Professor Worries Over What Unmasking Might Bring: 'Freedom'

Freedom — it’s not for everyone.

At least, that seems to be the situation as of late.

Case in point: the expressed concerns of a staffer at Purdue University.

Last Wednesday, the Indiana research college announced a February 18th lifting of its indoor mask mandate.

As noted by The College Fix, not everyone was relieved.

Professor Robert Marzec — who specializes in contemporary British and postcolonial literature — allegedly issued an email in protest.

Per the document — purportedly obtained by Twitter account Libs of Tik Tok — he’s worried over the effect of mask-optional allowance.

To be clear, the school’s new policy provides for exceptions — “instructional, research and health care settings, as well as where contractually required.”

The way Robert sees it, tragedy likely looms.

“Regardless of how students will interpret ‘except for instructional settings,’” he writes, “I’m worried…”

The reason: liberty.

He fears it will be increased.

“[I]’m worried that this can only translate to more freedom for a culture of health laziness and give more fodder to the combative, politicized conception of individual freedom now rampant.”

Could he be right? Might freedom result from a relinquishing of requirements?

I wouldn’t be surprised.

And laziness could certainly play into any new unmasked normal. In fact, potentially deadly sickness existed long before COVID-19. Yet nearly all Americans have forever been too lazy to don face diapers.

Meanwhile, statistics are largely on lethargy’s side. Per the CDC, before there was a vaccine, COVID survivability measured thusly:

0-19 years: 99.99997

20-49 years: 99.9998

50-69 years: 99.995

70+ years: 99.946

Not that the students are necessarily aware.

Either way, any who cancel their face-covering will be following the very leaders who’ve ordered mask mandates:

Toddlers are being forced to wear masks all day long in school. Maybe one day they’ll be governor or the mayor of LA and they won’t have the follow the rules they impose on others. pic.twitter.com/YGJDZeBxGA

— Senator Melissa Melendez (@senatormelendez) January 31, 2022

As for hoping freedom isn’t enhanced, the professor’s not nearly alone. It seems to me the pandemic has brought out Americans’ worst fears. It’s highlighted emotional frailty sitting just beneath our surface. And when fear rules, those in fear will run to be ruled.

At the University of Nevada-Reno last week, students literally marched in protest against being allowed to do as they please. They demanded they be demanded to mask up.

In the words of a graduate student, “I feel, honestly, incredibly unsafe. Um, you know, we wear masks to protect ourselves and also to protect others.”

Some studies indicate masks are deficient in their effectiveness, but that evidently doesn’t matter. Not even Dr. Fauci can convince some they shouldn’t muzzle.

From his February 5th, 2020 email:

“The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through the material. … I do not recommend you wear a mask.”

As for a mask exodus, something else may be set to occur at Purdue and colleges the country over: conformity.

Perhaps once everyone sees others exposing their noses, they’ll be encouraged to do the same. Many of them are, after all, teenagers.

But Robert might not need to worry too much. Just because young Americans feel the wind once again upon their faces, they won’t necessarily take freedom by the tail: