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Collected Item: “The Mask Wars”

Give your story a title.

The Mask Wars

What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?

screenshot of a news article

Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.

This article discusses the mixed ideas surrounding the wearing of masks. Some people see it as a show of “scientific authority” and respect for the safety of others, but another portion of the public thinks it is a sign of weakness, submission, and cowardice. Masks in America are an extremely political point of conflict. And although the majority of people protesting against the killing of George Floyd wore masks to protect their community from transmission of the virus, the rest of the nation is still in turmoil over the issue. I have experienced my own difficulty with this as well; we have had to avoid unmasked neighbors several times, and when relatives come, we have to be the enforcers of distancing when they visit and remain outside. Mask wearing should not be politicized; it should just be something everyone wears with the safety and health of themselves and others in mind.

Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?

NYT, news, article, masks, protests, pandemic, BLM

Enter a URL associated with this object, if relevant.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/arts/virus-mask-trump.html?searchResultPosition=7

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

article written by Amanda Hess

Give this story a date.

2020-06-02
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