can you please explain the 'putting their own needs above the needs of others', as it relates to wearing a mask in public or not?
I don't think I'm getting your context. maybe just a big misunderstanding.
One of the local hospitals here blankly said "We can't buy masks right now." They put out a request on Facebook for people to donate them.
That being said, it occurs to me that people aren't looking at the perceived value of masks in context. If I were making a sundae analogy the base would be ice cream (effective testing) hot fudge (improved hygiene norms) brownies (social distancing/self isolation) and the a cherry on top (masks) For a good sundae we need all those parts, but in a pinch just a bowl of ice cream is still most of the way to where you want to be. However, if you were craving a sundae, and I gave you a bowl with a cherry in it, you'd be understandably confused as to why I'd bother wasting everyone's time. Without effective testing, which as it sits right now we're nowhere near, you can close everything and dress people up in hazmat suits and it isn't going to help.
It also occurs to me that people seem to be under the impression that the goal is to stop the spread when the goal is simply to slow it to a manageable pace. If people are doing everything they can to prevent themselves from getting sick this is going to go on forever.