THE USE OF THE SLUR "HOMOPHOBIC"

The broad uncritical pejorative use of the title "homophobic"  is a perversion of the word as used against anyone who opposes or even fails to affirm homosexual relations regardless of their position being based upon sincere moral objections and or the overall negative medical effects and being not driven by some irrational fear of homosexuals or of being one.

For the term “homophobia” does not accurately define any and all persons who do not approve of homosexual relations or homosexuality any more than a person is necessarily carnophobic  if they oppose eating meat, or ombrophobia if he/she does not like going out in the rain, or anthophobic if he does not like flowers, places outdoors, and to label all who like to stay inside as agoraphobia would be wrong.

Which are just some of the phobias listed in endless but extensive lists of phobias, while  a "phobia is a type of anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation...Those affected will go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress." (Phobia - Wikipedia)

 "A phobia is an overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal." (Overview - Phobias) 

"A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that causes an individual to experience extreme, irrational fear about a situation, living creature, place, or object." (Phobias: Symptoms, types, causes, and treatment)

“an intense, persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, situation, or person that manifests in physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, rapid heartbeat, or shortness of breath, and that motivates avoidance behavior." - Definition of phobia | Dictionary.com;

 "Phobia, an extreme, irrational fear of a specific object or situation." - Phobia | psychology; 

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. It is a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no real danger...People with phobias try to avoid what they are afraid of. If they cannot, they may experience Panic and fear Rapid heartbeat Shortness of breath Trembling A strong desire to get away. - Phobias | MentalHealth.gov; 

"phobia - an anxiety disorder characterized by extreme and irrational fear of simple things or social situations." - phobia.

And while it has come to be used more broadly, it actually means fear, not mere dislike. Etymologically,

"irrational fear, horror, or aversion; fear of an imaginary evil or undue fear of a real one," 1786, perhaps based on a similar use in French, abstracted from compounds in -phobia, the word-forming element from Greek phobos "fear, panic fear, terror, outward show of fear; object of fear or terror," originally "flight" (still the only sense in Homer), but it became the common word for "fear" via the notion of "panic flight" (compare phobein "put to flight; frighten"), from PIE root *bhegw- "to run" (source also of Lithuanian bėgu, bėgti "to flee;" Old Church Slavonic begu "flight," bezati "to flee, run;" Old Norse bekkr "a stream"). 

The psychological sense of "an abnormal or irrational fear" is attested by 1895. Hence also Phobos as the name of the inner satellite of Mars (discovered 1877) and named for Phobos, the personification of fear, in mythology a companion of Ares. - Origin and meaning of phobia by Online Etymology Dictionary

And in 2012, even the liberal  Associated Press  removed  "homophobia"  from its Style Book, stating that "-phobia," "an irrational, uncontrollable fear, often a form of mental illness" should not be used "in political or social contexts," including "homophobia" and "Islamophobia."

AP Deputy Standards Editor Dave Minthorn told POLITICO. "Homophobia especially -- it's just off the mark. It's ascribing a mental disability to someone, and suggests a knowledge that we don't have. It seems inaccurate. Instead, we would use something more neutral: anti-gay, or some such, if we had reason to believe that was the case." (https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/11/ap-nixes-homophobia-ethnic-cleansing-150315)

By God's grace - and as a sinner saved by grace - I (as with many other evangelicals) for years I have sought to outreach and help all sorts of people, from Hell's Angels to homosexuals, and give a gospel tract (and sometimes food) but the latter tend to want to avoid me once they understand I implicitly represent a threat to their lifestyle.

However, "homophobic" falls under "Non-medical, deterrent and political use" as the word is abused in assigning that label to any and all who oppose of even will not affirm homosexual relations and hold that the condition behind such is disordered.

And thus its typical use is indeed a psychological tactic designed to intimidate and silence opposition to the same - however conscientious - by placing them the defensive via charging them with being possessed by an irrational fear. Which plays off of a social phobia phobia, that of katagelophobia = fear of ridicule, being maligned by the prohomosexual lobby as being irrational, backwards, etc, and thus those who are intimidated by such could be the ones called homophobic.

And it is not simply some poster as me that objects to the use of homophobia, but scholars*

And which tactic follows (knowingly or not) the strategy set for in the book "After the Ball" years ago by two homosexual Harvard-trained graduates, Marshall Kirk (1957–2005), a researcher in neuropsychiatry, and Hunter Madsen (pen name Erastes Pill) whose social marketing advocated avoiding portraying gays as aggressive challengers, but as victims instead, while making all those who opposed them to be evil persecutors.

Associate all who oppose homosexuality with images of Klansmen demanding that gays be slaughtered, hysterical backwoods preachers, menacing punks, and a tour of Nazi concentration camps where homosexuals were tortured and gassed. Thus, "propagandistic advertisement can depict homophobic and homohating bigots as crude loudmouths..."[58] " It can show them being criticized, hated, shunned. It can depict gays experiencing horrific suffering as the direct result of homohatred-suffering of which even most bigots would be ashamed to be the cause. It can, in short, link homohating bigotry with all sorts of attributes the bigot would be ashamed to possess, and with social consequences he would find unpleasant and scary... our effect is achieved without reference to facts, logic, or proof."

Moreover, as for fear, there should be a healthy fear of the unhealthy effects of sodomy. For

according to the CDC (chart), in 2017 male to male sexual contact was the mode of transmission in 93% of new HIV cases among male youth aged 13 to 24, and MSM accounted for 82% of diagnoses among males and 70% of all new HIV diagnoses, and 2 out of every 3 diagnoses in the United States. Which is despite only representing approximately 4% of the male population). . Also, "transgender women [worldwide] are 49 times more likely to have HIV than other adults of reproductive age." (Transgender people)

And which practice is primarily responsible for more than 700,000 people with AIDS having died since the beginning of the epidemic - despite decades of attempting to tame it into being "safe." (Worldwide, 77.3 million people have contracted HIV and 35.4 million have died of AIDS-related illnesses since the beginning of the pandemic in 1981: https://health.usnews.com/conditions/hiv-aids/articles/hiv-statistics.)

Also "STIs and their complications amount to about $16 billion annually in direct medical costs. HIV imposes the largest financial burden, costing $12.6 billion in direct medical costs, followed by HPV at $1.7 billion, chlamydia at $156.7 million, gonorrhea at $162.1 million, and syphilis at $39.9 million." (https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/STI-brief.pdf)

More.

*Scholars such as Beverly A. Greene and Gregory M Herek in Lesbian and Gay Psychology (pp. 27,28)  stated:

...as Herek (1986a) notes, the term itself is unfortunate. Technically, homophobia means fear of sameness, yet its usage implies a fear of homosexuals. Although negativity toward gay men and lesbians is no doubt based on fear to some extent, the –phobia suffix implies a specific kind of fear—one that is irrational and characterized by a desire to remove oneself from the object of the fear. Because some people labeled homophobic not only fail to avoid homosexuals but also seek them out to harass and physically assault them, this term does not accurately rep-resent negativity toward gay persons (cf. Herek, 1986a). 

In addition, because such fear-based reactions to homosexuals appear to be more common among males than females (Herek, 1986b; Morin & Garfinkle, 1978), the term may be more applicable to heterosexual men than to heterosexual women. Another problem is that attitudes toward gay men and lesbians are likely to be multifaceted and complex (e.g., Millham, San Miguel, & Kel-logg, 1976; Plasek & Allard, 1984; Weinberger & Millham, 1979), and holding negative attitudes toward homosexuality likely serves different functions for different people (Herek, 1986a). Hence fear or aversion may comprise one component of beliefs about homosexuality, but other fac-tors are unquestionably important.

Several alternative terms have been offered to better reflect the ante-cedents of prejudicial attitudes toward gay men and lesbians and to sidestep the problems inherent with the term homophobia. These include homonegativism (Hudson & Ricketts, 1980), homosexism (Hansen, 1982), and heterosexism (Herek, 1986a). Unfortunately, none has gained wide-spread acceptance.

Also, in the Journal of applied Psychology, Gary Colwell stated,

The charge of homophobia, indiscriminately made in a large part of our Western culture today, is ill conceived, illogical and false. This sweeping charge may be pictured as a triangle of informal logical fallacies. The more prominent side, the one which the general public encounters first, is what I shall call the fallacy of turning the tables: the rhetorical device of making the source of criticism the object of criticism. The other side of the charge is the fallacy of equivocation. The boundary of the term 'homophobia' is made so elastic that it can stretch around, not just phobias, but every kind of rational fear as well; and not just around every kind of fear, but also around every critical posture or idea that anyone may have about the practice of homosexuality. At the base of the charge, and undergirding the other two fallacies, is the fallacy of begging the question. A commitment to the complete acceptability of the practice of homosexuality enables its proponents to 'know' beforehand that all criticisms against it must originate in the defective psychology of the critic. (Journal of applied Psychology, Vol. 16, No. 3, 1999; Turning the Tables with 'Homophobia' on JSTOR)

Behavioral scientists William O'Donohue and Christine Caselles stated in 1993 that "as [homophobia] is usually used, [it] makes an illegitimately pejorative evaluation of certain open and debatable value positions, much like the former disease construct of homosexuality" itself, arguing that the term may be used as an ad hominem argument against those who advocate values or positions of which the user does not approve. (O'Donohue, William; Caselles, Christine, September 1993,  "Homophobia: Conceptual, definitional, and value issues". J Psychopathol Behav Assess) 

Finally, etymology may tell us what a word means today, but that does not mean it is correct. Or that it’s use is, regardless of what Google reports.

Culture, not color: Spiritual declension and liberal corruption of the American black family in particular and its correlation to behavioral problems

Culture, not color: Spiritual declension and liberal corruption of the American black family in particular and its correlation to behavioral problems

Excerpts from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_family_structure (accessed 9-24-21: content subject to change):

A study of 1880 family structures in Philadelphia, showed that three-quarters of black families were nuclear families, composed of two parents and children.[14 (Hershberg, Theodore (Winter 1971–1972). "Free Blacks in Antebellum Philadelphia: A Study of Ex-Slaves, Freeborn, and Socioeconomic Decline". Journal of Social History. 5)] [Insert: By 2006,  married-couple families accounted for only 34% among African Americans. (https://www.urbanleaguephila.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ULP_SOBP.pdf)] 

Data from U.S. Census reports reveal that between 1880 and 1960, married households consisting of two-parent homes were the most widespread form of African-American family structures.[13] Although the most popular, married households decreased over this time period. Single-parent homes, on the other hand, remained relatively stable until 1960; when they rose dramatically.[13 (Ruggles, S. (1994). The origins of African-American family structure. American Sociological Review, 136–151)]

In the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in 1925, 85 percent of kin-related black households had two parents.[15 (Giordano, Joseph; Levine, Irving M. (Winter 1977). "Carter's Family Policy: The Pluralist's Challenge". Journal of Current Social Issues. 14)]

 When Moynihan warned in his 1965 report on the coming destruction of the black family, however, the out-of-wedlock birthrate had increased to 25% among the black population.[12 (Daniel P. Moynihan, The Negro Family: The Case for National Action)] 

This figure continued to rise over time and in 1991, 68% of black children were born outside of marriage.[16 (National Review, April 4, 1994, p. 24.)] U.S. Census data from 2010 reveal that more African-American families consisted of single mothers than married households with both parents.[17 (Lofquist, Daphne; Terry Lugaila; Martin O'Connell; Sarah Feliz. "Households and Families: 2010")] 

In 2011, it was reported that 72% of black babies were born to unmarried mothers.[11 (Washington, Jesse (2010-11-06). "Blacks struggle with 72 percent unwed mothers rate - Boston.com")] 

As of 2015, at 77.3 percent, black Americans have the highest rate of non-marital births among native Americans.[18 (Camarota, y Steven A. "Births to Unmarried Mothers by Nativity and Education". Center for Immigration Studies)] 

About 67 percent of black children are born into a single parent household.[24 (Louis, Jacobson. "CNN's Don Lemon says more than 72 percent of African-American births are out of wedlock")] 

Melvin Wilson states that the single mother role in the African-American family is played by 94% of African-American single parents.[46 (editor, Melvin N. Wilson (1995). African American family life its structural and ecological aspects. )]

In 2016 29% of African Americans were married, while 48% of all Americans were. Also, 50% of African Americans have never been married in contrast to 33% of all Americans. In 2016 just under half (48%) of black women had never been married which is an increase from 44% in 2008 and 42.7% 

in 2005. 52% of black men had never been married. Also, 15% percent of black men were married to non-black women which is up from 11% in 2010. 

Black women were the least likely to marry non-black men at only 7% in 2017.[19 ("Black Marriage in America". Blackdemographics.com/. Akiim DeShay.)] The rate of African American marriage is consistently lower than White Americans, and is declining.[61] 

These trends are so pervasive that families who are married are considered a minority family structure for blacks.[61] In 1970, 64% of adult African Americans were married. This rate was cut in half by 2004, when it was 32%.[61] In 2004, 45% of African Americans had never been married compared to only 25% of White Americans.[61]

For African Americans who do marry, the rate of divorce is higher than White Americans. While the trend is the same for both African Americans and White Americans, with at least half of marriages for the two groups ending in divorce, the rate of divorce tends to be consistently higher for African Americans.[61] 

African Americans also tend to spend less time married than White Americans. Overall, African Americans are married at a later age, spend less time married and are more likely to be divorced than White Americans.[61 (Dixon, P (2009). "Marriage among African Americans: What does the research reveal?". Journal of African American Studies. 13)]

While research has shown that marriage rates have dropped for African Americans, the birth rate has not. Thus, the number of single-parent homes has risen dramatically for black women.[62 (David T. Euwood; Christopher Jencks (2004). Kathryn M. Neckerman (ed.). Social Inequality.)] In 1992 47% of all African-American extended families were segmented extended family structures, compared to 12% of all other races combined.[25 (Paul C. Glick, ed. by Harriette Pipes McAdoo (1997). Black families (3rd ed.) ]

Thomas, Krampe, and Newton's research shows that 32% of African-American fathers rarely to never visit their children, compared to 11% of white fathers.[36 (Thomas, P. A.; Krampe, E. M.; Newton, R. R. (19 March 2007). "Father Presence, Family Structure, and Feelings of Closeness to the Father Among Adult African American Children".)] 

Sowell has argued: "The black family, which had survived centuries of slavery and discrimination, began rapidly disintegrating in the liberal welfare state that subsidized unwed pregnancy and changed welfare from an emergency rescue to a way of life."[59 (Sowell, Thomas (August 16, 2004). "A painful anniversary")]

Although black males make up 6% of the population, they make up 50% of those who are incarcerated.[61]

This incarceration rate for black males increased by a rate of more than four between the years of 1980 and 2003. The incarceration rate for African American males is 3,045 out of 100,000 compared to 465 per 100,000 White American males.[61] In many areas around the country, the chance that black males will be arrested and jailed at least once in their lifetime is extremely high. 

For Washington, D.C., this probability is between 80 and 90%.[61 (Dixon, P (2009). "Marriage among African Americans: What does the research reveal?")] Studies on the topic have indicated that children growing up in single-parent homes face disturbances in young childhood, adolescence and young adulthood as well.[71] 

Although these effects are sometimes minimal and contradictory, it is generally agreed that the family structure a child grows up in is important for their success in the educational sphere.[71 (Heiss, Jerold (August 1996). "Effects of African American Family Structure on School Attitudes and Performance")] 

This is particularly important for African American children who have a 50% chance of being born outside of marriages and growing up in a home with a single-parent.[79 (Cain, D. S., & Combs-Orme, T. (2005). Family structure effects on parenting stress and practices in the African American family. J. Soc. & Soc. Welfare, 32, 19)]

In addition, according to https://thefatherlessgeneration.wordpress.com/statistics/:

• 43% of US children live without their father [US Department of Census]

• 90% of homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes. [US D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census]

• 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes. [Criminal Justice & Behaviour, Vol 14, pp. 403-26, 1978]

• 71% of pregnant teenagers lack a father. [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services press release, Friday, March 26, 1999]

• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes. [US D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census]

• 85% of children who exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes. [Center for Disease Control]

• 90% of adolescent repeat arsonists live with only their mother. [Wray Herbert, “Dousing the Kindlers,” Psychology Today, January, 1985, p. 28]

• 71% of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. [National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools]
• 85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes – 20 times the average.  (Center for Disease Control)

• 80% of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes –14 times the average.  (Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, p. 403-26)

• 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes – 9 times the average.  (National Principals Association Report)

Father Factor in Education – Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school.

• Children with Fathers who are involved are 40% less likely to repeat a grade in school.

• Children with Fathers who are involved are 70% less likely to drop out of school.

• Children with Fathers who are involved are more likely to get A’s in school.

• Children with Fathers who are involved are more likely to enjoy school and engage in extracurricular activities.

• 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes – 10 times the average.

Related to this is the exponential rise in crime from about 1960, which, along with factors such as age and migration to large cities, in linked to spiritual decline overall and with  the rise of rebellious, immoral liberal ideology and the subsequent decline if the integrity of the American family,  especially that of African Americans.  

  Roland Chilton's (1995) study of urban homicide demonstrated that "between 1960 and 1990, murder arrests of African Americans, while constituting only approximately 12% of the U.S. population, accounted for an astonishing 65 to 78% of all big city homicide arrests in the nation. Furthermore, between 1965 and 1990, arrest rates of blacks for crimes of violence, including but not limited to murder, were five to nine times the white rates (FBI, 1993, p. 173)."  (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047235217305214)

Based upon data  collected between 1999 and 2020, The Lancet medical journal analyzed homicide rates of Black women ages 25 to 44 across 30 states and found that "although Black women represent only 10% of the overall female population, they account for 59% of murders in the US," and  that  "in 2020, the homicide rate among Black women was 11·6 per 100 000, compared with 3 per 100 000 among White women," and that  this "inequity has persisted over time and is virtually unchanged since 1999."  Also,  more than half of the women murdered in the USA experienced intimate partner violence (IPV before they were killed ) (http://www.thelancet-press.com/embargo/FemaleHomicideUSA.pdf) 

However, as is typical with sources of the Left, rather than diagnosing that as being a result of the decline of character-forming culture, the Lancet blamed these rates on such things as being a product of "disserviced" and "underserved communities." And thus they advocate for  more social services (usually being government bureaucratic services, whereby liberal obtain power), which are self-perpetuating. 

Which is consistent with liberals blaming everything on racism, from store closings (due to high theft rates) to increased police presence and arrests as well the high crime rates (that warrant increased  police presence) to high STI, HIV and  unemployment rates.  

However, while racism is certain wrong, and irrational (and it exists in every race) and is to be disallowed if race/color/ethnicity national origin is truly being the cause of discrimination, yet that is not the actual cause behind perpetual and higher reported crime rates, high unemployment, etc. but this is due to poor development of character. Which is reflective of the family and  community culture. 

And which character and  culture, in the long term,  manifests its strength in the light of adversity as well as affluence,  afflictions as well as alleviation.  In its affluence, the West has failed the test, and fostered an increasingly dysfunctional society, with power-hunger politicians as well as well-meaning but unwise supporters of such,  justifying perpetuating "solutions" under the premise of good intentions. 

Rather than allowing discrimination (including due to quotas) based upon non-moral factors as race, color, ethnicity, then employment, enrollment is to be based upon character, ability and (in some areas) conformability to the purpose of  establishment (like excluding communist activists from national defense work). And of course, a person's feelings/orientation are not to be included as a basis for protected status  inclusion, 

According to The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, an estimated 51% of Black female adult homicides were related to intimate partner violence, while approximately 45% of Black women also experienced stalking, physical and sexual violence in their lifetimes. (https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/dv_in_the_black_community.pdf)

"Yet by almost every measure African Americans socioeconomic conditions were better in 1970 than in 1940. '“Blacks not only shared in the rising prosperity of the war and the immediate postwar years,”' wrote historians Stephan and Abigail Thernstrom and Thernstrom (1997), p. 70), “'they advanced more rapidly than whites.”' 

"In addition to economic betterment, blacks saw dramatic (and long overdue) reductions in white racism as evidenced by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the former described as “far and away the most important [legislation] in the history of race relations” (Patterson, 1996, p. 546).

"Despite these economic and social advances black crime began to escalate markedly in the late 1960s and continued to play a major role in the multi-decade crime boom that followed (Latzer, 2016, pp. 128–45, 164–70)." 

"Consider homicide mortality rates by race and ethnicity derived from medical examiner reports and collected by the National Center for Health Statistics. The mean African American rate for 2000–2015 was 7.4 times the white rate and 3.1 times the Hispanic rate (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017)."

Much of this was due to "the extraordinarily high number of crimes committed by African Americans against other African Americans – the so-called black-on-black crime problem. From 1976 to 2005, 94% of black homicide victims were killed by African Americans (Fox & Zawitz, 2010). From 2012 to 2015, over 63% of nonlethal violent crimes with black victims involved African American perpetrators." (Morgan, 2017).

Importance of accurate direct quotes even when accurately expressing what was said: Fact checking Politifact.com: Jerry Nadler didn’t say ‘God has no authority in the House of Representatives’ (Daniel Funke)

On February 26, 2021, seeking to further its liberal cause, Politifact presented a fact check labeling the Facebook statement as false, and indeed, even though what was expressed by the quote is accurate, as a direct quote it is not.

The statement at issue was one from a image (https://static.politifact.com/politifact/photos/Screen_Shot_2021-02-26_at_12_29_39.jpg) from a Facebook poster, with the statement "God has no authority in the House of Representatives,’" over Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., which was an accurate summation - but not accurate as a quote - of what he expressed in response to Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla. (who criticized the Equality Act during the House debate, saying it violates Christian beliefs), "Mr. Steube, what any religious tradition describes as God’s will is no concern of this Congress."

As a summary statement this indeed means what Nadler said, yet Funke simply asserts Nadler didn’t say that. What should be provided is that “What any religious tradition describes as God’s will is no concern of this Congress,” is short for "God’s will is no concern of this government's legislative body" since "any religious tradition" covers all known express revelation of Divine will (and contextually the source was responding to one) while "Congress" includes the House (where the debate too place) as the other branch of the government's legislative body.

Certainly the Facebook post (and social media posts should be the last place you should expect veracity) yet again, while it should be easy to see that the Facebook caption is expressing what was said in essence, placing it in quotes means it should be just what he said. As regards the veracity of what the FB post expressess, since according to Politifact's own criteria for fact checking they are supposed to consider whether there is "another way to read the statement"/whether the statement is "open to interpretation," they could have better clarified that it's False attribution refered to the FB postas direct quote, not what it expressed.

Moreover, Meanwhile Funke's asserts that Nadler's statement was a reference to the constitutional separation between church and state, which would be a perverse interpretation of the First Amendment, since it certainly did not mean that the Founders had absolutely no regard for the will of God from any source (es. the Bible so many often quoted), nor that it prevented general affirmation of religion and appeal to its morality, which will so many Founders evidenced.

Thus while the FB image is a technically false quote, the statement expresses what was said, and which Politifact fails to confirm. And which practice of focusing on one technicality in order to impugn the overall truth of a statement is consistent with the liberal bias of PF, in contradiction of its professed "commitment to nonpartisanship and fairness."

Finally, I hope Funke will not reject the expressed will of God for us according to the Bible, of repentance and faith in the Son sent by the Father to be the Savior of the world, (1 Jn. 4:14), Jesus Christ. Thank you. 

 Here is link to a picture of the Politifact fact checkers;

https://static.politifact.com/CACHE/images/politifact/photos/PolitFact_group_photo_-_Feb_2020_-_resized/fab8deeae7522a2abccd6c74580e1224.jpg

Lying and misleading headlines: "Researchers find face masks don't hinder breathing during exercise:" Science past and present - and common sense:

Lying and misleading headlines: "Researchers find face masks don't hinder breathing during exercise:" Science past and present - and common sense:

Usually citing one superficial study of just 14 persons and which simply tested blood and muscle oxygen levels after a short workout, we see headlines as below:

www.sciencedaily.com › releases › 2020/11 ...Face masks don't hinder breathing during exercise, study finds

Nov 5, 2020 — A new study has found that exercise performance and blood and muscle oxygen levels are not affected for healthy individuals wearing a face ... The study evaluated use of a three-layer cloth face mask... involving 14 physically active and healthy men and women..required to do a brief warm-up on a stationary bike. The exercise test involved a progressive increase in the intensity on the bike while they maintained a required pedal rate. Once they could not sustain the pedal rate the test was over. “Usually a participant reaches exhaustion on this test in six to twelve minutes depending on their fitness level,”

--------------------------------------------------------------

However, even if the above is true, the trumpeted "face masks don`t hinder breathing" headlines that abound (see further below) are lies at face value, since even a Kleenex hinders breathing, while otherwise they are misleading, for even if oxygen levels do not decrease with the use of masks, past studies find it takes more work for the body to deal with the impairment of breathing fresh air.

Thus any mask does indeed "hinder" breathing, especially the breathing of fresh air and oxygen, even if (as the test at issue claims) not necessarily changing the amount of O2 or CO2 in the blood during the period of testing. 

And, among other issues, N95 masks are also found to have a detrimental effect on nasal resistance after removal. 

Note that I am not saying that masks are not effective in reducing viral transmission and the need for such among the ages and unfit and unhealthy inside, which is common sense, but I oppose the extremes this has led to, from required masking whenever outside to even advocating two or three masks. 

People should get outside more, and healthy and fit persons should be able to work and play together (if the get Covid-19, such almost always recover and then have a lasting effective immune repose to reinfection), while the lack of fitness and health (42% Americans obese, 73% overall are overweight, 45% age 18 and older estimated to have high blood pressure) is actually the real cause behind so many Covid-assigned deaths (it is not the extra load in a car that usually causes its failure but it underlying problems). And which pandemic - and the extreme response to it - is a judgment upon a nation that has increasingly forsaken God and hearkened unto lies (see ARE YOU SAVED OR LOST? ).

• Evaluation of N95 Respirator Use with a Surgical Mask Cover ... academic.oup.com › annweh › article by EJ Sinkule · 2013 · Cited by 47 — breathing resistance, effects from using N95 respirators, extending N95 ... dizziness, perspiration, and short-term memory loss have been reported (Sayers et al

The differences in inhaled gas concentrations in FFR+SM and FFR-only were significant, especially at lower levels of energy expenditure. The orientation of the SM on the FFR may have a significant effect on the inhaled breathing quality and breathing resistance, although the measurable inhalation and exhalation pressures caused by SM [surgical mask cover ] over FFR [ N95 filtering facepiece respirators] for healthcare users probably will be imperceptible at lower activity levels.

Previous studies have reported elevated concentrations of inhaled carbon dioxide (CO2) and decreased concentrations of inhaled oxygen (O2) associated with wearing FFRs (Sinkule et al., 2003). ..

The increased inhaled CO2 concentrations and decreased inhaled O2 concentrations within the breathing zone of negative-pressure air-purifying respirators, including FFRs, are directly related to dead space.

The effects of wearing FFRs and other types of respiratory protection have been widely studied using a variety of measurement methods (Li et al., 2005; Radonovich et al., 2009; Roberge et al., 2010). Some of these investigations have been quantitative (e.g., levels of inhaled CO2), qualitative (e.g., levels of fatigue), or can reflect characteristics that range from inconvenient (e.g., decreased levels of comfort) to potentially hazardous (e.g., decreased inhaled levels of O2). The physiological effects of breathing elevated inhaled CO2 may include changes in visual performance (Yang et al., 1997), modified exercise endurance (Raven et al., 1979), headaches and dyspnea (Raven et al., 1979). The psychological effects include decreased reasoning and alertness, and increased irritability (Sayers et al., 1987); with CO2 at 7–7.5%, severe dyspnea, headache, dizziness, perspiration, and short-term memory loss have been reported (Sayers et al., 1987; Compressed Gas Association, 1999).

Subjects performing physical activity while breathing decreased O2 concentrations (17%) produced higher levels of lactic acid accumulation at lower levels of energy expenditure as compared with normal O2 concentrations (21%), in addition to achieving lower levels of peak exercise performance (Hogan et al., 1983). Increased breathing resistance with respirators has been identified as the cause of respiratory fatigue and impaired physical work capacity, a shift to anaerobic metabolism from an increased rate of O2 debt; and, early exhaustion at lighter workloads....

In a field study, smaller healthcare workers (e.g. women) were more probable to experience intolerance for wearing FFRs before the end of the shift (Radonovich et al., 2009)...

. Other NIOSH research has indicated significant elevated inhaled CO2 associated with various respirators. Sinkule et al. (2003) ..

Using the same six levels of energy expenditure as the present investigation, FFRs (type was not stratified) produced the highest levels of average inhaled CO2 concentrations and lowest average inhaled O2 concentrations for all levels of energy expenditure as compared with all other respiratory protective devices examined...

At levels of energy expenditure of 1.5 l·min−1 or lower, most average inhaled CO2 concentrations appeared above 2.0% for all FFRs and more so at the lowest level of energy expenditure (rest). The recognizable effect of inhaled CO2 is the stimulating action upon respiration, i.e. respiratory removal of CO2 occurs through the increase in ventilation rate. Respiratory rate, tidal volume, and alveolar CO2 become elevated with inhaled CO2 concentrations above ambient (Schneider and Truesdale, 1922; Consolazio et al., 1947; Patterson et al., 1955). These physiological responses occur to compensate for abnormal diffusion of CO2 from the blood, due to a decrease in the ratio of alveolar to capillary CO2 (Schulte, 1964).

In addition to the increased rate and depth of breathing, cardiac output will increase to compensate for the additional CO2 (Schulte, 1964). While inhaling 1–2% CO2 for 17–32min, slight increases have been reported in systolic and diastolic blood pressures (Schneider and Truesdale, 1922). Exposures of increased inhaled CO2 between 2 and 3% have been known to produce sweating, headache, and dyspnea for some subjects at rest after several hours (Schneider and Truesdale, 1922). If inhaled CO2 concentrations are between 4 and 5%, dyspnea can occur within several minutes and increased blood pressure, dizziness, and headache can occur within 15–32min (Schneider and Truesdale, 1922; Patterson et al., 1955; Schulte, 1964).

If inhaled CO2 exposures are at 5%, mental depression may occur within several hours (Consolazio et al., 1947; Schulte, 1964). As noted in several of these studies, headaches have been reported at inhaled CO2 concentrations similar to those found in this investigation. This is consistent with one study which found that 37% of healthcare workers surveyed reported headaches following FFR use (Lim et al., 2006).

A striking unanticipated finding among the horizontal flat-fold FFRs was a reduction in the average inhaled CO2 concentration when an SM was applied as an additional layer of protection at graphic of 1.0 and 1.5 l·min−1 (Table 3)...

Like the unanticipated change that occurred among the horizontal flat-fold FFRs, where a reduction in the average inhaled CO2 concentration was observed when an SM was applied as an additional layer of protection at graphic of 1.0 l·min−1 and 1.5 l·min−1, an increase in the average inhaled O2 concentration also occurred for this select subset of FFRs....

The average inhaled CO2 concentrations were lower (P < 0.05) among horizontal flat-fold FFRs with SM as compared with horizontal flat-fold FFRs alone at V.O2 of 1.0 l·min−1 and 1.5 l·min−1

[Now note the summary conclusion:]

Results: Generally, concentrations of average inhaled CO2 decreased and average inhaled O2 increased with increasing O2 consumption for FFR+SM and FFR-only. For most work rates, peak inhalation and exhalation pressures were statistically higher in FFR+SM as compared with FFR-only. The type of FFR and the presence of exhalation valves (EVs) had significant effects on average inhaled CO2, average inhaled O2, and breathing pressures. The evidence suggests that placement of an SM on one type of FFR improved inhaled breathing gas concentrations over the FFR without SM; the placement of an SM over an FFR+EV probably will prevent the EV from opening, regardless of activity intensity; and, at lower levels of energy expenditure, EVs in FFR do not open either with or without an SM. (https://academic.oup.com/annweh/article/57/3/384/230992)

[Basically what this is saying it the more restrictive masking one wears - and the flatter it is, reducing dead space, then the less inhaled CO2 [carbon dioxide] occurs and increasing O2 [oxygen] consumption. This is despite the study showing that average inhaled CO2 concentrations increased with the use of FFRs, and common sense tells us that a mask restricts inhalation of oxygen and increases inhalation of carbon dioxide then. Though a flat mask would be better than a cup type.

The only way then that concentrations of average inhaled CO2 can decrease and average inhaled O2increase is a result of the body working harder, as the study says, "respiratory removal of CO2 occurs through the increase in ventilation rate...In addition to the increased rate and depth of breathing, cardiac output will increase to compensate for the additional CO2 " and with slight increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressures.

And that "At levels of energy expenditure of 1.5 l·min−1 or lower, most average inhaled CO2 concentrations appeared above 2.0% for all FFRs and more so at the lowest level of energy expenditure (rest)... Exposures of increased inhaled CO2 between 2 and 3% have been known to produce sweating, headache, and dyspnea for some subjects at rest after several hours." "one study which found that 37% of healthcare workers surveyed reported headaches following FFR use."

More trumpeted "face masks don`t hinder breathing" headlines below, with excerpts of other research cited in response.

Researchers find face masks don`t hinder breathing during . .. A new University of Saskatchewan (USask) study has found that exercise performance and blood and muscle oxygen levels are not affected for healthy individuals wearing a face mask during strenuous workouts... the study, published Nov. 3 in the research journal International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health...indicate that people can wear face masks during intense exercise with no detrimental effects on performance and minimal impact on blood and muscle oxygenation..

Researchers find face masks don't hinder breathing during ...

Face Masks Don't Hinder Breathing During Exercise, USask ... new University of Saskatchewan (USask) study has found that exercise performance and blood and muscle oxygen levels are not affected for healthy individuals wearing a face mask during strenuous workouts.

Wearing Face Masks During Exercise Don't Hinder Breathing . ..

• Respirator masks protect health but impact performance: a review J Biol Eng. 2016; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4748517/

There are two basic principles relevant to respirator use:

Protective masks and clothing generally shorten the time that a particular activity level can be sustained...

1. Work cannot usually be performed as long or as hard while wearing a respirator compared to when respirators are not worn. Wearing protective clothing plus respirators makes this situation even worse. Either more time must be allowed for a particular task or more workers must be assigned to the same task.

There is a great deal of wearer variability. Some wearers can tolerate respirator high inspiratory or expiratory resistance or pressure levels, while others cannot. Some wearers are much more anxious about wearing respirators than others. Some wearers can tolerate hot, humid conditions inside respirators, whereas others cannot. Because of this variability, each wearer must be treated as an individual...

Buffering the blood against lactic acid formation during anaerobic respiration produces extra carbon dioxide that can be exhaled. This extra carbon dioxide acts as a respiratory stimulant that leads to hyperventilation, or harder and deeper breathing.

All these processes proceed each time a person moves actively. They are much more efficient for younger people than for older people. Maximum oxygen uptake for 20 year olds is about 2.5 l per minute, but declines nearly linearly to about 1.7 l per minute at age 65 [17]. Well-trained individuals can have maximum oxygen uptakes up to twice these values. In addition, the maximum oxygen debt that can be incurred by an individual declines with age and is also affected by training [12].

Metabolic responses during exercise, and especially during emergencies, are modified by the release of the adrenal hormones adrenalin (epinephrine) and cortisol. These hormones increase metabolic rate, increase the rate and force of heart contractions, enhance the availability of blood glucose, reroute blood from the gut to the muscles, and mobilize the nervous system. The combined actions of these hormones can affect physical, emotional, and cognitive functions.

Muscular strength declines with age, making task performance less efficient when more muscles must be recruited to perform a task. Muscular power can be restored relatively rapidly with strength training. Drugs and medicines can also affect body metabolism, as can illness. Products of cigarette smoking and caffeine also affect metabolic rate [65]...

Inhaled air is oxygen rich and carbon dioxide poor. Exhaled air is oxygen poor and carbon dioxide rich. Because air flow in the airways is bidirectional, the first air that reaches the alveoli is the same as the last air that was exhaled during the previous exhalation. This is an indication of the dead volume of the lung, or that volume that stores carbon dioxide from the previous breath. Dead volume for average adults is about 180 ml, but dead volume of respirators can add to the effective dead volume of the respiratory system and affect performance [52].

Inhaled air is oxygen rich and carbon dioxide poor. Exhaled air is oxygen poor and carbon dioxide rich. Because air flow in the airways is bidirectional, the first air that reaches the alveoli is the same as the last air that was exhaled during the previous exhalation. This is an indication of the dead volume of the lung, or that volume that stores carbon dioxide from the previous breath. Dead volume for average adults is about 180 ml, but dead volume of respirators can add to the effective dead volume of the respiratory system and affect performance [52].

Carbon dioxide is a very powerful respiratory stimulant. Increasing the concentration of inhaled carbon dioxide increases lung ventilation much more than does oxygen deficiency. Metabolically-produced carbon dioxide is even more effective than inhaled carbon dioxide at stimulating respiration. This is critical for additions of external dead volume, which transforms exhaled metabolic carbon dioxide into carbon dioxide inhaled during the next breath. Once the anaerobic threshold is reached, blood buffering makes it appear that metabolic carbon dioxide increases, and respiration is stimulated so much that lung ventilation increases dramatically as work rate intensifies... (Fig. 3).

Respiration does not usually limit work performances of healthy individuals, but respiration can limit work time when respirators are worn [44, 51]. The most important function of the respiratory system is the removal of carbon dioxide from the body. Adjustments during exercise increase depth and rate of breathing in order to expel this gaseous end-product of aerobic metabolism. Exercise exhalation becomes actively supported by the abdominal muscles, spewing carbon dioxide at faster rates as exercise intensifies. At some point, the rate at which air can be exhaled becomes limited by the distensible airways in the respiratory system. Any further increase in abdominal pressure cannot increase expiratory flow rate.

Thus, for normal individuals, there is a limitation when exhalation time decreases to one-half second or so [22, 24]. Carbon dioxide cannot be expelled any faster than this minimum exhalation time allows. Additionally, some people suffer from respiratory impairments that limit maximum pressures that can be generated by the respiratory muscles when they breathe through external resistances or against external pressures [59]. Respiratory-limited work usually lasts 5–20 min.

Respirator effects...

Extra inspiratory resistance [38] promotes hypoventilation [2–4, 6, 16, 39, 50, 60] of the wearer (lower volumes of air breathed and smaller amounts of oxygen used). This can result in an earlier transition from aerobic (using oxygen) to anaerobic (no oxygen needed) respiration [10, 32], and faster progress toward the maximum tolerance for exercise (maximum oxygen debt).

Facepiece dead volume accumulates exhaled carbon dioxide in the voids between the respirator and the face and returns it to the respiratory system during the next inspiration. This carbon dioxide then acts as a respiratory stimulant. Because carbon dioxide is a psychoactive gas, dead volume may also produce discomfort and a performance decrement at low-intensity work. A typical value for full-facepiece APR [Air-purifying respirators] respirator dead volume is 350 mL. Such a dead volume is expected to reduce performance time by 19 % at a work rate of 80 to 85 % of maximum oxygen uptake [52].

Intense exercise above the anaerobic threshold uses more air than does moderate exercise, and because very intense exercise metabolism has a higher anaerobic component than does moderate exercise, the air that is used is not consumed as efficiently as it is at lower intensity [43]. The net result is that SCBA tank air depletes much more rapidly at high work rates than at moderate work rates...

Use of respirators in hot conditions leads to several difficulties. Discomfort has been related to facial temperatures inside the facepiece. Facial skin temperatures are more important for comfort than skin temperatures in other parts of the body...

There can be a considerable amount of discomfort associated with wearing respirators, gloves, boots, and protective suits. Those individuals prone to anxious feelings may have their anxieties made worse during periods of inactivity. Anxieties are the most important threat to protective equipment wear, and extremely anxious people should not be asked to wear respirators, if possible.

Studies have shown that anxiety level is a very reliable indicator of difficulty encountered while wearing a respirator. Extremely anxious individuals do not perform for as long or at the same work rate as low-anxiety wearers [28, 61].

For those who can tolerate the discomfort and claustrophobic feelings when wearing respirators, there will nonetheless be physical effects of prolonged wear [54, 57]...

Physiological limits to long term exercise deal with limitations on blood glucose levels and muscle glycogen stores. Dehydration or electrolyte depletion may occur [17]. These are difficult to quantify for any individual, but frequent eating and drinking can deter them from happening [30]. Psychological effects are also important. Feelings of fatigue are common, as are feelings of anxiety and discontent [54, 57]...

Rest times are also dependent on the intensity of the task and the maximum oxygen uptake of the individual [17]. In general, the more intense the work, the longer will be the recovery time, but the relationship is nonlinear. A task that can be performed for an hour requires at least a 10 min rest period. More intense tasks (with shorter performance times) require longer rest times.

Face Masks Do Not Impair Breathing for People with COPD ...

• Wait, kids & people with breathing problems should NOT wear ... www.sfgate.com › california-wildfires › article › n95-m... Nov 16, 2018

Paul Chinn/The Chronicle.. People with breathing problems (ironically) are discouraged from wearing a mask without getting a doctor's recommendation. In one statement, CA Dept. of Public Health writes, "Wearing a mask may actually be harmful to some people with heart or lung disease because it can make the lungs work harder to breathe." A doctor will look at the patient's condition, ability to draw in air, and guide them on how to make it fit right if recommended.

Small children should not wear masks. California's Dept. of Public Health points out, "Children should not wear these masks – they do not fit properly and can impede breathing. If the air quality is poor enough that a child requires a mask, the child should remain indoors, in a safe place, and evacuation should be considered."

• The effect of a face mask for respiratory support on breathing in preterm infants at birth 2019

Recordings of 429 infants were included (median (IQR) gestational age of 28+6 (27+1-30+4) weeks). In 368/429 (86%) infants breathing was observed before application of the face mask and 197/368 (54%) of these infants stopped breathing following application of the face mask. Apnoea occurred at a median of 5 (3–17) seconds after application of the face mask with a duration of 28 (22–34) seconds of the first minute. In a logistic regression model, the occurrence of apnoea after face mask application was inversely associated with gestational age (OR = 1.424 (1.281–1.583), p < 0.001). Infants who stopped breathing had a significantly lower heart rate 82 (66–123) vs 134 (97–151) bpm, p < 0.001) and oxygen saturation (49% (33–59) vs 66% (50–82), p < 0.001) over the first minute after face mask application, compared to infants who continued breathing.

Wearing Face Masks During Exercise Won't Hinder Breathing ... The Saskatchewan study , published Nov. 3, 2020, in the research journal International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, evaluated the use of a three-layer cloth mask.

• Effects of long-duration wearing of N95 respirator and surgical facemask: a pilot study. 2014

Despite the protective function, the effects of mask wearing on respiratory microclimate, respiratory functions and individual sensations are important as well. It was reported that facemask caused less subjective discomfort feeling, lower perception of humidity, heat and breathe resistance than N95 respirator. 10 Wearing masks could affect the wearer’s whole body thermal sensation. 11

Long- duration wearing of N95 respirator may induce physiological stress on the wearer, making regular tasks more challenging, and causes headaches among healthcare providers. 12 These effects might be due to the respiratory microclimate change surrounding the masks. For example, wearing surgical facemask and N95 respirator was found to induce different temperatures and humidification on outer and inner mask surfaces 10. These differences are attributed to different material properties of the masks, such as lower air permeability and water vapor permeability in N95 respirator. 13 While the N95 respirator would physically increase the nasal resistance more than 100% compared to the condition without respirator, 14 the presence of exhaled moisture or concurrent wearing of surgical facemask has limited effect on breathing resistance.... 15,16

Conclusion In conclusion, there is an increase of nasal resistance upon removal of N95 respirator and surgical facemask after 3hours wearing which potentially due to nasal physiological changes, instead of the size of nasal airways. The nasal resistance was not recovered even after 1.5hours removal of respirator/facemask. In addition, the N95 respirator caused higher post-wearing nasal resistance than surgical facemask with different recovery routines.

Working Out With a Face Mask Doesn't Hinder Breathing ...Researchers measured oxygen levels in the blood and muscles of 14 physically active and healthy participants during an aerobic fitness test...The data showed no evidence that breathing was hindered during the workout.

Face Masks Don't Inhibit Breathing or Performance During ...

• Preliminary report on surgical mask induced deoxygenation during major surgery...

Our study revealed a decrease in the oxygen saturation of arterial pulsations (SpO2) and a slight increase in pulse rates compared to preoperative values in all surgeon groups. The decrease was more prominent in the surgeons aged over 35.. Considering our findings, pulse rates of the surgeon's increase and SpO2 decrease after the first hour. This early change in SpO2 may be either due to the facial mask or the operational stress. Since a very small decrease in saturation at this level, reflects a large decrease in PaO2, our findings may have a clinical value for the health workers and the surgeons.