MANY PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO STOP WEARING MASKS

According to a story from The Guardian, after more than a year of the coronavirus pandemic, some people – especially some women – are reluctant to give up wearing face masks. Some of the reasons:
– A 46-year-old New York professor: “It has been such a relief to feel anonymous. It’s like having a force field around me that says ‘don’t see me.’”
– A 25-year-old bookstore worker in Chicago: “Often when a customer is being rude or saying off-color political things, I’m not allowed to ‘make a face’ because that will set them off. With a mask, I don’t have to smile at them or worry about keeping a neutral face. I have had customers get very upset when I don’t smile at them.”
– A 44-year-old screenwriter who lives in Los Angeles, said that wearing a mask in public even after she’s been vaccinated gives her “emotional freedom.” “I don’t want to feel the pressure of smiling at people to make sure everyone knows I’m ‘friendly’ and ‘likable.’”
– A 75-year-old retired researcher in New Jersey: “In the United States there is an obligation to appear happy, and I get told to smile and ‘be happy’ a lot, which is very annoying. The mask frees me from this.”
* You can also mouth curse words at people without them knowing it.
* Masks are great when you try to grow a mustache but it comes in all ratty.
* I like being able to try different lipsticks without everybody giving me grief.
* So, the mask wearing has basically revealed that, deep down, we’re all just a bunch of a-holes. (or ‘grouches’)
* PHONE TOPIC: Do you have reasons for liking your mask, other than protecting you and others from COVID?