Intersting current debate:legality of mask or not mask?

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   Credence2posted 10 months ago

   https://www.yahoo.com/news/after-years- … 32488.html
   
   What do any of you think, one way or the other?

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      wildernessposted 10 months agoin reply to this

      A tough, and interesting, question.
      
      Criminals have worn masks for centuries, and we did not find it necessary to ban them from general use.  Why now?  Perhaps the problem is that we allow criminals to operate without consequence - if we actually went after criminals instead of looking the other way the whole question might be moot.

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         Credence2posted 10 months agoin reply to this

         I am sorting leaning in your direction on this one, sort of....
         
         In this pathogen filled society, my spouse insist that I wear a mask going out even when everyone else removes theirs. The ongoing health concerns these days are paramount.
         
         There was a segment that stated that I have no obligation to make easy identification of myself to the ubiquitous cameras.
         
         I say people should have the right to wear masks if they so desire and let the authorities work a little harder to figure out who the bad guys are.

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            wildernessposted 10 months agoin reply to this

            Well, I don't know now.  I set aside the health and pandemic, thinking it was more about just concealment.
            
            I supported the masks to help slow the pandemic, and still do in similar cases.

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               Credence2posted 10 months agoin reply to this

               We are in a new world of the perpetual pandemic. I can’t blame anyone who choose to err on the side of safety by wearing masks.

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                  wildernessposted 10 months agoin reply to this

                  Nor I.  Personally, I think that much of it is foolish, but that's for me.  Others are certainly open to make their own choice.

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      GA Andersonposted 10 months agoin reply to this

      From the details of your link, I don't like the idea. That doesn't mean I think the 'right' to wear a mask is sacrosanct (a privacy demand?)—I can see plenty of exceptions to a ban, but it seems a little like the gun control argument (so do the rationalizations of the leaders noted). Which masks would be restricted? And what circumstances would warrant restriction?
      
      Relative to your wife's reasons for insisting you wear one, A NY subway train seems like the place to wear a mask. LOL
      
      GA

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         Credence2posted 10 months agoin reply to this

         Acknowledged, thanks…

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      Nathanvilleposted 10 months agoin reply to this

      Interesting question:  In the UK it is perfectly legal to wear face coverings; but if you do so without good reason you might get stopped by the police on suspicion of you wanting to perform a crime.  And at protests the police do have the power to arrest protesters who use face coverings to intimidate others and evade prosecution.

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         Credence2posted 10 months agoin reply to this

         Arthur, let me ask you. I am of the belief that in today’s world with pathogens everywhere, brewing somewhere unsuspected by the experts, I could not blame anyone for masking for protection.
         
         So, what would be a circumstance that you would define as “doing so without good reason”? I can see people asked to remove their masks temporarily in sensitive areas: banks and areas where positive identification is necessary.
         
         But, how do you discern a difference between people wearing masks for safety verses wearing them for intimidation and concealment of criminal activity?

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            wildernessposted 10 months agoin reply to this

            Are you of the opinion that a witches' brew of bacteria and virus's, worse than in the past, surrounds us today?
            
            If so, you need to do a little research on the middle ages, when people really did live that way.  We are fortunate to live in a time with few diseases to worry about.

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               Credence2posted 10 months agoin reply to this

               In Japan, masks on people are not uncommon. I am not so confident about that concern being ridiculed. But as we agreed, to each his own. We all should have them freedom to make the choice ourselves/

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                  wildernessposted 10 months agoin reply to this

                  Absolutely we should all have that freedom.
                  
                  I was just curious if you believed that we are living in a soup of disease greater than ever seen in the past, but you didn't answer.

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                     Credence2posted 10 months agoin reply to this

                     Sure, Wilderness, strides have been taken over the last century such that we don't see bubonic plague type epidemics anymore.
                     
                     But as with AIDS and Covid, the flexibility of pathogens, virus and bacteria are not to be underestimated. Antibiotic resistant organisms continue to evolve and we have to be ever more clever to catch them. That Influenza breakout in 1918 killed millions, but thanks to antiviral drugs simply not available then, we can now somewhat treat this. But, what challenges lie around the corner?
                     
                     No, it is better than the past but uncertainty has to be part of the future.

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                        wildernessposted 10 months agoin reply to this

                        Better believe that uncertainty has to be part of the future!  Except, of course, the certainty that things WILL change and there WILL be new diseases to die from.  It's called "evolution" and it happens every minute of every day.

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            Nathanvilleposted 10 months agoin reply to this

            It’s largely comes down to ‘common sense’:
            
            •    Provoking trouble at what would otherwise be a peaceful demonstration, while concealing your face to make identification difficult would make you a target for the police. 
            
            •    Wearing a mask, especially something like a balaclava, that covered the whole of your face, and or also you wore a hat or hoodie, would arouse suspicion.
            
            •    Just wearing an ordinary face mask of the type used during the pandemic would only arouse suspicion if you were acting suspiciously.
            
            But otherwise, if you’re just wearing an ordinary face mask commonly used during the pandemic (and I still occasionally see the odd person of two, even now, wearing them in public), then even in a bank, no one is going to take any notice.

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