"If you think that you're a caring and respectful individual...then prove it. Wear a mask."

[orleans]

Link to tweet

Say you go to a party with your friends. No one masks.

You go about your life for the next few days. Maskless, of course.

You wake up 5 days later with a sore throat. You test positive. You bounce back in a week.

That’s your experience…but it goes far beyond you. 🧵1/10


The day before you felt ill, you dined indoors with a friend. Then you went to the grocery store. Then you met up for drinks at a bar in the evening.

In the time that you did that, you infected at least one person. They recover fairly quickly…but that’s not all (2/10)


They then spread it to someone who’s immunocompromised. COVID hospitalizes them.

Given the lack of mitigation measures in place, they end up infecting the nurses, who then spread it around the workforce…and, ultimately, to patients in other wards. (3/10)


There’s an outbreak at the hospital.

A woman who was only there for a surgery is put on a respirator.

A man who was getting chemo falls gravely ill.

A newborn and its mother both contract it. They spread it to the latter’s parents. (4/10)


In at least one of these scenarios, someone’s father, mother, sister, brother, husband, wife, partner, best friend…doesn’t make it.

While you started this chain of events, you’re blissfully unaware. You fully recovered, after all. You continue to live and enjoy your life. 5/10


The chance that you could be indirectly responsible for someone’s death or disability, however small, should guide your every decision.

Going maskless at the cinema, grocery store, concert, airplanes, or even at work has consequences. Ones which we aren’t aware of. (6/10)


In the best case scenario, you didn’t expose anyone else to COVID and you feel fine.

In the worst case, you end up robbing someone of their loved one and depriving them of something that can never be replaced. (7/10)


If you can curtail the chances of the latter by simply wearing a mask, what reason do you have not to?

When you say that you’re “comfortable with the risks,” what you really mean is that you’re at ease with YOUR risk. Who else you may infect isn’t even an afterthought. (8/10)


Are you comfortable with the possibility that you could kill someone? Could you really let that prospect weigh on your conscience? Or is getting life “back to normal” of greater importance to you? (9/10)


If you claim to value human life. If you want everyone to have equal opportunities. If you think that you’re a caring and respectful individual…then prove it.

Wear a mask. (10/10).

[RKP5637]

1. K&R Well said!!!!! n/t

[LuckyCharms]

2. I've felt this way since the beginning of the pandemic.

I have friends who consistently hit the bars and never mask at all. I have some friends who have tested positive three times.

I constantly fight off the urge to ask "Ever wonder who you killed"?

But I don't say much anymore, it's a losing battle.

I just put up with the looks when I have a well-fitted N95 on in the grocery store.

The pandemic has completely changed my perception of the human race.

[brewens]

8. Cases here were around zero from what I could tell but I still masked when going to

Costco. I had to for most doctors' appointments. I did go to the bar nearby a few times but early afternoon when not many people were there. I didn't wear a mask for that. I'm now back to lockdown even though were not seeing much reported. I'm in Idaho and we've lagged behind every surge. I think it could be picking up right about now.

[we can do it]

3. Thank you. The disregard for others is tiring.

[Rebl2]

4. Still wear

a mask because I think of my Mom in a nursing home. They have had a few cases this month. So far she hadn’t gotten it. People just don’t think about that type of thing anymore.

[tritsofme]

5. Some people will live like it is 2020 forever, and that is certainly their choice.

Though it is not mine.

[LuckyCharms]

6. For compromised people, it still is 2020.

And it looks like it always will be.

[AntivaxHunters]

7. Thanks for caring about those of us who are immunocomprmised

I really appreciate it greatly. Not.

Selfishness is a disease. Cure yourself of it please.

[Skittles]

10. we expect this attitude from repukes

it truly sucks seeing it here

[calimary]

19. No kidding.

[Ms. Toad]

32. Agree 100%. n/t

[boyedav1969]

14. Sorry to break it to you

but even before 2020, it wasn't okay to spread infectious disease to others. I'm sorry if you thought that was just a 2020 thing.

[tritsofme]

30. I follow CDC guidance.

And right now, they say masks are not necessary in most situations.

[Ms. Toad]

33. They have, unfortunately, been dead wrong - literally

and repeatedly throughout the pandemic.

[EX500rider]

72. I think listening to strangers on the internet over the CDC

It's one of the things we argue against here.

[Ms. Toad]

80. Then do your own research.

Feel free to fact check anything I've said. Where I differ with the CDC is as to the policy recotmmendations based on hose facts - and the policy recommendations by the CDC are, at this point, driven more by what is politically palatable than by the science.

Science needs to govern - not policies (wherever they come from) which are inconsistent with the science. We need to use our scientific brains to evaulate the policy recommendations, be clear when they switch the science on us (like they did when they switched measurements with little enough fanfare that most people do not realize that the data source on which recommendations were based a year ago is different from the data source on which recommendations are based now.

We screamed bloody murder when the Trump administration tried coerce the CDC to make recommendations inconsistent with science, but now that we're in charge it's apparently just hunky dory.

The science (which we're supposed to be listenting to) hasn't changed. the CDC is just measuring based on a different data pool which makes its current recommendations more politically palatable than the data pool used a year ago.

[EX500rider]

82. I don't need to, I trust the CDC recommendations. ymmv nt

[Ms. Toad]

83. Blind trust in any entity which is influenced by politics is a problem.

hundreds of thousands of lives would have been saved, or at a minimum not disrupted by COVID, had people done their own review of the literature on masking rather than relying on the CDC's dismissal of masking as a tool for minimizing transmission and started wearing masks earlier.

[orleans]

88. thanks for your replies on this thread.

and i sincerely mean that.

[niyad]

15. You know, I am extremely claustrophobic. I have friends who are severely

immunocompromised. So I still wear that fucking, inconvenient mask. Because I care about them, and everyone with whom I come in contact. And, I, who truly does not like the medical profession, am fully vaxxed and boosted. Because I care about all those with whom I come in contact. And because I pay attention to the science. We have entered another upswing, because it is winter. And there are new, scary variants. And because I care about all those with whom I come in contact.

Did you make a wrong turn on the internet today?

[LuckyCharms]

17. You do what you do, because you are strong.

I can imagine that it is not a picnic wearing a mask when you are claustrophobic.

But you do it anyway.

Because you are strong, and you are caring.

You should be proud.

[niyad]

22. Thank you, LC. To me, it is just basic consideration, just as much as when people

do not smoke around me, as I am allergic.

[Ms. Toad]

34. Thank you. n/t

[Skittles]

9. most people seem to be selfish fucking assholes

"I'll take my chances" they say, as if it is all about THEM

[Evolve Dammit]

11. Wearing a mask is such a small thing to do, and yet 70-80%? won't do it. I give up.

The next crisis could be even worse (God Forbid) and we now know how many will do absolutely nothing to assist their fellow Americans.
Does note bode well whatever the circumstance/tragedy.

[Mister Ed]

64. Wearing a mask in the Walmart is much less inconvenient than getting sick is.

And way more respectable than getting someone else sick.

[Evolve Dammit]

78. I wear one when I'm in public unless it's an outdoor venue. Lots of folks are still dying. n/t

[calimary]

12. I just don't understand why more people don't make a game out of it.

Absolute PERFECTION as a conversation starter. Couldn’t be more fun! Brighten your own day knowing you’re wearing something that not only keeps you safer but is bound to make somebody else smile when they see it.

Don’t just settle for the plain ones. Make a statement with ‘em! See how many eyes you catch, and how many people take notice. Sometimes they don’t say anything but you still know they saw!

And frankly, how can you have a bad day when you’re wearing blue rhinestones on your face?

[Wednesdays]

24. ...

[calimary]

50. OMG!!!!!!! I LOVE this!!!

That's PERFECT!

Frankly, that's also GENIUS!

Give that girl a job as a comedy writer!

[boyedav1969]

13. Some people simply don't care if they spread infectious disease to others

They can't see beyond their bubble of self. If they've been around others but haven't been tested, they could be unknowingly spreading pathogens to others. We've known for a couple years now that you don't have to be infected to be contagious, and you don't have to be symptomatic to be infected. It takes about 10 seconds to lift a mask that weighs 8 grams onto your face, but some people's compassion and selflessness fall short of even that effort. Is that woman getting groceries going home to a kid with cancer? All I have to do to ensure I don't transmit to her is wear a mask. People for whom that's too much to ask are telling you everything you need to know about their grave lack of humanity. Oh sure, they can always rationalize why it's not their problem.

Would they go out if they had tuberculosis? Would they go into work with pink eye? But they'll go out openly without a mask not knowing if they're shedding or contagious, because unless you're symptomatic or you've been tested, you don't know. They feel fine and they know they'll be okay, and it's about no one but them. The right certainly hasn't cornered the market on selfishness and lack of compassionate and empathy.

[LuckyCharms]

63. Well said. Welcome to DU! n/t

[Nululu]

16. Hubby & I never stopped wearing a mask

[AlexSFCA]

18. good thing is that there is no lack of highly protective n95 type masks

everyone can protect themselves with very little effort w/o relying on others. Most important thing anyone can do is to stay up to date on boosters. Welcome to endemic phase.

[Tree Lady]

20. Had video chat with daughters

Hour ago. We were all talking about how cocky we got after 3 yrs. We went to see each other 3 weeks ago and all caught Covid from daughters friend who came. I wore mask everywhere but we shared hotel room.

Learned my lesson. No more sharing rooms. And tonight we are watching Avatar and both masked !!

[Ms. Toad]

35. Caught it from my spouse in a hotel room. n/t

[LymphocyteLover]

21. No one is going to a party with a mask. Parties involve eating and drinking which involve taking off

your mask.

If you're really worried about Covid, you don't go to parties.

Also-- Most transmission is not from some transient exposure but from more extended contact. Masks don't really do that good a job keeping you from getting infected if you're around an infectious person for very long.

[lambchopp59]

23. Primary misconcept is as a self protective measure.

Beginning of the pandemic, a bearded, duck dynasty looking guy behind me at the Walmart self check was chuckling in my direction as I was scanning my shopping. When I turned to look his direction he chortled: "You think that mask is protectin' you from sumthin'?"
"This isn't about protecting me" I retorted.
The sudden look of shock and realization was mercurial as he backed his offspring away from me.
As a healthcare giver with a lot of COVID contact daily prior to the vaccine, this stooge never knew how serious I was about that point.
The mask limits the infectious agent count surrounding the wearer's exhalation zone. Exactly why the surgeon wears it over open wound.
N95 can have significant self protective value for a brief exposure.
But it's not "the point" of the practice.
I'm glad to presently be working on the "rez" where masking is enforced most seriously.

[area51]

25. This.

It's also part of why the US doesn't have universal healthcare; too few people in the states give a damn about anyone else.

[AntivaxHunters]

70. Bingo!

[Music Man]

26. I would have agreed with this before vaccines were available.

Masks and distancing were the only methods we had two years ago. I had no patience for people who weren't masked, and I let them know it.

To this day, I will mask around compromised people, folks who ask for it, if it's required by the institution at hand, and if I suspect I have been exposed.

But the Twitter poster's notion that--in this era of vaccines--we should be wearing masks *anytime* we're around others, which seems to be what they're saying, since they write "cinema, grocery store, concert, airplanes, or even at work."

We're supposed to be the science people, following medical professionals. I believe the CDC itself only suggests it in places of high transmission or--in medium areas--for people who are at risk of getting sick or if you will be around people with high risk. My county is in low transmission right now. I'm vaxxed and boosted. The notion that I don't care about others because I don't wear a mask all the time is ridiculous.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

29. Exactly n/t

[electric_blue68]

36. Do carry a mask w you are n case more people are around you indoors, or outside? And if people can..

pass it on w/o showing symptoms why wouldn't you continue to do so.
Just bc there's low transmission, doesn't mean there isn't any.
Yes, I understand that transient passing by us a low if not zero chance of being infected but at 69 I know I'm very careful still.
Maybe if you're live in a very low populated area
I live in the hustle, and bustle of NYC.

[Ms. Toad]

38. And you know just by looking who is compromised?

Compromised immunity is invisible. Unless you are intimately familiar with the health status of everyone you encounter, you are not masking around compromised people. That was a significant part of the point of the twitter thread. So - if you're not masking all of the time, you are (at a minimum) more influenced by the minimal discomfor involved in wearing masks than you are by your concern for others.

The CDC is, unfortunately, politicized as to COVID. It started under Trump and, unfortunately, has been allowed to continue under biden. Too many of its recommendations - from the beginning - were inconsistent with the science. Masks were initially discouraged - not because they weren't effective, but becase they were concerned about the supply of PPE for medical personnel. Then they were touted as useful to protect others only - when they are highly effective to protect the wearer, as well.

The level that is now touted as the community level as governing mask wearing is a new measure, created to coddle a public which was tired of COVID - and to allow the State of the Union address to go forward without requiring masking. The new measure (Community Level) has little to do with how likely you are to get COVID. It is based almost exclusively on ensuring there are enough hospital beds in the community to hold those with severe illness.

The prior measure was the community transmisison level, which is still available on the CDC website, is a more accrate measure of how much COVID is in the community. By that measure - the one used by the CDC before the state of the union to recommend masking - most of the country is deep red.

[Meowmee]

40. This and it is unconscionable

What was done regarding covid…

“The CDC is, unfortunately, politicized as to COVID. It started under Trump and, unfortunately, has been allowed to continue under biden. Too many of its recommendations - from the beginning - were inconsistent with the science. Masks were initially discouraged - not because they weren't effective, but becase they were concerned about the supply of PPE for medical personnel. Then they were touted as useful to protect others only - when they are highly effective to protect the wearer, as well.”

I remember well they were telling everybody to wash their hands as if that was going to protect you from a virus when the main transmission mode is respiratory droplets. They flat out lied about masks- it’s unforgivable. It caused millions of deaths as did dumpsters malfeasance in the start. And we are now probably never getting rid of covid to a level where we can all go back to some kind of normalcy.

[Ms. Toad]

43. Agreed.

I had hopes when Biden was elected, but it was clear early on that he was aware that following the science on COVID was political suicide, now that the death rate slowed down.

People with long COVID are more or less invisible - even though a recent study indicates that about 35% of people who have ever experienced COVID also had long COVID - and approximately 1/5 people who have had COVID (ever) are still experiencing long COVID.

Since people with long COVID are still struggling to even gain recognition that their disease is not psychosomatic, it is less of a political force to be reckoned with.

[Meowmee]

46. Yes it was mostly all about politics

I will never look at this place the same way again. It also continues to kill, new mutations etc. so it is not only about long covid. I have long term damage after surviving it at the start

[Ms. Toad]

47. The reaction of far too many here is extremely disappointing -

Especially after screaming bloody murder about Trump placing politics ahead of people's health. And people here know what they are doing - it's pretty easy to find assertions on DU that it would be political suicide to take the steps necessary to minimize transmission.

I'm sorry you have lingering damage.

[Meowmee]

49. Yeah it makes me ill thinking about it

Thanks 😀 I am the lucky one in my family because I survived.

[Music Man]

44. Hospitals, nursing homes, doctor's offices, etc. Situations where high risk is probable.

As well as people I know for a fact to be immunocompromised.

Again, I would have agreed with the OP's sentiment before vaccines were available.

[Ms. Toad]

45. You said you masked around people who were compromised.

People who are compromised are not confined to the places you have mentioned. During the period in which I was compromised, about 3 months following my COVID infection, it was not obvious to those around me. I certainly went places other than hospitals, nursing homes, doctor's offices, etc. So if you encountered me (or any of the other people with invisible compromised immune systems), you were not masking around people who were compromised. You did not qualify your statement as to your knowledge of the immunity.

Which, again, is the point. If you are not universally masking, you are not masking around people who are immune compromised. At a bare minimum, you are placing the small discomfort of masking ahead of your willingness to care for those around you.

[liberal_mama]

48. I wish the vaccines stopped infection,but the majority of deaths in my county are vaccinated/boosted

people.

My dad died of Covid 2 months ago and he was fully vaxxed/boosted. He was 74 years old and otherwise healthy. Some lousy asshole gave him Covid and he died. Our family is devastated.

Thousands of people are still dying of Covid every week in the United States.

The vaccine is just one part of Covid mitigations.

I am vaccinated and I wear a mask all the time. I am immune compromised, but even if I wasn't, I would still want to protect others. I would never want to think that my careless actions might have killed someone, like that scumbug who murdered my father.

[Happy Hoosier]

53. I agree.

I masked dutifully before vaxxes and continued to as tome went on.

But I’m vaxxed to the max. It’s been 3 years. The virus is now very likely endemic. Unless we really intend to wear a mask all the time (I won’t, based on the present risk), we have to learn to live with it. I will respect the rules of anyone I visit, of course.

[mgardener]

27. My daughter just texted me

They decided not to have a birthday party for my grandson next week.
Will have a pool party this summer

We continue to mask.

[mgardener]

28. My daughter just texted me

They decided not to have a birthday party for my grandson next week.
Will have a pool party this summer

We continue to mask.

[Yavin4]

31. If masks stop the spread, then why are cases soaring in Japan?

Currently, they lead the world in new cases. And there's a high rate of people who wear masks. Their total cases per million (232K) is similar to the US (306K), even though we have far less masking.

I don't see much evidence on a population level that shows masking is effective in stopping the spread of the virus.

NOTE: I'm talking about spread, not hospitalizations or deaths or long covid. I am not an anti-vaxxer either. I am talking simply asking for evidence that shows population with high masking rate has a lower case rate.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[Ms. Toad]

41. It's likely that a high rate of masking also correlates with a high rate of testing.

The US is barely testing at all, so our case rate is higher than reported.

Not to mention that masks reduce the risk, not eliminate it - and while mask-wearing is certainly more prevalent in Japan it s not universal. If you are not masking outside of your home, then you come home with COVID, it will spread within the house.

At this point it's hard to get solid data on infection rate, since there is barely any random testing in the US occurring any more, and (anecdotally) most people I know with symptoms aren't testing unless they get severe enough to send them to the hospital/ER (or have some other reason to test - like they want to make sure they don't spread COVID to someone who is immune compromised).

[Yavin4]

51. There's been far more testing in the US than in Japan

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/full-list-total-tests-for-covid-19?country=JPN~USA

[Ms. Toad]

56. First - that's a cumulative total, over time.

Including the period when testing in the US was mandated.

Second, the totals are not per capita - they are absolute. The US has 26 times the population of Japan. The total tests in the US are only 17 times the tests in Japan. So (overall) the Japanese are testing at a higher rate than the US. Further, if you switch to the logarithmic scale, it is clear the US testing is leveling off (approaching flat) and the Japanese testing is still growing (curving upward - particularly clear in the last year, about the time the US decided to pretend COVID no longer existed) (you can see it on the absolute scale, but it is even clearer on the logarithmic scale).

[Yavin4]

59. Per capita

Japan Total Tests / 1 M = 686,684
US Total Tests / 1 M = 3,440,802
Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Yes, these are cumulative numbers, but my point still stands that the US tests more people on a per capita basis.

[Ms. Toad]

79. The data at the two links you provided is inconsistent.

The first link you provided shows per capita tests in Japan are higher.

[Yavin4]

52. Also, since masking only reduces the risk to some unknown degree if at all and

does not eliminate the risk, is it fair to shame people who choose not to wear one?

[Ms. Toad]

54. Whatever it takes.

Masking reduces transmission. Period. If you don't know that by now, you are intentionally wearing blinders and sticking your fingers in your ears.

We need to reduce the transmisison of COVID. Not only is it causing about 35% of people who have had COVID to acquire long COVID, of all of the people who have had COVID during the entire pandemic - 20% (1 in 5) STILL have long COVID.

In addition, we have so little information about the long-terms effects of COVID (beyond the immedate aftermath of long COVID) AND we have less than 3 years of data about the long term effects AND what we do know is bad (heart damage, lung damage, pancreatitis) it is irresponsible not to take whatever reasonable measures are available to minimize transmission.

Not to mention that the more COVID that is floating around, the more variants will be created, some of which will escape not only the antibodies that decrease the likelihood of transmission - but also may be able to evade the immediate acute consequences.

Masking is a trivial precaution we can all take to minimize transmission - and it is irresponsible and selfish to refuse to take that minal step.

[Yavin4]

60. Nothing will stop the spread of the virus.

Nothing will reduce exposure to the virus. Every human being on the planet will be exposed to covid several times in their lifetimes, and be infected.

The only course of action is to get vaccinated and boosted.

Shaming people over wearing a mask does nothing to change these facts.

[moonscape]

42. Could population density be a factor?

[electric_blue68]

37. Truthfully after nearly 3 years - it's getting a little annoying! Bit I still do, and distance as

well. 👍

Yes, all vaxxed & maxxed as well.

At 69 I don't want to take chances, a d certainly wouldn't want to be spreading it around (Life forbid, should I happen to get it).

I foregoed Christmas Holiday with my dear cousins this year (again? Can't remember if they had it '21. Don't think so)
Particularly bc her ?40ish yr old daughter runs around maskless since '21! Arg!
I sure hope she and her husband never catch let alone accidentally giving it to her mom or her mom's partner! She's a smart woman, too. Not so much with this!
Sigh!

[Meowmee]

39. The truth

Unfortunately many do not care about anything but themselves.

[NutmegYankee]

55. I know from polls that DU trends older in age.

You seriously cannot expect young adults at parties that involve eating/drinking to wear masks. It's absolute idiocy to think that is going to happen. Younger people need to see each other and enjoy themselves while they work to find mates and move forward with their lives.

If that offends you and you wish to vent at me, then go ahead. The demand for 100% masking from boomers and older is the same "fuck you, I got mine" attitude that younger generations have dealt with for years. You enjoyed your lives - let us live our lives and enjoy them too! Nothing you say to me is going to change my opinion on this, and it certainly won't change the younger generation's minds either.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

57. Wish I could rec this

I’m a tail-end Boomer (61 years old) who is vaxxed and boosted, but I only mask when a location requires it; I don’t know if any around here (Northern Virginia) that do.

Reading some of the posts here, it seems to me that the point is to tell people, including the younger generations, that they shouldn’t be going out, masked or not.

There is a definite authoritarian streak that runs through DU, and it really shows its face when the subject of masking comes up.

[NutmegYankee]

58. The authoritarian streak is quite real and annoying.

I hang out with a very liberal crowd of professional millennials/Gen-X. None of us are masking at parties. The crazy part is the demand for masking is itself fighting science - Evolution shaped us to take away major social cues from facial expression. At social events, those facial expressions are vital. For those of us who want to meet someone and fall in love, it's doubly important!

I realize a lot of people who disagree with the authoritarian streak are afraid to speak up about it, but the data out there in the real world shows who really is in control. Most of the population has abandoned masks outside of a healthcare setting. As I tried to say earlier, we all know one day we are going to die; all we ask is for a chance to live.

[LuckyCharms]

62. Authoritarian streak?

I laugh whenever I read comments like this.

Go to Ukraine.

Go back in time to England during WW2.

Go talk to someone who was in Poland during WW2.

You're worried about "facial expressions"?

Give me a fucking break.

[NutmegYankee]

66. The people have spoken.

Masking all the time is ridiculous. The younger generations are done with FYIGM.

[LuckyCharms]

73. Your facial expressions killed my brother.

I nave no idea what your acronym means.

But I'm sure it's witty.

[NutmegYankee]

76. More likely your brother's health condition and age.

But you may believe what you want.

The acronym FUIGM stands for “Fuck You, I Got Mine”. It’s how many millennials feel about the way boomers treat them.

[LuckyCharms]

77. This reply speaks for itself.

Have a nice day...and good luck.

[Dorian Gray]

67. I live in pretty liberal Brooklyn

where there are people who still mask, and people are still going about their lives. Our children wore masks for two years in school, and they're done. And honestly, I'm okay with that. It's not fair to put the burden on younger people to protect us.

My 12 year old is having fun with friends. When she caught covid, we locked it down. Full ten days and tested negative before going back out in the wild.

I would never purposefully put someone at risk, but living like we're about to kill people has it's own psychological ramifications and I really don't want to bring back the constant stress and anxiety we were living under for the last couple of years.

(Also, everyone we know has had covid and vaccines, so there is a lot of built in immunity out there.)

[NutmegYankee]

68. You get it.

but living like we're about to kill people has it's own psychological ramifications and I really don't want to bring back the constant stress and anxiety we were living under for the last couple of years.

Unfortunately some will never be happy that the youth are done with masks.

[Dorian Gray]

69. My daughter

voluntarily chose to mask up again leading up to a performance she was in in december. Mostly to protect herself. (She's a pre-teen, so that's where their brain is at.)

We did test before spending christmas eve and day with grandparents to make sure we didn't bring any illness with us. But nobody masked on those days. Not even my 80+ year old parents who are vulnerable. They were done with the masks before we were.

The reality is that we have the vaccines, boosters, anti-virals, knowledge about air circulation, etc. Masks are a piece of it, but doing all those things also shows a care and consideration for society.

[DET]

61. Ridiculous

“it seems to me that the point is to tell people, including the younger generations, that they shouldn’t be going out, masked or not.” I’m sorry, but that assertion is flat out ridiculous. No one is suggesting that people shouldn’t live their lives. We’re just asking that people use common sense when around others during what is still a pandemic. As a fellow Northern Virginian, I was proud of the fact that the vast majority of our citizens did the right thing - until recently, when it seems that all bets are off. Wearing a mask is not an authoritarian thing - it’s a common sense thing when thousands of people are still dying from a largely preventable illness.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

65. Probably no more than 15%

If that many, in my part of NOVA have been wearing masks in the last year.

[EX500rider]

74. "There is a definite authoritarian streak that runs through DU"

Boy I'll say there is, I was fighting it in this thread that seemed to think putting people in camps who don't vote the way you do (or them dying) was Jim Dandy.

It starts at post #10

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217510284

[Yavin4]

84. It's impractical for 8 billion people on planet earth to all wear N95 masks at all times when around

other people, wear it correctly as well, and do this in perpetuity.

Then engage in shaming tactics even though masking is impractical and has only shown to slow down the spread to some unquantifiable degree. Also, what does "slowing down the spread" even mean? You get it two weeks from Tuesday instead of next Thursday?

[Kaleva]

81. If you cared about others, you'd go into isolation as much as possible

Practice safe distancing when you have to go out , avoid groups and use hand sanitizer .

Wearing a mask is just one part of helping to not spread Covid or becoming infected yourself .

[Yavin4]

85. Nonsense. You are asking for the impossible.

Human beings are social animals. It's important for their physical and mental health to be around other people. There are vaccines and boosters that effectively prevent serious illness and long covid.

A healthy, progressive society requires a high degree of in-person human interaction.

[Kaleva]

86. The OP is saying if we cared about others, we'd wear masks

But wearing masks is just a part of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Social distancing, avoiding groups, using hand sanitizer, disinfecting high touch items in the home and staying isolated as much as one can are just as important as wearing a mask

Someone who criticizes others for not wearing a mask but they themselves don't adhere to all the other strategies is being hypocritical.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

87. Yep n/t

[LetMyPeopleVote]

89. Reasons to wear masks

Link to tweet