The fact that people have at least one time in their lives where mockery changed their opinions doesn’t mean that mockery in general is effective compared to other ways of communicating.
If a high status person mocks someone for not wearing a mask it can have an effect on people who respect the high status person. If the high status person would instead speak about how wearing a mask is an important act to care for your fellow human beings, that would also have an effect.
The fact that people have at least one time in their lives where mockery changed their opinions doesn’t mean that mockery in general is effective compared to other ways of communicating.
If a high status person mocks someone for not wearing a mask it can have an effect on people who respect the high status person. If the high status person would instead speak about how wearing a mask is an important act to care for your fellow human beings, that would also have an effect.