Requiring women to cover their faces continues in the islamic culture today, granted their culture is not exactly modern...

@2peros for the same reason it did 2300 years ago... now its also noticably mostly associated with a certain religion and certain countries under that religion.

You're probably right about conflation, but I think the medical and psychological evidence supports the notion that this whole mask agenda could indeed be about submission unless of course you happen to believe that those in power only have OUR best interests at heart.

@Geofrank Why do you think Drs and Nurses wear masks? It aint about submission.

@Lightman Frankly the whole mask business is very new even to doctors and nurses. Historically doctors and nurses have worn masks in an effort to make surgeries as sterile as is possible. Not to protect themselves; and not all over the hospitals or in their offices.We've been told time and again the virus is smaller than the filtration limit of even the N-95 masks. If you're sick and must go out you should wear a mask in public so that if you cough or sneeze the actual vaporous aerosolized sickness- be it flu or corona virus- is not sprayed. But for the general public to be required to wear masks everywhere presents other psychological and physiological dangers and we've been told this by doctors and nurses.

@Geofrank Wrong... They are worn depending on the situation to protect both the patient and the medical practitioner. For example, in Asian countries people have been wearing masks in public for ages. Although New York and Hong Kong are both metropolitan areas, the corona virus pandemia was devastating in the US and not in Hongkong.

On March 17, 2020, this headline appeared in the New York Times on an article regarding the role of face masks in times of the COVID-19 outbreak. This is the most recent expression of the use of face masks. However, face masks have been used since the middle ages.

[ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Re Swann and the Conspiracy theory video.

[factcheck.org]

Just for starters... no one is suggesting masks are a cure for Covid nor are they expecting anyone to wear a mask everywhere or 24 hours a day... those are lies.

@Lightman In Asian countries, yes and "in public". In public says to me basically everywhere but home, and they have fallen prey to the pandemic as surely as the rest of us. Yes, we (NYC especially) do seem to be the worst affected in the world but we also are one of if not THE unhealthiest national populations in the world. CDC now says 90% of pandemic deaths have been in elderly people with 2 or more underlying co-morbidities as well as morbid obesity. Some are suggesting that many of these deaths were already 6-12 months away without sickness from corona virus. Also, I'm one of those hard-headed Southerners who think that most of the reporting in the New York Times should be taken with a strong dose of skepticism, their agenda is quite obvious from their spurious "1619" history project.

@Geofrank You can blame your elected Democrats for the problem NY is in.
Yes the NY Times is LW Progressive rag, that doesn't alter the facts I posted.
So you are happy for old people to die due to the affects of the virus? Hate to tell you but it strikes all ages including babies.. and the long term effects aren't even known yet.

@Lightman Well, I think you're right about the Democrats in New York but it should also be remembered that JFK International is the busiest airport for international travelers in the US.
I admit you were probably correct in upbraiding me about MY remarks about submission. I stand corrected, but only technically so, because one undeniable truth is that those in power, whoever they be, will faithfully exploit any crisis to consolidate and strengthen their position of power. Individuals may be noble but there is no nobility in the apparatus and workings of party power politics. It, unfortunately, is the real heart of American government as it now stands, and it will eat its own to survive and media is its handmaiden. In the halls of government, day to day activities may appear to be about service to the constituents, but are in fact about power. For the common voter security is a myth and justice - beyond the immutable workings of cause and effect - is frequently an illusion allowed by the powerful to be fostered as a fond hope in the hearts of the powerless.
I am not happy for anyone to die due to anything and I understand that SARS-CoV-2 strikes all ages. So does influenza. So does depression and alcoholism and drug addiction. I'm an old man I've seen these things and I'm neither surprised by them nor outraged, which seems to be the reaction du jour to all unpleasantries in the world. My days are too precious to spend outraged.
And I don't believe you hate to tell me anything. I think you actually like to; and that's alright if you want to. I think it's why a lot of us are even here on IDW/Slug; we like to think there are people out there who are maybe really interested in what we think and have to say, even if they don't always strictly agree with us. I think it's what makes IDW/Slug so inviting.
As far as day to day living at what we do have control over, yes we should be cautious about how we interact with others in respect to this pandemic. Distancing is good. Masks are good. Lockdowns are good. However any of these measures taken to extremes will begin to produce detriment as well as benefit. Finding the balance is the real trick.
One thing we do know the long term effects of is Life. It always leads to Death; is inseparable, indeed is the Siamese twin to it. We are all going to die. To spend all our days in this world afraid of the one thing that is guaranteed is, in my estimation, no way to live. Life is dangerous; much more dangerous than death.

@Geofrank Don't disgree with any of that.
I'm here to listen to others and see what they have to say on a range of subjects. Mostly on this site to get an idea what is happening in the US and not be banned for having an opinion.
I'm old too GF.