You see, the mask serves as a powerful -- a very powerful -- visual reminder of the pure, though well-crafted fiction that everyone is just one cough or one sneeze or one spittle droplet away from certain death! And Americans have so completely bought into this vile storyline that they have willingly sacrificed a year of their children's childhood and have driven the quality of life in America into the toilet ... that's how powerful this fantasy of certain death developed and implemented by the Communist/Democrat Left is and which will be very, very difficult to reverse.
You seem to really be hung-up on the idea of masks as some kind of psy-ops ‘tool’. I think it is simply something that could be suggested, when the PTB didn’t know ANYTHING. They probably still don’t know enough. Masks are just something they’ve been able to put out there as a possible help, in the place of any REAL help.
I think there are a lot of reasons why people are afraid.
When we first heard of this, there was a suggestion that it was a bio-weapon. That’s the only reason why I think that Trump would lock down the country and its economy as he did; nobody really knew anything yet.
There are millions of us who are at risk of dying from this, due to age or other circumstances that make us more susceptible - and I don’t think you can argue that overworked front-line workers weren’t logically concerned, too, not only for their own health, but in fear of overloading their facilities.
Then there are the millions who fear even the vaccine, because of rotten stuff that was done to them in the past.
Your ‘conspiracy theory’ is fine as far as it goes; but it doesn’t go very far. I’m sure some interests have made ‘hay’ out of this - but everyone was afraid, and rightfully exercised caution, in the beginning.
(Frankly, I don’t think we really understand a whole lot about it even now.)
My husband sometimes laughs when we see people alone in their cars with masks on. I tell him that individuals can be afraid of a lot of things - afraid of the disease itself, or of authority or criticism. It does absolutely no good to just make fun of them, call them irrational, or call them ‘women and fake men.’
You aren’t making friends and influencing people by your tone and stance. But I don’t think you care about that anyway.