@tjdog, I, too, understand your frustration and dilemma. You want to be safe in your neighborhood, but you also don't want to create conflict. Opinions can be challenging to change with facts. We had a similar discussion about acceptance and persuasion in this discussion:

- COVID-19 Concerns: How do you help others understand? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-do-you-make-them-understand/

In that discussion, I wrote:
When trying to explain the concerns about COVID-19 to someone, even family, it is first important to understand why they may be resisting protective restrictions and evidence published by trusted medical sources. Even facts may not resonate when people are suffering due to financial concerns or they don't (yet) know anyone who has had the virus.

This article from Psychology Today sheds some light:
– Why Aren't Some People Taking COVID-19 More Seriously? https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psych-unseen/202003/why-arent-some-people-taking-covid-19-more-seriously

Here's another discussion that may be of interest:
- We're told to wear masks. How do we do it safely and properly? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/masks/

To address, your primary question regarding the message on the box of surgical ear loop masks that someone is using as "proof" that masks don't help. There is a fundamental flaw in this person's understanding of what the masks can do and why they work only if we all wear them. Ear loop surgical masks and cloth masks do not protect the wearer from getting germs, but rather the mask stops them from spreading their own germs to others. So if we all wear masks, no one is spreading germs beyond their own mask.
Does that make sense?