In “early Covid” it was hard to find masks and the guidance was not to wear masks. Masks didn’t become widely used in England until summer 2020 or required until fall 2020. By that point the panic was over and we knew who was at risk and who wasn’t, and people should have behaved very differently based on their own risk profile.

What’s clear is that, today, anyone still wearing a mask outside is either a) really stupid; b) needs psychiatric help for the phobia/trauma that Covid has given them; or c) a virtue-signalling dipshit.

This might be what it is in other parts of the country, and that's fine if it is, but it is bizarre to hear someone that has lived in NYC during the pandemic (bossabreezes) try to claim that most people wearing masks are virtue-signaling. Like, tell me you're out of touch without telling me you're out of touch. Ideology probably hasn't factored much at all into +90% of NYC's personal decisions on mask wearing.

In NYC, opting to wear masks has never really been about demonstrating political ideology. OTOH, not wearing masks (in places where required) has sometimes been a demonstration of political ideology, but even that is nuanced. In my anecdotal observations, the most common demographics in the city that have eschewed masks throughout the pandemic are 1) the homeless, 2) black and latino males under the age of 40, 3) high schoolers of any race or gender, and then maybe 4) are people trying to make a libertarian political point (usually white guys between 30 and 60).

I haven't really done that since NYC began requiring proof of vaccination in bars and restaurants last year. It's also probably not really an effective way of mitigating spread, since the definition of exposure is spending 15 minutes in close contact with an infected person. So you're better off wearing the mask while sitting at your table and taking it off to walk to the restroom.

d) there are a LOT of overweight/ unhealthy people who despite dropping Covid numbers are probably still wary of getting infected but yes, this pandemic became an all-you-can-eat buffet for hypochondriacs and introverts. I think a healthy 30 year-old wearing a mask everywhere is asinine but I'm not going to pass judgement same way with a 60-something who looks like they are five minutes from a coronary.

You shouldn't assume someone is "healthy" because of their appearance. A "healthy looking" 30 year old can also be immunocompromised.

True but unless there is an overrepresentation of "healthy looking" 30-somethings with health issues wearing masks, I still think most of it is for appearances. It also varies depending on what part of town; in my area (conservative middle to upper middle class suburb) many people still wear them but they skew older (50's and up) where as in town, you see far more young people with them on. Outside too.

Oh cut it out! You know what he meant.

You see so many 30 year old fucktards wearing masks and probably 99% of them aren’t immunocompromised. They are buffoons.

Now I agree with Steely that some people are wearing them for convenience—headed to the doctor’s office or the train, or perhaps it keeps their face warm in the cold (even I do that to be honest).

But enough clowns are doing it that we all know that it’s just them being dimwits. We can chuckle inwardly at them, and we will, even if you don’t like it. But I’m polite enough that I would never say anything to anyone.

I see more people under 30 and than I do people over 60 wearing them. I get that younger people are more pliable and older people are more stubborn and set in their ways but masking for many hasn't been about public health or safety for a while. I literally have heard on multiple occasions that everyone should (or must) wear them so others will feel safe.

And if I hear someone say those who don't wear them are selfish....

https://c.tenor.com/HYiEFm-aqOIAAAAM...-beat-down.gif

Not entirely clear: Is a 30-something immunocompromised mask-wearer an asshole!?

No.

Yeah, it's clear if this person walked by a few forumers they would be super upset and have an emotional reaction of pure rage. The majority of people don't care, but a few people will and are vocal about how people wear masks. If a person is vocal for people wearing or not wearing masks, they are having an emotional reaction. The people reacting to an invidual wearing a mask is more prominent, thus I will say that mask wearers are living "rent free" in anti-masker's heads.
As Steely said...nobody knows. Accept and stop caring.

*masks might be a good option during fire season in CA.

you people are still arguing about masks. Move on, on both sides. Geesh

^ why not? It’s the last bit of Covid nonsense that exists. If you want to look like a fool then by all means, keep wearing them, but the mandates need to go. And people arguing the opposite, and standing in the way of putting this all behind us, deserve ridicule.

Just ignorant, or stupid.

I saw some dipshit walking down the street (not crowded) yesterday wearing a plastic face shield. What in the fuck does he expect that to do?

If someone is really terrified of Covid because they have a specific, severe medical condition that means they are at significant risk even after vaccination, then yeah fine, wear an N95 around in public, tightly fitted to your face, and do this for the rest of your life. Otherwise the logic doesn’t stack up.

Well... It actually SHOULD'VE been people under 30 wearing masks more than anyone else. The most fundamental reason given for mask mandates was to minimize infected people from unwittingly spreading the virus to others. The idea actually wasn't about individuals protecting themselves.

Well actually, that logic doesn’t stand up either.

In order to actually be protecting others, it would involve the mask preventing you from getting covid in general (either knowingly or unknowingly) and then spreading it. But now we know the masks were not very effective at preventing contracting covid. No matter how many masks we wore, covid numbers kept spiking until the virus infected enough people and eventually slowed down.

Also, there’s been some discussion how some are “triggered” or “angry” about others wearing masks. Not me. I stand for their freedom to wear whatever they want. It is sad though, IMO, to see so many impressionable young people easily brainwashed. That’s all. And yes, they’re anti-science if they still think everyone should be wearing masks for the greater good. I’ve never said anything to the random masked biker or jogger, its not my place. Live and let be.

There’s a reason the mandates, for BOTH masks and vaccines are ending. If you don’t acknowledge that, so be it. But it is a sign of deeper issues going on.

Yep, wear a mask if you want. Don't wear a mask if you don't want to. Let's move on to other things like whether or not we'll need a 4th shot this fall when a new variant forms a giant wave just before Thanksgiving weekend.
:runaway:

I hope conscientious hypochondriacs wear their masks forever :shrug:

Doesn't bother me. At least it's better than being around a bunch of mouth breathing loud talkers with poor personal hygiene. You know the type, the ones who come into work wiping their nose and coughing up a storm because "it's just a cold."

While we're at it can we normalize mask wearing by waitstaff and food service workers? I don't want them breathing on my food.

I'm ok with that, that should've been done before Covid. That will probably mean that employers will have to pay their staff more as the anti mask employees quit, but if you go out to eat, you are already expecting to pay higher prices plus a tip of at least 20%.

Sounds a little classist to me. Waiters are not below you, or more infectious than you.

Would you approve of shock collars on the wee folk not only breathing on your food but shock them if they don't meet your needs.

How about blinders and face shields on them so they cannot look at your food.

What makes you think kitchen workers are less clean than you? Does your shit smell better then the others?

Or are you just a hypochondriac that many here live with and make the rest of them around them miserable.



Anyway I don't mind those that will mask for the rest of their life voluntarily.

At least we know who they are and are easily identifiable.

^ The world must not accommodate irrational and anti-science nonsense like this.

Anybody who understands food borne illness (and you obviously don't) realizes that the majority of the time it comes from poor hand washing, not from the air.

Having food service workers regularly wash their hands is the most important, and effective, way to prevent your arrogant ass from getting sick at a restaurant.

what orders?

i still see it everywhere -- it remains a common sense courtesy.


let me remind you of latest in daily, never ending long covid news:

Recently, researchers from Harvard Medical School examined individuals with no prior neuropathy history who developed neuropathic conditions after recovering from a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

They found that some people with long COVID have long lasting nerve damage resulting from infection-triggered immune dysfunction.


more:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/art...ne-dysfunction

Well if you're that freaked out then wear a mask from now until the end of time.

Nobody is stopping you.

i didn't say i was wearing a mask. :shrug:

I don't.

Mask mandates are dropped now here in Chicago. I was downtown over the week for st. Paddy's day festivities, and spent the afternoon in a very over-crowded pub for several hours, >95% of the people in there were maskless. It was wonderful!

The CTA's mask requirement still remains in place for now, but for the first time on Saturday, I saw the people's revolt starting. People, en masse, we're riding the trains without masks, and when people saw other people doing it, some were taking their masks off too. I did the same. Safety in numbers and all that.

I just sent my kids to school maskless this morning for the first time in 2 years.

Most people do not care anymore. 2 years was way more than enough.

^ It's not so much about the time (2 years).

It's about the acceptance of COVID's endemic status. If we still feel like we are going to eradicate a very dangerous virus, then yes, mask away.

But it is a strategy that no longer serves a purpose, as COVID will continue to circulate, so your best bet is to acquire immunity through vaccination, or if you insist, infection.

But people can always wear a mask if they want.

^ Good for your kids.

I feel that looking into faces, reading peoples' expressions, etc is an important part of being human, and an important part of child development. Especially at your kids' ages, as I believe they have not even experienced school without masks until now

I'm not sure why you think that. Masks are very effective in preventing the spread of COVID. I wore a mask when I was positive and avoided spreading it to people who were in close contact.

they both went to preschool for a number of years pre-pandemic, but with my daughter in 1st grade, and son in kindergarten, this was the first day of elementary school for them without masks.

they were both so friggin happy and excited about it!

because they're humans, and even they intrinsically know how wrong and anti-social perpetual mask wearing is for our extremely social species.

How dare you think of others. Goes against everything we believe as Americans.

My wife was masked this weekend at my son's soccer practices, as she was coughing up a lung due to seasonal allergies, and didn't want to freak out the other parents. Especially bc the parents are all packed-in very confined quarters. I guess it's more of that smug liberalism at work.

Yeah, seriously. This should be a thing. They already have to wear gloves and hair nets. After what we've learned about respiratory droplets being transmitted through the air, this makes sense.

No, it shouldn't be a "thing"

Stupid things should not become "things" for reasons I stated above.

Just don't dine out if you're so freaked out that you want wait staff to wear masks. The restaurant industry will be fine without you. We need less obnoxious people dining out anyhow :tup:

exactly. even just a cloth mask is great for that, as it always has been. a kn95 is of course even better. :tup:

This is a wonderful discussion.

People who are spooked can still wear masks

And sane people can do what they wish.

That's what I call normalcy. Everybody wins!

so when are you going to do you part by not heckling people in other situations than yours? :shrug:

the masking will continue to fall off for everyone as covid fades naturally. there is nothing to debate really. asian cultures wiull continue to mask as they do, maybe western more often now, or at least it wont seem weird for someone to mask if they are sick or something. thats a good thing.

yes. if you're feeling ill or displaying symptoms of a respiratory infection and you have to be out in public, then wearing a mask is a very nice courtesy. and it would be nice if that part of masking does become more normalized in or society.

do you have a fever, are you coughing, and do you still have to go to the grocery store this morning? then by all means, put a mask on as a courtesy to others. nothing at all wrong with that.

but for those that are healthy, it's time to go back to wearing our faces in public.

Why didn't you quarantine and isolate yourself? Your mask did very little from spreading it to other people.

The mask worked, hence my comment. If people were following the mask guidance all along then we wouldn't have the case counts that we do in this country. That was the problem.

People being "freaked out" by someone with seasonal allergies is a symptom of the mask wearing hysteria in parts of the US. "I'm coughing up a lung, but it's ok, I'm wearing a face covering!"

It's ok to be around people with the sniffles, sneezing, coughing, especially if you've been vaccinated or you've had Covid, which is about 100% of the population at this point.

How do you know it worked? Did you go around and contact trace every single person and place you went to?

Exactly

that is completely false.

covid is over -- it's just politics maaaan! :rolleyes:


https://www.amny.com/transit/mask-ma...ransit-subway/

This thread is hilarious.

You're mischaracterizing what I said. But without getting into details, yes, I kept track of who I was in close contact with.

There has been no obvious difference in case counts from the latest wave between states with mask mandates and states without them. Going back, every state and country that mandated masks still experienced huge waves of infections. This is why Dr. Fauci came out and said wearing a face covering does almost nothing.

If you're infected, the best thing to do is isolate and quarantine, not wear a mask and interact with people.

Face shields aren't a bad idea. You ever see a line cook with sweat beading on his forehead? Makes me cringe, and promptly lose my appetite. Face shields and masks at a minimum, but full bunny suits would be best.

This isn't true at all. There's been a pretty huge difference. The performance is really not even close.

case counts are influenced by a great number of factors. on an individual basis masking yourself in certain situations directly keeps positive individuals from making others sick. and provides protection for the wearer as well. you know this.

When it comes down to it, mask wearing has just developed into a social norm in certain places, and in certain circumstances.

I mean, in my city, if I go out to a restaurant, no one is wearing a mask, but if I go to a grocery store, 90%+ of people are still wearing masks.

Sure, there's no rational reason for widespread mask wearing at this point. But there's also no rational reason to not go out to a nice restaurant with a shirt with paint stains all over it. Or to pick your nose in public and eat it. Or to audibly fart in a public place and then giggle about it. None of those things actually hurt other people really, but if you do them, you'll be judged. And some people don't like to be judged.

I'm not sure where it goes from here, TBH. But I think being an asshole about others wearing masks will make it take longer to go away, because a lot of people still wear masks in some situations because they don't want to be seen as an asshole.