Today I heard the most disconnected justification for not masking
Someone told me their dad refused to mask because he wanted to “live his life fully”. He caught covid & died
This person genuinely seemed to believe that her Dad lived more fully than people who mask…because he died living the way HE wanted
Given they’re likely experiencing grief - I pushed back as gently as possible. I explained that you can do almost all activities while wearing a respirator - but you can’t live life if you’re dead.
There was zero recognition of the point I was trying to make. They stood their ground.
I don’t know how we reach people like that. They’re so entrenched in their beliefs that even losing a close family member wont shake their denial.
Because it’s an airborne virus - his choice likely harmed others.
Thats the reason I keep advocating. Your “freedom” to risk your health stops when it puts the lives of others at risk.
Perhaps you’re genuinely ok losing your life just to avoid wearing a mask - but don’t presume to make that decision for other people.
Masking is kindness. It saves lives.
#covidisairborne #CovidIsNotOver #sarscov2 #longcovid #wearamask #maskswork
Someone told me their dad refused to mask because he wanted to “live his life fully”. He caught covid & died
This person genuinely seemed to believe that her Dad lived more fully than people who mask…because he died living the way HE wanted
Given they’re likely experiencing grief - I pushed back as gently as possible. I explained that you can do almost all activities while wearing a respirator - but you can’t live life if you’re dead.
There was zero recognition of the point I was trying to make. They stood their ground.
I don’t know how we reach people like that. They’re so entrenched in their beliefs that even losing a close family member wont shake their denial.
Because it’s an airborne virus - his choice likely harmed others.
Thats the reason I keep advocating. Your “freedom” to risk your health stops when it puts the lives of others at risk.
Perhaps you’re genuinely ok losing your life just to avoid wearing a mask - but don’t presume to make that decision for other people.
Masking is kindness. It saves lives.
#covidisairborne #CovidIsNotOver #sarscov2 #longcovid #wearamask #maskswork
Elana | אילנה •
with cognitive dissonance as a factor, this person's father's death is not 'evidence against' their beliefs (about masking and 'living their life’). it is *more fuel* to necessitate maintaining their nonsensical reconciliation of irreconcilable facts.
if you're right about masking, then their father died *for nothing*. he died a fool. he effectively killed himself with his own stupidity. that is unconscionable.
it *has* to mean something. he *has to be right*. he *needs* to have died in the manner of his own choosing.
what else does it mean for the person themselves, if they have to face the reality that maybe they should have tried to persuade their father to protect himself, and that it might have saved his life?
nah. this 'evidence' makes such a person *harder* to reach, not easier.
Another concerned scientist •
* The father used illegal drugs that killed him
* The father smoked all their lives and then died of lung cancer
* The father drove way over the speed limit and under the influence of alcohol and then crashed and died
Another concerned scientist •
So what they are really saying that they themselves are living life to the fullest.
Elana | אילנה •
but yes, the person's own cavalier attitudes toward infection likely add to it, no doubt.
Another concerned scientist •
LukefromDC •