Why is it that....

if a defender even touches the facemask or cage of the running back or receiver etc. he's called for facemasking and yet the opposite never seems to be called. Every week you see a RB or WR put his hand out intentionally to block the defender in the mask, sometimes the fingers even grip, and yet they never get called.

I find that wrong. In last nights BC vs Als game, I saw the BC defender try to push Colborne out of bounds. Colborne had the defenders mask and even had a grip on it at one point, the defender end up doing the same and got the 15 yard penalty.

That's CFL officials for ya. Turn the blind eye sometimes.

I guess the assumption is the runner with the ball doesn't want to do this as would do the opposite of what he wants, to keep going forward, this would slow him. But I agree that if it's a safety issue first and foremost, then any facemasking should be called.

There is a difference between straight arming and facemasking.

Straight arming to the facemask is legal because you aren't grabbing the facemask.