It's Cultural
Jun. 1st, 2020 10:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphiloWhere I come from masks are about criminality, subterfuge and shame.
Bank robbers wear them, so do Venetians doing their best to avoid their spouses at society orgies.
Honest people disdain them.
When we called a halt to our occupation of a campus building during the wave of student protests in the early 70s- and marched out in one final demonstration of our weakness/strength- some of my fellow rebels hid their faces from the cameras.
They were probably the ones who went on to work for The Man. I had no intention of ever working for the Man so I didn't care if he had my face on his files. Let his employees snap away; I had nothing to hide.
I never cared much for masked heroes either. Batman, Zorro, the Lone Ranger; the mask draws attention to itself even as it conceals. These guys were seeking notoriety without responsibility. I like to see the face of my enemy/deliverer. I need to know whether it's a nice face or not.
And yes, I know that in today's context the mask means the very opposite of what it means to me. Mask wearers are responsible, heroic; they have smiling eyes. Ailz tells me that if we all started wearing masks at the very start of the epidemic we'd have cut infections by 89%. That could be why Asian countries- generally speaking- have coped better than western ones; they already had a culture of mask wearing. It doesn't go against their better instincts.
But it goes against mine. I'm not apologising or making a case (because there's no case to be made)- just explaining- to myself as much as anyone else- why the thought of wearing a mask fills me with revulsion.
Bank robbers wear them, so do Venetians doing their best to avoid their spouses at society orgies.
Honest people disdain them.
When we called a halt to our occupation of a campus building during the wave of student protests in the early 70s- and marched out in one final demonstration of our weakness/strength- some of my fellow rebels hid their faces from the cameras.
They were probably the ones who went on to work for The Man. I had no intention of ever working for the Man so I didn't care if he had my face on his files. Let his employees snap away; I had nothing to hide.
I never cared much for masked heroes either. Batman, Zorro, the Lone Ranger; the mask draws attention to itself even as it conceals. These guys were seeking notoriety without responsibility. I like to see the face of my enemy/deliverer. I need to know whether it's a nice face or not.
And yes, I know that in today's context the mask means the very opposite of what it means to me. Mask wearers are responsible, heroic; they have smiling eyes. Ailz tells me that if we all started wearing masks at the very start of the epidemic we'd have cut infections by 89%. That could be why Asian countries- generally speaking- have coped better than western ones; they already had a culture of mask wearing. It doesn't go against their better instincts.
But it goes against mine. I'm not apologising or making a case (because there's no case to be made)- just explaining- to myself as much as anyone else- why the thought of wearing a mask fills me with revulsion.
no subject
Date: 2020-06-01 12:13 pm (UTC)