WHO Was that Unmasked Man?

Dr. Jo Ann Dauzat –

Que up the music: Rossini’s William tell Overture to begin and end the “Lone Ranger. “ When I was a child, a few decades ago, that music announced the show as we gathered to  listened to the  “ Lone Ranger” on that old vacuum tube radio (we had no electricity back then). I loved the show and the adventures and heroic deeds of the Lone Ranger and Tonto. That show began on radio in 1933 and morphed to TV in 1949 and the big screen in 2013. I do hope that none of you has been deprived of the opportunity to enjoy the Masked Man.

Fast forward to 2021 and the question “Who Is that Masked Man, Woman, or Child?” takes on a whole new meaning. All of us have become the Masked Man, Woman, or Child. Our lives have been dramatically changed by the Covid pandemic. I see people all over our campus sporting masks, some coordinated with their fashion couture, some advertising their favorite sports team, some acknowledging their University logo, and some just plain. We mask up against variants— Beta, Delta, Omicron (all with their Greek to me. Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.) I just don’t like it.

My long-time habit of greeting students, friends, and colleagues with a smile and a “hello” has been challenged by all of the Masked People on campus and in the community. How can I really know who I am greeting when their identity is hidden behind the mask? How can they know my greeting? My smile is hidden behind my own mask, so I must smile with my eyes. My greeting is muffled by the mask. Communication is challenged by the mask. Some communication specialists assert that communication is just 7% in our words, 55% in our body language, and 38% in the tone of voice—all of which are “masked” by our masks. Our communication quality is compromised by our masks. I don’t like it.

It is difficult to feel good by our need to wear masks. We hear that masks are lifesaving tools to protect public health, to prevent viral spread of Covid. We hear that masks are components of social responsibility. Some of us wear masks because of peer pressure. Some wear the mask because we are risk averse. Some appreciate mask wearing because it results in great savings on cosmetics. I cannot remember the last time I had to purchase lipstick or gloss or other make-up.

We see controversy, sometimes shaming, over mask wearing. What about those people who value individual liberty? Masks sometimes make us feel out of control. Even some of the iPhones using facial recognition will not open to owners because the phones reject the recognition when the owner wears a mask. I don’t like it.

Masks enable anonymity. Apparently people wearing masks are sometimes tempted to perform deeds that they would not engage in otherwise. Note that most of the “robbers” in movies and real life have masked up. I know a lot of people on campus, but I cannot say that I recognize them when they are masked up. Of course, I greet then anyway. I am not certain that when we are able to take off the masks, I will recognize those persons whom I only know under their mask. I don’t like it.

So like the Masked Ranger who secreted his identity to perform good deeds, our masks are social symbols—tools to mitigate against spread of a deadly virus, COVID. Despite the downside of wearing our masks, we must continue to communicate through our words, tone of voice, and body language which includes mask-hidden smiles. The experts say that when we continue to smile in all of our original glory, that the smile is physically expressed in our eyes. Masks hide our regular smiles, so smile big with your eyes. That’s my plan as we continue our need to mask. And in the words of the “Lone Ranger” concluding the episode—“HI, HO, Silver, and Away.”

Fast forward to March 2022 and the question “Who is that unmasked man?” rises to the top. Even though we received permission to remove the masks, for some of us the habit had already become too strong. Many of our “creatures of habit” continue to mask-up. But others have begun to show their faces and to brandish those marvelous smiles. Unfortunately, with the rise of Omicron variants that are more highly contagious, the mask mandates may return. My hope is that the words in the concluding  COVID episode will be “BYE, BYE COVID and Masks Away.

Dr. Dauzat is Dean Emerita of the College of Education and Coordinator of External Projects for Louisiana Tech University. This blog was originally written December 2021.