The Lone Ranger, starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, was a television show that I did not miss as a child. When the opening musical theme began, the “William Tell Overture,” I was in place. Sometimes with my own cowboy hat, holster and set of six shooters strapped on. Sometimes I wore a mask because, of course, the Lone Ranger wore a mask. The masked man, the Lone Ranger, and his partner, Tonto, committed themselves to righting wrongs in the old west. This television show was on in the 1950’s. Movie versions have appeared, too, though nothing quite replaces for me the affection I have for the weekly tv shows. There were other masked heroes in my childhood as well, Batman and Robin, for example. Spiderman wore a mask. (Superman did not wear a mask. He disguised himself by wearing a pair of glasses when he was not in his super hero mode.)
So, masks are nothing new to me. From my childhood they have been part of my experience. Not only the experience of watching the Lone Ranger but children wore masks as part of the annual Halloween celebrations. Our grandchildren like masks, too. Ninja masks are especially popular with them. I suppose the mask wearing helps one imagine his or her assumed role as a hero. Earlier this year I saw a cartoon in which a doctor (they sometimes wear masks) was invited to stand with a group of super heroes. The caption to the cartoon read, “Welcome to the Club.” Having family members in medicine I liked that cartoon. Many doctors, nurses, and first responders have served us heroically during the Covid-19 crisis. I am grateful for them.
Of course, masks are used by people who do bad things to hide their identity. Criminals don’t want to be caught when they commit crimes. A mask helps them in their unheroic behavior. As an adult, until this year, I have thought of bank robbers and other criminals, not the Lone Ranger, when I have considered people wearing masks. What made the Lone Ranger unique is that he was one of the good ones, but he wore a mask. Mostly, I have associated the bad ones with mask wearing.
That is, I had thought of mask wearing as a shield to criminals until I started visiting in the East, particularly the Middle East. There I saw women who masked their faces out of religious conviction and modesty. After being in Saudia Arabia for two months I accepted mask wearing as typical. Women who didn’t wear masks seemed different, not the other way round. Of course, one does not have to move to the Middle East to experience some challenges in the messages communicated by clothing. I remember how surprised I was in my first months living in San Francisco when I went to the dry cleaners and stood in line with a Buddhist monk dressed in an orange robe. Of course, I knew that Buddhist monks existed and dressed in orange robes, but it was different for me to stand in line with my neighbor at the dry cleaners. Living in Virginia I have felt some dislocation related to clothing as well. On a Sunday evening I came back from a church service, perhaps, it was a funeral, and I was wearing a suit. I stopped at a local diner in rural Virginia about dinner time. Everyone in the diner, except me, was dressed in camo.
All this to say that what we wear is not typically in itself good or bad. How we dress is a complex blend of culture and personal style. Sometimes how we dress reflects our work. Surgeons wear masks and lots of medical people wear scrubs. Firefighters and police officers wear uniforms, as do priests and baseball players. Clothing communicates: our job, our style, our culture and even our religion.
Clothing styles change. Watch a sports news clip from a baseball stadium in the early 50’s. Young people may be surprised to see that almost every man at a professional ball game was dressed in a suit and a fedora. People who traveled by air in the 50’s often “dressed up.” As did people who went to church. Now, it is the other way round. Of course, the stylish slacks and untucked shirt may cost more than a man’s suit. The style of dress does not reflect cost or even attention to dress. People use their clothing to communicate. It is not always clear what is being communicated, but clothing requires some choice and some reason and consequently, some message.
Mask wearing during the Covid-19 pandemic has for some people become a political statement. Recently, the President affirmed mask wearing in a way that may de-politicize it. Hopefully so, since mask wearing seems to be a way to reduce risk of getting or giving the virus. At least, that is the theory of most of our medical leaders at this point in time. So, mask wearing is something I’m doing as a matter of health, for myself and for others.
I’ve read that in early pandemics people became quite creative in designing masks that were stylish. Some folks today are doing the same. A person’s mask gives opportunity to promote your favorite sports team or your school, your business or, of course, your political viewpoint. There is no way around it. Clothing, including masks, communicates. We do or don’t wear them. We style them in a particular way. We send signals to each other.
I hope most people will wear masks for the sake of health. If you feel the need to make a statement then draw something on your mask or find some other creative way to fashion a mask message. If you have been reluctant to wear a mask then imagine yourself as the Lone Ranger, one of the good ones. Your mask wearing can mean what you want. Don’t let the mask itself mean something. Turn it into something positive for you. Make your own statement, and maybe the mask will be important to the health of all of us as well.
