How’s this for déjà vu? History.com has an article about mandatory masking being implemented in the United States during the Spanish Influenza. Here’s a short excerpt:
“San Francisco’s first masking order began in October [1918] and ended in November after the World War I armistice. In January, when flu cases began to surge again in San Francisco, the city implemented a second mask order. This time, the resistance was much more intense. A group of dissenters that included a few physicians and one member of the Board of Supervisors formed the ‘Anti-Mask League,’ which held a public meeting with over 2,000 attendees.”
So is Hugs Over Masks a 2020 reincarnation of the 1918 Ani-Mask League? The good news is mandatory masks didn’t last then. Let’s see if history repeats itself and we all give up this face covering superstition once again.
About the Author: John C. A. Manley is the author of the full-length novel, Much Ado About Corona: Dystopian Love Story. He is currently working on the sequel, Brave New Normal, while living in Stratford Ontario, with his wife Nicole and son Jonah. You can 