OPINION PIECE - This one is dedicated to all the anti-maskers, as I look to twist everyone's arm to set aside our differences and come on over to the mask side. We have warm faces.
It's probably a good idea to be frank (Frank sends his love to all) right from the get-go.
This isn't going to be an argument based on cold, hard scientific facts. If that's what you were hoping to get from this, I humbly apologise for clickbaiting you. Instead, this is going to be about cold faces and just why masks are not only good for curbing the spread of disease (when it comes to the science behind wearing them, yes, I'm a mask purist. But, as I said, this is not about science now).
Any athlete, runner or walker will be able to tell you just how nice and toasty their faces get when they don a buff while warming up for an early-morning run, when the temperature feels like it is beyond freezing.
It also helps keep you warm in the early stages of the run until your body begins generating enough of its own heat to fight off the chill and you can ditch the buff.
This logic doesn't apply only to athletes, runners and walkers though: have you for at least one second lifted your mask off your face while adjusting it on a cold day? Normally, you'd just crouch down and try and stuff your face into your jacket.
But now you already have your mask on and there's no need to try and get your face warm because it's already being kept warm. "But what about the rest of my head and my ears?"
Beanie/buff. Even though the anti-maskers (sounds a lot like antivaxxers right? I don't find that entirely coincidental) will likely never agree with us mask purists about the medical and scientific benefits, just give it a second to feel the difference in warmth between wearing and not wearing a mask when it's cold. It truly is wonderful.
If this isn't enough to convince the anti-maskers, have you even spared a thought for the masks? They've spent their entire career working in the shadows, shafted to the medical fraternity and buffs designated to mostly athletes and explorers. They've never made it to the Big Time.
But thanks to Covid-19, they finally have their chance, and I for one have been impressed by their performance. Masks have been preparing for this moment their entire career, lurking in the shadows waiting for their chance. Now it's come, and they've put on a damn good show. So let's hear for it for the masks. Good show, lads.
If you haven't picked up on the sarcastic tone of this piece by now and have been plotting my demise in a Facebook comments section, this is the disclaimer that everything thus far was said in jest.
But now I'll be a bit more serious, because the Covid-19 pandemic is real, and we need to do our best to curb the spread. Sure we're all gatvol by now, but masks are vital in fighting this virus, and this idea is nothing new.
It's been used to fight virus outbreaks countless times before and it's worked for those. But we refuse to listen now. Why? Perhaps because humanity feels more entitled to a slice of the pie than it ever has. Or perhaps our refusal to be sheep has reached boiling point. We'll never truly know. But what we do know, is that masks save lives, so please just wear your bloody mask.
Take some time to think, does your problem really lie with masks, or does it lie with you not liking being told what to do?
'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'