Has anyone ever asked a person wearing a mask under their nose what they're thinking?

[Bleacher Creature]

I'm seriously asking, what could possibly be going through their minds 21 months into this pandemic? Do they really not know how breathing works or that the virus would be in their noses if they have it? Is it laziness and/or a lack of empathy? Or are they really just anti-mask, but think that they should still get some sort of "credit" for wearing a mask in the general vicinity of their nose and mouth?

I realize that everyone is different, but curious if anyone has ever asked.

[brewens]

1. Sometimes they know and are trying to provoke a confrontation. It's snotty childish

behavior. You might be able to make them wear a mask, but they don't have to do it right.

[brush]

4. And masks work both ways too...depending on the quality...

Last edited Sat Jan 8, 2022, 06:47 PM - Edit history (1)

of the mask, varying degrees of viral load are stopped from coming into one's nose as well as going out.

What's worst are the knuckle heads wearing them like a football helmet chin strap, neither over the nose or mouth. Ignorance personified IMO. Why even bother with the pretense?

[Dave in VA]

13. I told one young guy

who was bringing a grocery delivery to my front door that he looked like he was wearing a jock strap for his face. It took him a minute.

[brush]

17. Heehee. What did he do when he finally got it?

[Dave in VA]

19. His cheeks go t a little red

and he glared at me realizing that he had just been punked by an old dude.

[rsdsharp]

18. Sixteen months ago (the day RBG died to be exact)

I spent a wonderful six hours in a packed ER waiting room. Masks were required, but they weren’t really policing. My most vivid memory was of a very large (like I have any room to talk) woman who came in wearing 1. a very short nightie, 2. Pampers, I shit you not (sorry for the pun), and 3. A mask around her chin.

She would occasionally pull the mask up, and then immediately pull it down to loudly demand service. Based on her wardrobe and vocabulary, I’m pretty sure the 102 temperature I came in with was 15-20 points higher than her IQ.

BTW, after six hours, when I finally got back to an examination room my temp was 98. Patient, heal thyself.

[ananda]

2. Are they thinking?

At all?

[Hortensis]

3. :) Not a chance. They know they're wearing them wrong.

I did once ask a counter person who had to look something up while I waited to please pull it up, but that's all. He shot me an expressionless glance, a step down from his previous cheeriness, and did.

[IcyPeas]

5. They.Don't.Care. nt

[luv2fly]

6. All of the above

But to ask them I would actually have to get close to them and I tend to go the other way.

[yorkster]

7. Saw a young man

at a cvs buying rapid tests and wearing mask under the nose. As he headed for the door, I piped up with "Try it ovah the nose. It works bettah, honest ta gawd!".
Somehow this animated Boston grandmother had body snatched me. I went into character on instinct, the grandmother part being no stretch.
Well, the woman next to me told me he "pulled it up."
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. But, read the situation. It's a jungle out there. Don't think I'd dare to ask why.
Might be afraid to hear the answer.

[vanlassie]

8. So, in 2020 I was starting into a depression,

brought on by having quit a long-time antidepressant. One of the first signs that I was starting to spiral was a slight uptick in my rate of anger, and also my inhabition. On three separate occasions, in a grocery store, as I walked past a guy with his nose uncovered, I said “Your dick’s hanging out.” Thankfully, I was unscathed, as I am now fully aware of how unwise it was for me to do. But, I still like to laugh about it from time to time. This was early in mandated mask wearing, and my impression was that these guys were simply semi-oblivious entitled white guys. Later, it became an obvious deliberate behavior of entitled women.

[cally]

9. I asked once

At a hairdressers. Empty salon and I went in the r a quick trim when contacted vid rates were low. I asked her to cover her nose and she said he couldn’t breathe. I then asked for a different hairdresser

[KentuckyWoman]

10. I never asked because it seems obvious to me.

They don't want to wear it. They don't care. They are unlikely to get any hassle if it is anywhere near the vicinity of the face. In other words, bare minimum to shut other people up.

Some might be anti-mask but I expect most are just too selfish to be willing to endure a bit of personal discomfort for the well being of others. There is a third group that really try - people the legitimate understanding issues. Dementia or stroke survivors etc.

A lot of assumptions on my part so maybe I am wrong. Early on I assumed maybe they just don't get it and tried to educate. Not anymore.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Here's What I Say In School

Most here know I substitute teach in retirement.
When a kid has the mask too low, I ask "Do you have a drooling problem?"
When they say "No, why?", I reply "Then why are you wearing a diaper on your chin?"
Those junior high kids hate hearing they're wearing a diaper.
The high school kids mostly figure it out after the first question & adjust the mask.

[Emile]

12. I thank them for wearing a mask and for all the good they are doing

fighting this deadly pandemic. I remind them as citizens it's our patriotic duty because we're all in this fight together! I always have my veteran cap on and that gives them pause!

[Cairycat]

14. I can understand wanting to defy a mask mandate

but where there is no requirement, I can't understand why someone would wear a mask incorrectly.

Mask mandates are essentially illegal in Iowa. Today at the grocery store (in a county with a positivity rate over 30%) I'd estimate only about 1/3 of shoppers and employees were wearing masks, with quite a few masks covering mouth only. There were also very few N95s and KN95s. I guess the news about Omicron being so much more transmissible is either unheard or ignored.

[Aristus]

15. "Looky how rebellious I am! Hee-hee! They can't take away my freedoms!"

If they're capable of thinking at all, that's probably it...

[Grasswire2]

16. In my experience, the dull and vacant look in the eyes says "Don't bother."

Really.

The people I see with masks not properly worn are usually out of it, to some degree. For whatever and various reasons. Likely not vaxxed, either.

[Busterscruggs]

20. I saw a man

Out the other day wearing a mask made of what appeared to be fishnet material. Totally useless but I guess he thought he was being funny. I put on an extra layer since he was probably some sort of super spreader.