Originally Posted by
huey_driver
Competely agree. Those are the people I see wearing the N95. They are the ones who are rightly protecting themselves. And I would NEVER think otherwise, and defend (and encourage) their decision! If it were my parents, I would say "live your life, but protect yourself!" (and I'm sure they do). The cloth masks that I see that are more of a fashion accessory or the paper mask on the chin I more attribute to just being used to it. I was just one of those that never got used to it...
We can never know why (unless we get nosey and ask) why someone is wearing one, but as said, the ones that are in N95 are probably dealing with something we dont know about; a vulnerable person at home, autoimmune issues, etc. To them, I say "Bravo, you do you!" If they have a way to protect themselves, no need to be a hermit!
Kudos to you.
I'd add to this - in my case I believe wearing a mask is responsible towards others around me. I'm in a lot of scenarios where covid can (and has spread), and I travel a fair amount. I do test before and after each trip so that I don't knowingly travel while positive, but I think wearing a mask is the decent thing for me to do just in case.
I take a similarly charitable approach to those who aren't wearing masks - I can never know what their reasons are, but I assume there's something good behind it rather than callous disregard. Same approach I take for what looks like an idiot driving recklessly on the freeway - maybe they're rushing to a hospital. Makes my life a lot better - there is little to be gained in assuming the worst of people, and plenty if you assume the best.
SFO-ORD yesterday, the Int'l terminal was about 85% or more masked, the domestic terminal was closer to 50/50, and my SFO-ORD flight was about 50/50 on board.
ORD-OMA I boarded late because of delays, so all I could observe was 3 masks out of 20 people in F (and one of the 3 was cloth), and 1 out of 2 for the FA's.