Read on Twitter
Plainly, it makes no logical sense to say
a) I want to reopen the economy fast
but also
b) I oppose the safety measures - including masks - that enable fast re-opening. 1/x
a) I want to reopen the economy fast
but also
b) I oppose the safety measures - including masks - that enable fast re-opening. 1/x
Yet many people are saying exactly that.
They must have some reason more powerful than logic - and they do.
2/x
They must have some reason more powerful than logic - and they do.
2/x
The mask blazons right across the face: "The Trump administration failed. Massively. They said they had this virus under control. Instead, it raged so far out of control that we& #39;ve had to remake our way of life."
The mask strings an accusation from ear to ear. 3/x
The mask strings an accusation from ear to ear. 3/x
You can see why people who previously used their mouths to hail Trump would not wish to cover their mouths with a symbol of his failure. It& #39;s a matter of identity, a MAGA hat in reverse. 4/x
The trouble is that by rejecting the hated symbol of Trump failure, they risk aggravating the reality of that failure: another virus spike, even tighter lockdowns.
They have to choose between symbols and realities. 5/x
They have to choose between symbols and realities. 5/x
People are meaning-craving animals. Symbols communicating meaning. Very understandably, many, many Trump supporters interpret the mask to mean, "I was wrong."
Which is true. They were wrong, and that& #39;s what it does mean. 6/x
Which is true. They were wrong, and that& #39;s what it does mean. 6/x
That in turn means it& #39;s very unlikely that we will achieve the voluntary social compliance required to make masking effective. (80% is the figure I hear a lot, I have no idea whether it is correct).
So either local police forces must write a lot of $50 tickets, or ... 7/x
So either local police forces must write a lot of $50 tickets, or ... 7/x
... or we have to face, as argued in the thread that follows this one, that very deep forces in US society condemn Americans to a future in which many, many people will get sick and die in ways easy to prevent. 8/x
As Harvard& #39;s @maya_sen has written, "Anyone who thinks that Americans won’t stomach a daily drip of preventable deaths hasn’t been following gun control debates." 9/x
Anyway, here& #39;s the promised more lucid statement of what I tried to write above. https://twitter.com/KeithNHumphreys/status/1259828752516706304">https://twitter.com/KeithNHum...
