RedState has been far ahead of the curve, even among right-leaning outlets, in calling out the absurdity of mandatory masking. As time has passed, we’ve been proven more and more correct even as Big Tech sought to censor us. You can go back and look at the data out of Japan last summer, where they saw a massive spike after having mask mandates in place since the beginning of the pandemic as an example of evidence we’ve had for a long time. But it’s really in the last several months that the data has become fairly conclusive that masks don’t work to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (see The Latest Data Absolutely Eviscerates the Case for Mandatory Masking).

Now, a new study has come out that further bolsters that contention.

Wow. “Mask mandates and use are not associated with lower SARS-CoV-2 spread among US states.” https://t.co/PUbzSSJSj2

— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) May 27, 2021

The study notes that “80% of US states mandated masks during the COVID-19 pandemic” and while “mandates induced greater mask compliance, [they] did not predict lower growth rates when community spread was low (minima) or high (maxima).” Among other things, the study—conducted using data from the CDC covering multiple seasons—reports that “mask mandates and use are not associated with lower SARS-CoV-2 spread among US states.”

“Our findings do not support the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 transmission rates decrease with greater public mask use,” notes the U of L report. Researchers stated that “masks may promote social cohesion as rallying symbols during a pandemic, but risk compensation can also occur” before listing some observed risks that accompany mask wearing…

The game that has been played up to this point in regards to “studies” surrounding mask-wearing has been to cherry-pick data from the summer of 2020, conveniently only looking at a time period when the Southern U.S. was going through their wave. With New York and much of the North East that was slammed early on having already “recovered” by that point (they would eventually see another wave), that data made it seem like mask mandates were a deciding factor in stopping the spread of COVID-19. They never were, and a look at the totality of the pandemic clearly shows that waves presented at different times for different areas but that masks never prevented or slowed those waves. You didn’t even need an in-depth study to observe that. A simple comparison of the infection curves of different states always showed that masks weren’t a deciding factor.

Despite this data being widely available since last year, our society is still pushing masking on children as young as two years old. In fact, the CDC has been so anti-science that they only recently lifted guidance demanding masks for those that have already been vaccinated. Mask wearing has long been a scapegoat instead of a proven method of mitigation. It allows government officials to blame their failures on a lack of adherence.

Meanwhile, masking has become a religious cult for many on the left, with figures like Joy Reid still double-masking while driving after being vaccinated. It’s absolutely insane, and it turns science into an absolute farce.

What the government has done in regards to masking should serve as a warning that everything is politicized and that no one, not even a life-long bureaucrat, should be trusted to follow the facts wherever they lead. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people on the right who also defended masking and supported Dr. Anthony Fauci while a select few conservatives were speaking out and saying none of this makes sense. Lessons need to be learned here. I hope that happens, though, I’m not bullish on the prospect.