In The News: Mid-Flight Mask Mandate Ritual Missteps

Flight attendants created rituals on the fly in the sky...and everyone’s mad.

The end of travel mask mandates is, without a doubt, a significant change that carries deep symbolic resonance. C*vid shrunk our worlds, and travel is a symbol of freedom and reconnection. For some, masks on planes gave them the freedom to travel with less fear. For others, masks on planes gave them the fear of traveling with less freedom.

On the one hand, I appreciate that people chose to creatively mark the moment. On the other hand, I’m struck by the glaring dissonance in images of passengers swinging their masks above their heads in celebration while sitting next to passengers with masks still on their face and fear in their eyes.

A good ritual works by making space for the full spectrum of emotions present— both the cheers and the fears, the light and the shadow.

These spontaneous rituals of pure celebration excluded anyone whose feelings were more complex than “ding dong C*vid’s dead, we won!” Exclusion only heightened their feelings of discomfort and fear, which intensified the backlash, which predictably intensified the backlash to the backlash. And so on.

“Ritualization is a strategic play of power, of domination and resistance, within the arena of the social body.”

- Catherine Bell, “Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice”

So what could have been done instead? Honestly, I’m not sure. Nuance is difficult for an issue that feels so polarized and binary. After all, your mask is either on or off.

But imagine if the flight attendants had announced the change and then asked passengers to keep wearing their masks for another 6.2 minutes to first honor the 6.2 million people who have died around the world. Or imagine if the flight attendant who beautifully sang an impromptu “throw away your mask” song added lyrics validating the choice not to, or some mournful lyrics referencing those who lost loved ones — some of whom were surely on the plane.

Imagine that.