1 edit
@no1marauder saidNot sure what their methodology is, but JH has the 7DA at 226 (right at the all time low).
https://coronavirus.smartnews.com/us/
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/united-states
@sh76 saidDo we have mandates on stuff that are not useless? What I haven't seen in this thread (and all your other threads on this topic) is what makes your mask vendetta unique. Are you blaming the effectiveness of mask use in general, the poor and uneven distribution of mandates from state and local authorities, or the lax enforcement of the mandate?
===social distancing, vaccines, handwashing, sanitizers===
And yet none of those things are mandated. I don't see handwashing police making sure you rub Purell on your hands before entering the supermarket.
All those things are nice, common sense sanitary habits and people are welcome to engage in if they so choose. None of them should be mandated by government. Do you disagree? If so, please explain why. If not, then you're not disagreeing with me.
There are many examples of public safety measures/mandates that fail on one level or another but aren't necessarily bad. I would argue that the mandate and enforcement of seat belts is a useless waste of tax dollars since every car has an alarm that beeps incessantly at you if you're not wearing one. No one is ignoring that alarm until a PSA about 'click it or ticket' changes their mind. But seatbelts themselves aren't useless.
Is this like that? Why 25 posts about mask mandates but none about seat belts?
@wildgrass saidYou gotta harden up, that alarm stops after a while, teaspoon of cement in the coffee will help.
Do we have mandates on stuff that are not useless? What I haven't seen in this thread (and all your other threads on this topic) is what makes your mask vendetta unique. Are you blaming the effectiveness of mask use in general, the poor and uneven distribution of mandates from state and local authorities, or the lax enforcement of the mandate?
There are many examples of ...[text shortened]... es aren't useless.
Is this like that? Why 25 posts about mask mandates but none about seat belts?
...and earplugs
@wildgrass saidBecause mask mandates are harmful, especially for children.
Do we have mandates on stuff that are not useless? What I haven't seen in this thread (and all your other threads on this topic) is what makes your mask vendetta unique. Are you blaming the effectiveness of mask use in general, the poor and uneven distribution of mandates from state and local authorities, or the lax enforcement of the mandate?
There are many examples of ...[text shortened]... es aren't useless.
Is this like that? Why 25 posts about mask mandates but none about seat belts?
Forcing little children to wear masks all day in school is unconscionable and is low-grade torture that they put up with only because they're powerless and used to arbitrary oppressive rules.
Thankfully, where I live the mandates are long over and were never really enforced that thoroughly to begin with, but the thought of my 4 year old being forced to wear a mask all day in pre-school makes my blood boil. Wearing a seat belt in the car, not so much.
That's why.
@sh76 saidI actually agree with you here that it's terrible the kids have to wear masks all day. But the alternative is spreading a virus that could kill them, or more likely, their parents or family members.
Because mask mandates are harmful, especially for children.
Forcing little children to wear masks all day in school is unconscionable and is low-grade torture that they put up with only because they're powerless and used to arbitrary oppressive rules.
Thankfully, where I live the mandates are long over and were never really enforced that thoroughly to begin with, but the t ...[text shortened]... l day in pre-school makes my blood boil. Wearing a seat belt in the car, not so much.
That's why.
@vivify saidPeople that believe you go to hell if you don't go to church on Sunday should go to church on Sunday, people that believe in your fairy story religion should wear a mask.
I actually agree with you here that it's terrible the kids have to wear masks all day. But the alternative is spreading a virus that could kill them, or more likely, their parents or family members.
@vivify saidAt this point, it's extremely unlike that covid poses a danger to the vast majority of people. Between the waning virulence of the Omicron variants and the solid immunity that we've built up (between vaccines and natural infections), the infection fatality rate is almost certainly lower than influenza these days. Children, especially, are at super-low risk. Lower than from RSV, probably.
I actually agree with you here that it's terrible the kids have to wear masks all day. But the alternative is spreading a virus that could kill them, or more likely, their parents or family members.
No doubt there are still some vulnerable people out there. People who are very old, obese, severely immunocompromised, unvaxxed (for whatever reason). But they're also vulnerable to pneumonia and influenza. They have to figure out a way to live in a virus-laden world anyway.
A few days ago, I asked whether anyone here is living in a personal world that still feels like a covid emergency (i.e., people are getting seriously ill from covid around them). Nobody answered, so I'll ask again: Is anyone here surrounded by severe covid illness in the past few months? (And I don't mean people who test positive and so they stay home for 2 weeks; that's entirely societal, not medical).
In my world, people still get covid now and then like they get colds and flus, but nobody is getting seriously ill. I mean nobody. Like zero. The Twitter world where covid is still a frightening epidemic is so far removed from day-to-day reality that I am so curious as to whether my experience is unique.
@sh76 saidFair. I think then the original post is misleading. What you are saying is that the harm outweighs the potential benefit in grade school all day long. I agree and I also live where that wasn't around for long and we moved on. Maybe that's why I never developed a strong opinion on it like jaywalking and building code mandates which are around forever . But I think a different math in masks may apply for places like grocery stores where everyone's a stranger and the max time wearing a mask is 30 minutes. There's data to support the benefit in an outbreak and the harm is minimal.
Because mask mandates are harmful, especially for children.
Forcing little children to wear masks all day in school is unconscionable and is low-grade torture that they put up with only because they're powerless and used to arbitrary oppressive rules.
Thankfully, where I live the mandates are long over and were never really enforced that thoroughly to begin with, but the t ...[text shortened]... l day in pre-school makes my blood boil. Wearing a seat belt in the car, not so much.
That's why.
@sh76 saidI agree. My comment was about masks in general as a defense against the spread of a pandemic. But this pandemic seems to be dwindling down, though we should still be cautious.
At this point, it's extremely unlike that covid poses a danger to the vast majority of people.
But if another deadly pandemic arises, I would support masks and let children be uncomfortable rather than having children or their family members die.
@vivify saidDepends on the nature of the pandemic, such as how lethal it is, how it spreads, the level of danger to children, whether adults can otherwise protect themselves and other considerations.
But if another deadly pandemic arises, I would support masks and let children be uncomfortable rather than having children or their family members die.
@wildgrass saidThe OP was a NYT article. Blame the NYT if you think it's misleading.
Fair. I think then the original post is misleading. What you are saying is that the harm outweighs the potential benefit in grade school all day long. I agree and I also live where that wasn't around for long and we moved on. Maybe that's why I never developed a strong opinion on it like jaywalking and building code mandates which are around forever . But I think a differen ...[text shortened]... ng a mask is 30 minutes. There's data to support the benefit in an outbreak and the harm is minimal.
@sh76 saidGet him one of those hamster balls
Because mask mandates are harmful, especially for children.
Forcing little children to wear masks all day in school is unconscionable and is low-grade torture that they put up with only because they're powerless and used to arbitrary oppressive rules.
Thankfully, where I live the mandates are long over and were never really enforced that thoroughly to begin with, but the t ...[text shortened]... l day in pre-school makes my blood boil. Wearing a seat belt in the car, not so much.
That's why.
@sh76 saidIf you want to see actual "torture", go to the local hospital and watch someone dying of COVID.
Because mask mandates are harmful, especially for children.
Forcing little children to wear masks all day in school is unconscionable and is low-grade torture that they put up with only because they're powerless and used to arbitrary oppressive rules.
Thankfully, where I live the mandates are long over and were never really enforced that thoroughly to begin with, but the t ...[text shortened]... l day in pre-school makes my blood boil. Wearing a seat belt in the car, not so much.
That's why.
To the extent mask mandates saved some from that awful fate, they were well worth the cost of whining from well-heeled parents and their overly entitled brat kids.