# Have You Gotten Any Hostility For Wearing (Or Not Wearing) A Mask? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 3, 2020, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165 "2020-08-03T14:54:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/101 "2020-08-07T02:58:07Z")
I was riding my bike, wearing my mask (I rode without a mask until our governor complained about cyclists and joggers without masks), and one of my neighbors told me I should take the mask off – it wasn’t doing any good, and I was just making myself work hard. “If it isn’t an N95,” he said, it wasn’t doing any good anyway. He was sitting around with his family and friends, all mask-less. “Yeah,” said one of the friends. “Take it off. You’re going to give yourself a heart attack.” Then he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/102 "2020-08-07T03:06:06Z")
No. I think this is an issue only in the US, by and large. I’ve seen a few people being defiant about it, though. On the bus today I saw one person not wearing a mask at all, and another just wearing his mask around his neck and chin. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/103 "2020-08-07T12:09:44Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > Maybe they’re just “mask-snobs”? 🙄 I’m trying to understand this remark, but I got nothin’. @Yakeroo , interesting article. It’s good to know my mask wearing is helping _me_, since I can’t count on the “good people of Texas” to do it. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > You’re going to give yourself a heart attack.” > > Then he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Smirk. @Kimera757, yeah, I do see a lot of people wearing masks, but I see plenty of mouthcovers, chinstraps, and throat protectors. Many people who expose the nose have glasses and have to deal with fogging. The wire in the mask offers some help, but there is still plenty of leakage to fog. I just deal with it, sqeeze it again, shift my glasses, etc. But it is a hassle. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/104 "2020-08-07T12:23:21Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > The wire in the mask offers some help, but there is still plenty of leakage to fog I wear glasses, and I’ve worn masks (from time to time) for many years. I find it works best if I carefully shape the wire to my face and then rest the glasses just slightly on the top of the mask. I believe the weight of my glasses helps hold it tight. Admittedly, my glass lenses are heavier than most people’s plastic lenses. But I recommend you try it. It’ll be ironic if wearing glass helps prevent fogging. Usually that’s the biggest downside of glass, they fog up if I go from a cold place to a warm damp place. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/105 "2020-08-07T13:13:39Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Some masks have outgoing vents that make it easy to breathe. I don’t think they filter the outgoing air, only the incoming air. I think they’re mostly used for construction and such, where you don’t want to inhale whatever your sander is spewing out. They’re used in mass-produced masks and respirators that are intended only to protect the wearer, like **[these](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cloth+mask+with+valve&ref=nb_sb_noss_1)** and **[these](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=3m+half+mask+respirator&ref=nb_sb_noss_2)** and **[these](https://www.amazon.com/3M-8511PB1-Particulate-Respirator-10-Pack/dp/B0002YKBV2/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=disposable+respirator+with+valve&qid=1596805734&sr=8-4)**. And yes, they definitely don’t filter the outgoing air, so they don’t serve the primary desired function, i.e. protecting bystanders from an infected wearer. Some municipalities (like **[San Francisco](https://sf.gov/information/masks-and-face-coverings-coronavirus-pandemic)**) and other organizations (like **[Delta Airlines](https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/delta-air-line-bans-masks-exhaust-valves)**) have taken note of this and are now explicitly requiring masks with no exhaust valve. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/106 "2020-08-07T14:16:12Z")
I wear a mask when out in public at stores, etc and no one has given me any guff. I sometimes see people not wearing a mask or intentionally wearing it wrong and you can just feel the smugness come off of them and their bursting desire to have someone confront them so they can launch into their Youtube-taught diatribe and show you the ADA Exclusion card they printed off the True Freedom Patriots Facebook page. Obviously, I don’t bother to engage… some people are just assholes. We have arrows at the stores here but they seem to be mostly ignored by both customers and staff. Covid theater. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/107 "2020-08-08T13:52:04Z")
Following the arrows in some stores can be a bit difficult because sometimes they’re not laid out very well. At our local Rona store to get to the main side of the store on the way in, you have to cut through a series of set up gazebos to get to there. In “normal” times the entry to that is right past the cashiers which now does not allow for the normal 2 metre distancing rule so that’s prohibited as customers are on their way out there. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/108 "2020-08-09T14:23:28Z")
I’ve been using something like [This](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BLHTLSL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_xzamFbTFMV1JE) with the carbon filter. I guess I need to get something else. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/109 "2020-08-09T16:19:14Z")
I bought my husband something like that early in the pandemic. I don’t understand the point of the valve, since the filter doesn’t have a hole in it. (I bought a lot of random masks early on.) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/110 "2020-08-09T16:47:25Z")
Huh. So the “valve” is just an area where the inner and outer “protective cover” layers are removed. So it’s not totally ineffective, however the multilayer design of masks is to provide several layers of filtering. So it still defeats the purpose of the mask, and that design weakens protection in both directions. There was a customer in the store today wearing a construction respirator, and the customer in my lane was preaching to me that if she thought she needed a respirator to be safe, she wouldn’t go out in public. “I’m wearing a mask because we have to, but I’m not worried about covid.” At least she’s complying - I didn’t see her cheating and wearing it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/111 "2020-08-09T17:51:39Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Huh. So the “valve” is just an area where the inner and outer “protective cover” layers are removed. So it’s not totally ineffective, however the multilayer design of masks is to provide several layers of filtering. So it still defeats the purpose of the mask, and that design weakens protection in both directions. As I understood it, the filter layer is supposed to be a _better_ germ filter than the cloth layers. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/112 "2020-08-09T18:46:28Z")
The worst thing I’ve encountered was a military customer who didn’t want to wear a mask while we were in their home but insisted that we did wear one. She and her husband were pretty upset when I explained that we and they were all contractually obligated to wear masks while we were there. Required a stern talking to from the TMO before they would comply. Yep, masks are now part of our contract with the military. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/113 "2020-08-09T20:32:30Z")
The CDC finally came out and explicitly said that masks with valves/vents should not be used. > **[CDC: Masks with exhalation valves, vents should not be worn to prevent spread...](https://www.wfla.com/community/health/coronavirus/cdc-masks-with-exhalation-valves-vents-should-not-be-worn-to-prevent-spread-of-covid-19/amp/)** > > Masks are most likely to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when they are widely used by people in public settings. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/114 "2020-08-09T21:30:50Z")
@needscoffee, maybe so, but multiple layers are a better filter than just one layer, even if the one layer is a better layer than either of the other two, or even the other two together. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/115 "2020-08-09T21:37:33Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > @needscoffee, maybe so, but multiple layers are a better filter than just one layer, even if the one layer is a better layer than either of the other two, or even the other two together The pictures show multiple layers. I’d have to see it in person to tell for sure what’s going on there, but it sure looks like it’s a multi layer of filter, made out of product designed for that purpose. Similar to the stuff my surgical masks are made of. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/116 "2020-08-09T21:44:39Z")
Ok, if that’s so, then I don’t get the point of the “valve”. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/117 "2020-08-09T22:16:59Z")
Yeah, it’s confusing. I want to examine one. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/118 "2020-08-09T22:20:50Z")
see [CDC: Masks with exhalation valves, vents should not be worn to prevent spread of COVID-19 | WFLA](https://www.wfla.com/community/health/coronavirus/cdc-masks-with-exhalation-valves-vents-should-not-be-worn-to-prevent-spread-of-covid-19/amp/) Valves do not filter outgoing breath so others **aren’t protected from virus that may be in your breath** even though you may not have any idea you might be infectious. Valve masks filter incoming air (sawdust, pollen, etc). ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/119 "2020-08-09T22:27:28Z")
We’re discussing the ones with filters. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165/120 "2020-08-10T01:14:03Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I don’t get the point of the “valve” It’s a one way valve. The wearer’s exhalation can get out, unfiltered; but air can’t come in through the valve, it has to come in through the filtered portions. The unfiltered exhale valve makes them much more comfortable to wear when working in hot weather, and prevents glasses from fogging as the exhalation is directed away from them – but, for disease prevention, it defeats at least half of the purpose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-any-hostility-for-wearing-or-not-wearing-a-mask/917165.md?page=7)