My question was Why do some shuls observe SD and masks, while others don't?
It can't be due to the discomfort of masks, because that shouldn't differ in Flatbush vs BP.
These two reasons seem likely, based on what was written here over the last month:
Mistrust of government and politiciansSeveral people thought the policies announced were unreasonably strict. I was surprised to see this aggravation expressed at a few weeks of “restrictions”, given the rather large number of restrictions that frum yidden accept for a lifetime. But it does seem like many non-maskers just want to get back to normal.
Misunderstanding of scientific and medical expertiseSome comments here: “They’re making it up” “Their advice keeps changing” “People stayed home and still got sick” This seems to be a misunderstanding of how medical and scientific knowledge develops. Scientists and doctors usually spend years to reach consensus on the best treatment for a particular condition, but in this case, they were doing this very rapidly and in view of a public that was unfamiliar with the nature of scientific discovery.
Some people responded to this by deciding to trust themselves as experts, using “common sense”: Assuming that if no uptick in cases occurred in a short time, then masks are no longer needed. Assuming that if one doesn’t understand why the return to normal is done little by little, then “common sense” decrees these steps are absurd. Assuming that if “no one died in that shul”, then it’s obvious that they’re safe there without masks. Assuming that if “everyone I know” had COVID or has antibodies, then our community is immune to further disease.
This also surprised me, as I would have expected that a community that values education would seek up-to-date knowledge on which to base critical health decisions, rather than relying on intuition. But perhaps education has been too narrow, as Reed suggested:
Why can’t we be smart, proactive, cautious?! Is it because we don’t go to college and therefore we don’t see science as an integral part of life? Is it our Yeshiva system that teaches us that we are smarter than everyone else and to scoff at the secular?
Two reasons suggested for why some shuls DO have SD and mask-wearing:
Having a respected authority, either a Rabbi of the shul or community or a Board of Directors that makes and enforces the policy.
Social pressure Many commented that “Everybody” or “Nobody” wore a mask in a particular shul or town, and that influenced their own subsequent behavior. The desire to follow the crowd seems to play a role, as well as the concern for specific individuals.
@Yard sale gave an example of deciding to put on a mask when visiting a health provider who had lost a spouse to COVID.
