteousness. This type of opinion does nothing to help. 

Since I have not read the fine print in this social contract, I have questions. When can we stop wearing our face diapers? Will it be when everyone in Colorado or Routt County has received a vaccination? Until we get to herd immunity? Will the vaccine be mandatory? Can I opt out of this mythical contract? 



I wear my mask, usually incorrectly and never outside in public. I guess I am skeptical or maybe just a “mask” hole.

Henry Skelton
Steamboat Springs


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