My mom had a saying: “Never wrestle with a pig because you’ll both get dirty and the pig likes it.”

This phrase proved to be more than appropriate this week when I broke my rule of abstaining from getting into arguments with individuals on Twitter. The other evening I was scrolling through various threads when I came upon a post this past Tuesday from the New Mexico Santa Fe Democrats regarding the motion to remove face masks. Today, Governor Lujan-Grisham lifted the state’s face mask mandate for indoor public settings. 

Personally, I think this move is jumping the gun since the Land of Enchantment is still grappling with over 1000 COVID-19 infections per day. 

Returning to my Twitter experience. I responded with a Tweet that was perhaps a little sarcastic: “Omicron still circulating, but sure, go ahead.” Well, that opened whole can of worms and responses from anti-maskers. I received responses such as “masks don’t work,” or “covid is going to be circulating forever,” or you are a “victim of mass formation psychosis. Seek help,” or claims that the flu has killed more people and that if I am worried I should stay home and suck my thumb. Those were the nice replies. 

Well, my mom was right. I got dirty and my Twitter combatants apparently enjoyed the mud-slinging.

This leads me to another favorite quote of mine from noted astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. “Once science has been established, once a scientific truth emerges from a consensus of experiments and observations, it is the way of the world,” Tyson told Colbert. … That’s the good thing about science: It’s true whether or not you believe in it. That’s why it works.”

The evidence is clear: masks cut down on COVID-19 deaths. A CDC study of an outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt found that the use of face coverings on-board was associated with a 70% reduced risk of infection. The Mayo Clinic has stated that masks help slow the spread of the virus that causes coronavirus disease. Face masks combined with other preventive measures, such as getting vaccinated, frequent hand-washing, and physical distancing, can help slow the spread of the virus that causes.

Just last September, A huge randomized study offered evidence that wearing masks reduces the spread of COVID-19, and that surgical masks work even better than cloth ones.

Results of a new study from California shows that the least protective face covering (an ordinary cloth mask) offered 56% more protection than wearing no mask in indoor settings. Meanwhile, surgical masks offered 66% more protection and N95/KN95 respirators offered the most protection, 83%. The authors of the study wrote that “In addition to being up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccinations, consistently wearing a comfortable, well-fitting face mask or respirator in indoor public settings protects against the acquisition of SARS-CoV-2 infection; a respirator offers the most protection.”

Johns Hopkins issued a statement: “Since the coronavirus can spread through droplets and particles released into the air by speaking, singing, coughing or sneezing, masks are very helpful to prevent the virus from spreading in crowded indoor public places, especially those that contain a mixture of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.”

These and a multitude of other studies have shown that yes, masks work to reduce the spread of COVID-19. It’s true whether you believe it or not.

We all know that mask-wearing and COVID-19 vaccines have been so politicized that these two issues have polarized our nation and the world. Anti-maskers shouting that their rights are being trampled on, that mask mandates border on totalitarianism and fascism, that big government and the CDC cannot be trusted. The examples abound. 

I should not be surprised with the flood of Twitter responses to my snide comment on lifting mask mandates. It’s no secret that the pandemic has upended every aspect of our lives; many have suffered for it, and many have died. So why would someone resist measures to reduce spreading the virus? Why fight against mask mandates and vaccines?

The cognition of “masks don’t work” is dissonant with the science that masks in fact do work. The pandemic has given us a contemporary example of cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance causes feelings of unease and tension, and understandably, individuals seek comfort and relief from the unease and tension. The horror of the pandemic has caused undeniable suffering and “discomfort,” and the fallout has been individuals who wish to retain a life of normalcy, like not wearing a mask. 

I shouldn’t be surprised by the Twitter “pig-pen” wrestling match with the anti-maskers. I understand the need to hold onto some sort of normalcy, however, the science is there, whether we believe it or not.