[War & Business] The Mask War

On the 20th (local time), former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden removed his mask to give a speech at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Former Vice President Biden has pledged to implement a mask mandate. Philadelphia, USA ? Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As health authorities' COVID-19 prevention measures are being called dictatorial, 'No Mask' protests have continued in Europe and the United States, becoming an international topic. In the U.S., the mandatory mask-wearing has become one of the major issues in the November presidential election, reflecting strong resistance among Western citizens to wearing masks.

During the Spanish flu 100 years ago, police went as far as shooting citizens who did not wear masks, enforcing mask-wearing as if it were a war. In October 1918, in San Francisco, U.S., an incident occurred where police shot a citizen who refused the mandatory mask-wearing, which was widely reported in local media. At that time, U.S. authorities detained all those who did not wear masks in jail or, in severe cases, shot them to enforce compliance.

Even with such strict enforcement, Americans often ignored mask-wearing orders. At least when mask-wearing was mandated, World War I was ongoing, allowing the application of wartime regulations to enforce measures. However, just over a month later, on November 21, 1918, with the end of World War I, all enforcement measures faded away. Even the police who had been enforcing mask-wearing threw off their masks upon hearing the war's end, and movie theaters and sports grounds were packed with crowds ignoring previous prevention measures.

Ultimately, after the pandemic began in March 1918, the Spanish flu, which had seen a sharp decline in deaths due to strong prevention measures during the summer, surged again and continued until 1920. According to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 670,000 people died in the U.S. alone during the two years of the Spanish flu pandemic, and more than 50 million died worldwide. The strong resistance to masks resulted in massive casualties.

The reason masks became such a taboo in the West is also attributed to the negative connotations hidden in the word itself. Since the Middle Ages, the word "mask" symbolized masquerade balls (Masque), which during carnival festivals involved hiding one's identity and name, representing spontaneous encounters for pleasure, thus carrying a negative meaning.

Along with face-covering masks, health masks were not used with positive connotations either. Health masks, developed in earnest after World War I, reminded people of chemical weapons first used in the war or were considered the exclusive gear of miners who had to wear masks to block dust. No matter how much health authorities shouted, "Masks are better than vaccines," it is expected to be difficult to expect voluntary participation in mask-wearing until the deeply rooted taboo against masks is eliminated.