Sure problems can happen if you don't wash your mask, or don't fit it correctly to make a good seal, or don't even cover your damn nose. Then there is paranoid delusional stuff about your kids will be kidnapped and no one will find them since everyone is wearing masks.

Early on in this pandemic deplorables targetted Asian-Americans for racism, especially the ones who have never been to China. Masks were associated with being Asian, and therefore having COVID. So people knew early on that masks were to stop someone from spreading the virus to others. Then once local governments mandated masks for everyone before entering stores, people didn't magically switch their thinking to the selfish thought that it prevents the wearer from catching infection. It has always been about preventing the wearer from spreading it to others, same as covering a cough or sneeze.