Sure, if you have it. We don’t really have a clue how many people actually have it. It could be 3% of the population it could be 25%.
Exactly.
Just to help make the point - look at South Korea and Japan. In all major cities is not uncommon for people to wear masks all of time. Their rate of infection is tiny.
There are other sizeable factors in play. Like advanced testing and the recent SARS experience that I will be fair I don;t know much about. But on the surface wearing a mask seems to work. You can;t argue with results.
I’m not a big fan of living in a “what if” world. A lot of people in my family have anxiety because that’s all they do. “But what if”. I just don’t operate like that.
Me neither, but that’s kinda the world we’ve found ourselves in, haven’t we?
The cost of wearing a mask seems to be foggy glasses for me. I suppose I could put contacts in to fix that. Stares too, but I like stares because I can eye-fuck them right back.
I just don’t see the drawback at this particular stage of the pandemic.
Lol. Everything is a what if.
Do you own a weapon for self defense?
Do you make sure your kid wears a seatbelt?
Do you have different passwords for different online accounts?
Do you eat gas station sushi in Missouri?
It’s all a calculation on if the risk mitigation is worse than the risk. The risk here is low, but the risk mitigation of wearing a mask in stores is super easy… Hell its actually easier than washing your hands.
It’s the world we’re always in, but that’s kinda my point. We worry about stuff all the time. Will I catch COVID? Will I be on a ventilator? Will I die? Will I ____? Taking reasonable precautions is one thing. Unreasonably worrying is another.
I think telling a person to wear something on their face when they haven’t before puts them at a higher risk of getting and spreading the virus. If you wear glasses, think about how often you adjust them without even thinking about it. It’s the same with a mask. It’s a catch .22. The mask is supposed to help stop the wearer for spreading a virus they may or may not have, but it also increases the likelihood that you’ll touch your face after coming in contact with the virus that you otherwise would.
Besides the above, I agree there is little drawback from a purely medical standpoint.
No shit.
Have you tried wearing a mask in stores? It’s crazy simple to put on in the car, and then not touch again till your back in the car when you take it off and rub some purell on your hands.
I just don’t see this being difficult. I’m not gonna fight with folks about it in person, but folks who say it’s too much hassle must have a real tough time getting through everyday life.
I have been to a store once since mid March, Home Depot. I did a curbside pick-up. When the guy dropped the cart off by my car I put my mask on, put my stuff in the car, and then got in and took the mask off. I didn’t have Purell like 99.99% of the population. I realized I touched my face 3 times. I adjusted the mask twice while loading my car and took the mask off in the car. If I hadn’t wore the mask at all I wouldn’t have touched my face a single time before washing my hands when I got home.
It’s not too much hassle. It’s not worth the hassle. In my opinion, the cost/benefit is a net cost for most people particularly when the efficacy of cloth masks is debatable at best especially with the summer months coming up (wetness reduces efficacy).
But ya know what, I’ll wear a fucking burka if it’ll make everyone feel safer.
Related but off topic a bit… Hand sanitizer shortages around here went the way of TP shortages: there was a rush in the first few weeks, but it’s been available online and in some stores for weeks now. We bought a half gallon of 70% alcohol from one of the local distilleries that started producing it to make our own too. Is it still impossible to find where you are?
I understand your frustration. I have 2 theories why mask wearing feels so “difficult”:
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wearing a mask is a symbol of resignation, even defeat. People might not be ready to accept the reality of COVID, and not wearing a mask allows them in a strange way to no acknowledge this “new normal” and all the baggage tied to that (job loss, loosing friends/family, inconvenience)
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as @twojarslave puts it, poor framing by government has turned mask wearing into a symbol of guilt. Conciously or subconciously, wearing a mask is associated with having the disease (and all the baggage attached). Even if people rationally know that wearing a mask does not mean others or themselves have COVID, the association is there
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Wearing masks is not a social norm in the US. In Asia, especially China, horrid air pollution means that many people already wear masks on a semi regular basis before COVID. Even those that didn’t wear them before likely saw many peers/coworkers/random ppl of the streets wearing them. Asia also went through SARS, so they are familiar with the precautions
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Yes, but these are also examples of risk to the individual. Wearing a mask reduces systemic risk to the society as a whole.
Many people have a hard time visualizing individuals vs. collective.
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It’s difficult, but not impossible.
@Californiagrown
Good point. The “collective” culture of many Asian nations might also play a role in the higher compliance
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You make some good points.
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Maine remains on the fringes of the pandemic. My county has been at 2 deaths for over a month. COVID may as well be the boogie man to some locals. Why would you wear a mask to protect you from the boogie man?
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Trust in government is at an all-time low overall, and my governor probably isn’t winning many new voters right now. Just a hunch though. We really might be better off with her making no masks a requirement.
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My cousin (who is riding this out in Indiana) and I were talking about this today. He mentioned Vietnam as a place where masks have probably had a huge impact. I haven’t looked into it, but he’s a literal genius so I’m assuming he has.
Related to your earlier post about your shameful “B” in calculus, this cousin finished high school with most or all of the math credits he needed for his electrical engineering degree. BC Calc his junior year, multivariable and differential equations his senior year eventually leading to lifelong depression as an adult and an inability to function in society without regular funding from his wealthy parents.
40 year old virgin issues aside, he’s Polish, not Asian, but I think we’ve got a little Mongol blood in us from all of the raping in centuries past. How else can you explain all of the good math that’s come out of Poland?
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It may be. It may not be.
Its like Pascals wager, but you don’t get to think about it. You get judged on how you felt about it week or so ago.
Frustrating, huh?!? It’s amazing how many times we do stuff unaware, until something brings the spotlight on it.
Like getting injured in a weird place or something. “I didn’t realize I used my left lateral blahdebla so damn much!”.
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I really hope all of my area knuckleheads are right. I’ll gladly laugh about how stupid I was to put a mask on for 30 minutes to buy groceries yesterday if this is all a big nothing burger a year from now.
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I need WE to succeed so that I can continue making a living from the prosperity of WE.
The only way that the economy starts firing on all cylinders again is if this virus becomes a non-issue. Govt can lift all restrictions, but unless the virus is a non-issue no one is packing malls, stadiums, bars or restaurants… and those places operate on thin margins that reduced clientele will not support.
So i’m going to continue doing as many things as i can including wearing masks in stores, vigilantly washing my hands, and avoiding crowds along with anything else i can think of so that i dont get and spread the virus prolonging this economic turmoil.
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So the resistance could write codes calling for rebellion to establish their own state without getting murdered by the military of (insert name of invading country) 