Mask

"Though wearing a mask makes the villains scarier, it would also make them far less efficient killers — especially, if, like Jason Vorhees, your face and eyes are disfigured to begin with. Its amazing he can see at all, much less hurl hatchets through the air, striking his terrified prey in near-darkness with deadly accuracy. It should be easy for the scared teens in slasher films to stay alive, all theyd have to do is stay in the masked slashers obstructed peripheral vision — that, and dont go in the dark room to see what that noise is! Why are masks so menacing? It has to do with psychology and the fear of anonymous death. For many people, the idea of being murdered by an unidentifiable stranger for no reason is more terrifying than being killed by someone you do know, and for some good reason."

"Every one who, with intent to commit an indictable offence, has his face masked or coloured or is otherwise disguised is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years"

"Your occupation consists in preserving your hiding-place, and that you succeed in doing, for your mask is the most enigmatical of all. In fact you are nothing; you are merely a relation to others, and what you are you are by virtue of this relation. To a fond shepherdess you hold out a languishing hand, and instantly you are masked in all possible bucolic sentimentality. A reverend spiritual father you deceive with a brotherly kiss, etc. You yourself are nothing, an enigmatic figure on whose brow is inscribed Either/or – “For this,” you say, “is my motto, and these words are not, as the grammarians believe, disjunctive conjunctions; no, they belong inseparably together and therefore ought to be written as one word…"

"You cant wear a mask Clark. When people see you and can see the things you can do, the power you have, theyll be terrified. They need to be able to look into your eyes, see your face, so that they can see the decency and kindness thats always there and know they have nothing to be afraid of."

"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh... beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy... and ideas are bulletproof."

"We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,— This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, And mouth with myriad subtleties.Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask.We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise. We sing, but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet, and long the mile; But let the world dream otherwise, We wear the mask!"

"Any mask ban is a dangerous prospect, as many regions are currently dealing with an increase in COVID cases, and these patterns are expected to continue multiple times a year. (Days after Los Angeles’s Democratic mayor Karen Bass said the city would look into a potential mask ban at protests, she contracted COVID.) A mask ban on the subway would endanger a public good that many people depend on — and have a right to — and the ability of high-risk people to participate in society, to be seen, and matter to the broader community."

"A few years ago, very few teenagers wore masks. But many wear them today and the numbers are increasingly very rapidly. The reason is that these teenagers are looking for something to hide behind. They are constantly having to communicate with friends via SMS and emails and this is making them so tired that it is a relief to wear a masks. It is a way to hide their feelings."

"Today, the mask is the unsightly marker of deviant individuals: the sick, the immunocompromised, the disabled, and the protester who wishes to keep their identity anonymous. (Many demonstrators at pro-Palestine marches have worn medical masks or other face coverings, both to protect their identity from authorities and to protect their health in large crowds.) We’re told such masked individuals threaten the moral order of society, and these bans are meant to keep the public “safe.”"

"To perceive pure love that is God, you have to unmask your heart, unmask your soul, unmask the purity of your being."

"Im not questioning your powers of observation, Im merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is."

"“Safety” is a key word used by people who mask and those who consider masking a criminal act. But it’s worth asking, who is kept safe by the state or by individual acts, and who is left out? “We keep us safe” is a phrase used by community organizers that view public safety as a collective endeavor. As Charis Hill, a disability activist, tells me, “I take medications that weaken my immune system, so I primarily wear a mask to protect myself, but I also wear it to protect others and to show that we are still in a pandemic. If mask bans become the reality, I have little hope that Ill ever be safe in public again.”"