In Spain, almost everyone wears a mask. Masks are the new cool. A mask is obligatory in public transportation. Most people also wear one when they go to the grocery and even when they go out for a walk. This has generated a sudden fashion craze, which has led to varying degrees of mask diversity. Masks now come in different colors, sizes, and styles. In fact, the ultimate chic are designer masks, sold online by Vogue.
I have a friend who combined fashion with utility. She bought a stylish violet-colored mask decorated with tiny penises. If anyone asked her why she was wearing a mask with penises, she would tell them to back away because if they could see the penises, then they were not at the right social distance.
Apart from cool cloth masks, there are also more serious hospital-type ones, which afford even greater protection. Those who choose to wear this type of mask opt for the IC hospital-worker look, which carries high social prestige.
During the coronavirus tsunami in March and April, when intensive care was overflowing and doctors (like my eldest son) did not have access to effective surgical masks, possessing this type of protection was a sign of great status, good fortune, and luck.
The inadequate supply of medical gear was brought on by the incompetence and inexperience of the Spanish government, who was unable to supply proper equipment to healthcare professionals. Hospital workers were thus forced to work in third-world conditions. Many of them died along with their patients. These doctors and nurses were not old people with previous conditions ‘who would have died anyway’. They did not have to die.
Spain now boasts the sad record of the highest percentage of Covid-infected healthcare workers in the world. That is one of the many bad things that can happen when the government of a country lacks sufficient foresight.
One of my previous posts in www.timesofcoronavirus.com harshly criticized the oriental bazaar of medical protection gear and the incapacity of the Spanish government to obtain this protection equipment even at an unreasonable price. However, now in retrospect, perhaps I was overly critical.
In the USA, the inexperienced task force of volunteers recruited by Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, was caught in the same trap as the Spanish government. And so there are now hospitals in New Orleans, for example, where healthcare workers are currently being endangered by the lack of medical gear. Spain can now feel consoled because it seems that the most powerful government in the world has also fallen prey to the same vultures.
However, now that Spain is at last making a determined effort to de-escalate, masks are everywhere. Even if the mask is a disposable one that has been worn 15 times, its wearer still feels invincible. Although this type of mask is about as effective as the Gardol Shield in the Colgate commercials of the 1950s, it still makes people feel protected.
In Spanish society, wearing a mask projects a positive image because it reflects concern for one’s own safety as well as for the safety of others. Wearing a mask has thus become a symbolic gesture, which transmits more than the simple presence of a partial face covering.
In the case of politicians, the decision to wear a mask is a bit trickier. Life is always more complicated for public figures. Of course, no one wears a mask while making a speech, but what about the rest of the time?
President Pedro Sánchez, for example, rarely wears a mask in public, except when he is visiting a sensitive installation. This is understandable because he is something of a narcissist, and probably fears that a mask will detract from his charisma.
In contrast, Pablo Casado, the leader of the opposition, always wears a mask, either covering his mouth and nose or strategically hanging from his neck. He wears this mask because he wishes to seem empathetic as well as socially responsible. His mask also underlines the fact that he is different from Pedro Sánchez, whom he cordially dislikes.
In the USA, wearing a mask seems to be the exception rather than the rule. In the case of politicians, not wearing a mask is also a political statement. Those politicians who wear a mask are conveying the message that Covid-19 is still a threat. Other politicians, who refuse to wear one (even if it means flouting the rules in a medical facility) are implicitly saying that the pandemic is winding down and that everyone can safely emerge from their homes without endangering their health.
As for the general American public, in states where the rate of infection is relatively low, the decision not to wear a mask is understandable. However, in states such as Michigan, whose death rate (427 deaths per million) doubles the national average, the female governor issued an executive order requiring everyone to wear a face mask in grocery stores. She was accused of over-reacting.
A couple of days ago when a store security guard in Flint reminded a customer of the need to wear a face mask, the customer (who was perhaps one of those ‘good people’) took out a gun and fatally shot him. This is perhaps a better example of over-reacting.
There are also people in the USA who believe that not wearing a mask is a sign of individualism, valor, or even religious principle. The ultimate example of this trend is a state legislator in Ohio who refuses to wear a mask because he claims that the face represents the image of God. If I were God and in the market for mask, his face would be the last one that I would choose. But that is just my opinion.
In Spain, where the official Covid-19 death count is 26,070 (really 40,000), not wearing a mask is not a sign of courage or bravery. It is simply a sign of ignorance and disregard for others.
