Not to be disrespectful but we just lived through this. How can you not understand what happened with masking?

The Trump Administration didn't maintain the National Emergency Supplies. That's what started the disaster.

They redirected that money illegally to "other" projects.

Then Covid happened and they got caught with their ass hanging out. They could not admit what had happened so they discouraged masking.

It became a symbol of political identity for economic reasons.

Because, the Pandemic wiped a lot of people out economically. But 70% of those who died were over 65.

The economic pain affected everyone, death came only for a small subset of people.

White America still thinks we should have just let the virus rip through the population without a shut down. Just like Sweden did.

To preserve the ECONOMY for our children.

Which is a direct quote from the Lt. Governor of Texas.

That's what "mask resistance" has always been about. It's why we have given up on fighting it.

You cannot have Public Health rules when 49% of the population refuses to comply. Not unless you are willing to use force.

So, for POLITICAL reasons we have given up fighting Covid. It's the path of least resistance and in the SHORT TERM the social costs will be low.

Who cares if it kills an extra 150K people over 65 this Winter. The Black Friday sales will be awesome.