I’m back and honestly, I’m only madder than I was two days ago because I’ve had time to mull the bullshit over. Link, for those of y’all out of the know.
It appalls me that any community of people that claim to be marxists, that claim to follow the scientific method in all things that would contribute to the betterment of the world we’re forced to share, that claim to be really out here performing praxis and making differences in their communities; it fucking galls me that a community like everything I just described can still look at a still on-going pandemic and still have such a tacit anti-mask stance.
More of you admitted to not masking than I’m comfortable with and y’know what, maybe we could’ve left it at that. It’d have been a form of liberalism to not dig my heels in on that and take a swing at that mindset because again: I took on a new disability in the wake of a COVID infection. My partner took on a new disability in the wake of their infection. I was put in a hospital bed, my grandparents were put on respirators, so many members of my family and my community were genuinely out of commission and a good number of us really had to question if we were going to make it to see the next morning under those infections-- but maybe, we could’ve left it at that.
But then, I have to see you people not only trying to justify it, but taking up for smuggards who just think it’s all some big fuckin joke, like they’re their favorite podcast crackerbro getting to have their own personal Matt Christman moment. I expect “u mad bro” smuglord fuckery out of crackers who can’t even be trusted to properly wipe their asses after they shit, or to wash their hands after doing so. And worse, you expect me to not be heated about smug-assed crackers making light of genuinely-disabling infections after the fact.
I stand ten motherfucking toes down on what I said to Cantaloupe Ass and Ghost of Faso; any plague rat motherfucker who wants to take issue with how I feel about people who won’t mask can catch the same cases my partners and my family caught. It’s a whole lot of you motherfuckers that are so unserious, so emphatically not my comrades that it sickens me seeing you call yourselves so.
Do better. Deuces.
Masks, just like the “litterbug” campaign, are a way to offload responsibility and blame onto the working class, responsibility that should fall to the government and companies.
Case: a person is sick, maybe covid maybe not. Instead of telling the person to stay home (cutting productivity, therefore cutting profits), they just tell the person to wear a mask.
Case: a person works from home, and is sick. Instead of the government providing groceries and ensuring the person doesn’t have to go out during the 4-5 days they are contagious, they tell them to mask up and go grocery shopping.
People don’t even know how to wear a mask. I have seen so many people wear a mask under their nose, or have a mask on that is used and wet from sweat (ineffective). I also see many people have gaps on the sides, or under their chin, might as well not wear a mask at that point. Don’t even get me started on those visors…
The media lied to people. First they said masks don’t work, told people not to buy, but then couple of months later there was a mask mandate.
Their mask rules were ridiculous. When the restaurants opened (for example), the rules were that you had to wear a mask while not seated, walking between tables, but then you could take it off once you’re at the table. LMAO
Those thin masks don’t offer much protection. The ones that do are the N95 and surgical ones, yet people were allowed to wear homemade knitted masks, cloth masks, novelty masks, etc. There was no enforcing of a standard. Masks other than N95 or surgical simply don’t work.
“Well, what’s the alternative??!!”
Your solutions offer little help to immunocompromised people who are often afraid to leave their house because covid could significantly worsen their disability or kill them. They also do not help us today to prevent more people from getting a disabling disease called long covid.
Sure, and they should wear a mask. The point I was trying to make is that most people don’t wear a mask properly, or wash/sanitise their hands properly, so people wearing a mask just to wear a mask doesn’t help much.
Here’s another solution: an honest, public education campaign with free masks that makes people want to wear them and know how to wear them properly.
It was botched during covid cause every country had its own guidelines and program, so people were reading about these ones and those ones. And of course it was turned into a political issue. This was perfect for a global organisation like WHO to handle on a global scale with shared resources from every country, but the US and other Western countries were spreading propaganda about WHO being in the pockets of China and they’re not to be trusted. This despite China and WHO warning about covid months before it became a pandemic. Western governments have mishandled the pandemic, lied to their own people, told them this, that, do this, don’t do that, confused the people until they just didn’t care any more, politicians enriched themselves, a lot of money was pilfered from the economic help fund, and these same governments say “wear a mask because we say so”. Now why should anyone listen to them, why would anyone want to? I can understand that reasoning.
I still wore a mask to protect vulnerable people (haven’t worn one in a long time cause literally no one around me does), when I feel covid symptoms I test myself, if I think I have covid I tell people with whom I shared a space recently, etc. But I do this cause I want to do these things, not because I am told to, and I want to do it cause I know the virus can hurt vulnerable people. A lot of people don’t even “believe” in covid. That’s the level of public education in neoliberal states.
There’s so much to unpack here. Most COVID infections are passed from an asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic carrier. Surgical masks absolutely protect the wearer and more so the people around the wearer. But you know what? You can wear an KN95 and above. Hand sanitiser is a pretty low effect remedy when touching is a lower risk danger for a respiratory virus.
Careful people can avoid indoor dining. We can’t avoid you in mass transit and in the shop
In the first few months of the pandemic, there was a short supply of masks for hospitals. I don’t want to be mean, but this sounds like stuff old white dudes post on Facebook.
I swear I say this out of concern for you, but I would delete your comment as it doesn’t put you in the best light.
But why lie? Why not say “masks work, but there is a shortage in healthcare and refrain from buying too much”? This is why people’s trust in institutions is eroding. Our institutions are neoliberal constructed and controlled anyway. Then they lied about the efficacy of vaccines. Again, why not be honest about it? Liberals have been digging their own grave for a while.
Where did I say they don’t?
lol
You should read my comment more carefully, before having a knee-jerk reaction to a few key words.
Honestly, post a source that the media lied about masks. I can’t believe you’re allowed to post this.
“Those thin masks don’t offer much protection.” This is just misinformation.
Sociopath level response.
Also I told you about asymptomatic transmission yet your comment remains unedited.
Not compared to N95 and surgical masks, no. I’ve seen people wear one-layer cloth masks. Can anyone guarantee that every mask sold in a shop or at home is made according to WHO’s recommendation of three layers of certain fabrics/material?
Only place I could find from a quick search: https://www.reuters.com/article/world/fact-checkoutdated-video-of-fauci-saying-theres-no-reason-to-be-walking-arou-idUSKBN26T2T9/
I remember seeing that on TV in March. I remember cause I wasn’t traveling and I was watching TV in the hotel. For a second I thought I may have imagined it (which I would have admitted had I not found anything).
What do you want me to do about it? Isn’t asymptomatic transmission more likely at home or at work where you spend a lot of time indoors with the same people? Do people wear masks at home?
And this is an argument to not mask to protect vulnerable comrades why?
At least you found a source. I hope that you see that something that happened at month 1 of the pandemic, shared solely on Facebook of all places, shouldn’t be affecting your decisions in any way.
Remove insinuations that sick leave and hand sanitising are substitutes for masking. By themselves, they’re fine. But to uses them as an argument that we shouldn’t mask is hella misguided.
That’s not the argument I made.
My argument was that blaming individuals (especially the working class, rich people never got punished for breaking covid regulations) for the spread of covid when governments should have done much more in the very beginning, namely shutting down most international flights, gave people months off work, shut down everything but the essential places, etc. But throughout the whole pandemic every Western government kept thinking about is keeping the economy afloat, coming up with ad-hoc measures and silly half-measures (like wearing masks in restaurants while walking). By the time covid is all around you that you need a mask 24/7 it’s already too late and the blame shouldn’t be put on working class people who (rightfully) have grown distrustful of their governments and their institutions.
-List ten things that aren’t masking
You honestly trying to tell me that you’re not making an argument that we don’t have to mask??? Do you mask, for real? You "lol"ed my comment that we have to face unmasked people in mass transit and shops.
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