Reframing facemasks as tools to balance individualism and social responsibility

Abstract

Facemasks become a significant metaphor to reflect individual values and social responsibilities. As an Asian immigrant woman with disabilities, the author shares her personal disruptions, distractions, and discoveries brought by this pandemic. As a social work educator, the author also envisions positive changes in the post-COVID-19 era and its discusses implications.

Air travel choice, online meeting and passenger heterogeneity – An international study on travellers’ preference during a pandemic

“…Also, Hong Kong government has issued a regulation (took effect on 23 July 2020) to impose compulsory mask wearing requirement in public places, and the maximum penalty for breaching requirements is a fine at level 3 (HK$10,000 or about US$1,400). Apart from penalties, the positive values of WTP for mask wearing can be perceived as a kind of social responsibility, for the protection of others ( Lee, 2021 ), which can also be related to collectivist culture. In future studies, as the experience with COVID-19 pandemic could in principle change the attitudes of the U.S. residents in the near future ( Xu and Cheng, 2021 ), it will be worthwhile repeating the survey in the U.S. several years down the road.…”

In (and about) this special issue: Things are NOT normal

“…Choi (2021) reflects on the rise of anti-Asian racism in North America, a Korean Canadian social work scholar providing both a historical and emotional account of the fear of wearing masks and the process of boundary-making to protect one's self from racial attacks and microaggressions. Connecting the usage of face masks to protect public health as tools of social responsibility, Lee (2021) highlights the failures of America's culture of individualism, particularly in opposition to hierarchical collectivist societies. In this call to action, Walton, Campbell and Blakey (2021) consider how and why the social work profession -both within and beyond the academy -needs to care about Black women's mental health, particularly in light of the devastating Covid-19 pandemic.…”

“…reflects on the rise of anti-Asian racism in North America, a Korean Canadian social work scholar providing both a historical and emotional account of the fear of wearing masks and the process of boundary-making to protect one's self from racial attacks and microaggressions. Connecting the usage of face masks to protect public health as tools of social responsibility, Lee (2021) Section XI Care, concern, and covid-19: Academic and personal positionalities in social work education. Campbell (2021), a doctoral student, describes moments of "unexpected intimacy" during his pandemic-era research.…”

The double pandemic: Covid-19 and white supremacy

“…As details of the novel coronavirus first emerged from Wuhan, China, global leaders—including Italian officials and President Trump in the United States—began dubbing it “the Chinese virus,” insinuating that the Chinese government was mismanaging the pandemic (Lee, 2021). In the United States, anti-Asian racism surged in the early months of the pandemic exacerbating the feelings of being a “perpetual foreigner” (Choi, 2021).…”

“…Despite the effectiveness of wearing masks in managing the spread of Covid-19 in countries like China, Korea, and Japan, in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did not issue a mask-wearing recommendation until April of 2020. Early misinformation about wearing a mask as a virus mitigation strategy, coupled with tensions stoked by anti-Asian rhetoric, resulted in attacks against East Asian Americans and immigrants (Lee, 2021).…”