Wear a Mask: Don’t Wager on My Son’s Life (by Gabriela Mafi)
Gabriel and his family
It defies logic that any human being would refuse a simple action such as wearing a mask which, however inconvenient, could prevent the completely preventable: passing a potentially deadly virus to a loved one, a friend, or a child like our Gabriel.
Gabriel will be five in November, having long outlived predictions about his health. He loves the outdoors, floating in the Jacuzzi, and playing with his toys. His smile is infectious, and he particularly loves hanging upside down like a bat. Gabriel has a sweet and loving disposition that serves as a living lesson for others.
I often use “Pascal’s Wager” (a famous decision theory) when weighing the options for substantive personal and professional choices. In the 1600s, French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote on the logical consequences of believing in God or Atheism. Simply put, one weighs the option of belief or non-belief, and the ultimate impact of being right or wrong in that belief. Pascal’s logic demonstrated that a failure to believe in God and being wrong bore the gravest (and most eternal) consequences, literally, Hell. Thus, we must consider, given any wager, gamble, or decision, if the belief or action is worth the wager. What are the possible outcomes, best and worst, of each choice, and how can we avoid the worst outcome?
With respect to wearing masks, the same argument holds. Let’s say that the worst imaginable outcome of wearing a mask is feeling uncomfortable, or a perception that the government has robbed you of your freedom. No credible evidence exists of any more negative effect than these, given that masks have been worn in the medical field for a century. However, the worst possible outcome of not wearing a mask is that Covid-19 can spread from your mouth and nose into the air and infect someone else.
Even if you do not believe that masks will prevent the spread of Covid, you could be wrong--as humans are renowned for being infallible--and you are not God. Thus, even if your aversion to mask-wearing is strong, why on earth would you take the risk, the chance, the gamble with the life of another based on your worst imaginable belief when the alternative, wearing a mask, would not have as grave a result. Why take that gamble?
With whose life might you be gambling? Well, for one, our son Gabriel, born with an extra 18th chromosome, who is medically fragile. He has a tracheostomy and is oxygen-dependent, epileptic, and fed through a tube. A common retort we’ve heard is, “Well, keep him inside.” Yes, we do just that most of the time. However, he has medical conditions that, even with a mini-hospital at home, require us to take him for out-patient procedures. Even if he stays in, we do need to go out into our community to pick up his myriad medicines and treatments.
I’ve met a number of people who have been delighted by our choice to bring Gabriel into the world and devote 24/7 care to him, calling him an angel (which he is, in my opinion). Yet if you feel that the inconvenience of wearing a mask outweighs the prospect of his life, then your disregard for human life (and particularly the life of my child, with his beautiful spirit and warm smile) makes you the worst kind of hypocrite. Claiming to value human life, then wagering that life due to your insistence on not wearing a mask (something infinitely less deadly, less cruel, less heartbreaking than the loss of my child) is shameful, arrogant, and the antithesis of “pro-life.”
Make no mistake: If you stand by your refusal to wear a mask in public (due to your skepticism of the value or legitimacy of wearing masks, your suspicions about governmental mandates, internet-based conspiracy theories about death counts, or your insistence on attributing American political motives to a WORLDWIDE and inanimate pandemic), you have chosen distaste for health and safety precautions over the life of my son and many more like him. Know that you have identified yourself as the enemy of the families of individuals like Gabriel, as well as the families of over 130,000 Americans who have died at the hands of Covid-19. When we all eventually emerge from the grip of Covid-19, I, for one, will never forget nor forgive such selfish actions.
Gabriela Mafi is an educator who lives in California with her family. She is a member of Support Organization for Trisomy (SOFT), and Gabriel serves as a SOFT ambassador for expectant parents and young children.