Masks are (mainly) for others' protection. So you want to wear the annoying thing around newborns. Right? — jorndoe

I've got better things to do than hang around newborns.

The point is, though, that when you are sick with flu or covid or whatever, you should not be mingling with others because you are contagious. I have long been annoyed when I get served food by someone who is obviously sick, even if only because of the inconvenience I will suffer having caught the virus from them. Add to that the possibility that I could die from the infection and it becomes a serious issue which should be taken seriously by everyone who wants to partake in society.

Covid has brought that into focus, hopefully resulting in better, more thoughtful hygiene practices and self-quarantining when infectious. Of course elimination of all risk from life is impossible and probably not even desirable, but elimination of entirely unnecessary risk is desirable in my view.

And what about cats and dogs? It's reported that they can get Covid-19 too. And the CDC doesn't want the animals to use masks either. Or not that I've heard.

Yet that isn't at all a reason why not to wear a mask. — ssu

:rofl:

It not a reason at all. But it highlights how ridiculous all this covid hysteria is, and that is a reasonable reason. Wouldn't it be hilarious if it turned out that pets were the biggest transmitters of the disease?

That explains your actions then, you've found yourself a loophole. Go ahead, continue acting like a newborn, maybe you'll avoid the fines. — Metaphysician Undercover

I've done it so far, and it has worked out great for me.

I hope you don't belong to the privileged class in this case.

Should be getting a vaccine soon. Thank you Pfizer!!!!!!! — frank

The privilege of getting sick belongs to all living humans. Let's all be grateful.

If I should refuse to get the vaccine, would that count as a demonstration for my right to get sick?

Assholery, all the way through, The mantra of people like you is that you don't want to have your "freedom" limited, meaning your pleasure, comfort, or desires, being not old enough or mature enough to understand the concept of responsibility - and present in all degrees at all levels in all places. — tim wood

Your morality is old and lame. It is played and has run its course. You can keep believing everything your told by your media masters, but my morality necessarily rejects that garbage. I dont simply conform to the rabble to whom you belong, I prefer to think for myself and come to my own conclusions. If that makes me free, so be it. And as we all know, the self incarcerated are scared of free individuals, and that makes them dangerous (easy rider).

What underlies your assholery is the idea that "I'll do whatever I want and you will pay!" What you in your assholery do not understand is that the world these days is knitted a little too tight for your immaturity. As such, you're not a joke but an enemy. Grow a real pair; grow up! — tim wood

I'll make you a deal, I'll grow up, if you pull your head out of your ass...you first

The privilege of getting sick belongs to all living humans. Let's all be grateful.

If I should refuse to get the vaccine, would that count as a demonstration for my right to get sick? — Merkwurdichliebe

I think you need to find a person who's covid-19 positive and give them a big smoochy kiss right on the lips with lots of tongue.

Dr. Strangelove (if I may translate your name into my native tongue), I assume that your independence of thought from the “rabble” extends to less physical issues than the current pandemic, to questions like, for example, whether it is is true, as Aristotle asserts in the Politics, that some men are born slaves, or whether the dictum that all men are created equal, as a certain famous late professor of political philosophy suggested, is a democratic prejudice...

... may I ask what your opinion on these topics is, and whether you think human beings ought to be free express dissent with regard to them?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VusJd4x3tI8

Yep. I think it's the mRNA vaccine, so it's new technology. I've heard the side effects can suck. — frank

I had the first shot of the shingles and that was rough but I am willing to go through the crap feeling to stay safe and see my Mom and Dad :heart:
Mom called to let me know that my brother in law, who is a teacher for those with learning disability has been hospitalized in Chicago, Covid-19 positive, on supplemental oxygen and being given Remvesidere (sp?).
I'm stuck in a depression but I am sure I am not the only one.

I think you need to find a person who's covid-19 positive and give them a big smoochy kiss right on the lips with lots of tongue. — frank

I've been looking for that special person. And that is the only way I kiss, wish I could show you personally.

I've been looking for that special person. And that is the only way I kiss, wish I could show you personally. — Merkwurdichliebe

But have you really been trying? You know there's more to protesting than just typing stupid stuff on your phone.

I'm stuck in a depression but I am sure I am not the only one — ArguingWAristotleTiff

:up:

I love it when two people argue from their own perceived moral superiority. Makes for an entertaining read devoid of any arguments.

The privilege of getting sick belongs to all living humans. Let's all be grateful. — Merkwurdichliebe

What does this even mean? Do you mean getting sick proves we're alive so hurray?

Except masks don't actually work eh. WHO acknowledges this, my local health region's scientific advisory committee acknowledges this on the bottom of page one of their most recent report,...I haven't seen any actual studies that support generalized masking anywhere, and I have been looking. I would love to see some numbers from non-bias studies. So skip the anecdotal and observational studies, those result in whatever the observer wants them to.

Also the math is wrong: My mask ( that work makes me wear) is designed to stop over 95% of bacteria and pollen. Great. Bacteria are, on average 20 times greater diameter than the Coronavirus, so, mathematically, this is like using a volley ball net, set up appropriately for volley balls, to stop paint balls. To me this seems ridiculously ineffective. I am thinking the pain balls are gonna hit me anyway, so why bother with the net?

What does this even mean? Do you mean getting sick proves we're alive so hurray? — Benkei

Yep, pretty much. Means we aren't dead yet. Which is where we all end up eh, no matter what anyone does. It's the defining feature of life, it ends.

, if you don't think they're good enough, then wear something better.

Here's how I heard it. The good stuff is reserved for medical staff and rich fucks. The rest of us use crappy makeshift masks that provide almost no protection to the wearer in a virus laden atmosphere. What they do that is beneficial is literally slow the virus being breathed or coughed out by an infected person. This means that droplets (bigger than an individual virus) sink floorwards a bit faster, and reduce the viral load in the atmosphere, thus reducing to risk to uninfected persons. Typically, it requires more than a single virus to become infected, because not every virus will get to the right place and manage to penetrate an appropriate cell. some get swallowed and digested, some are breathed in and then breathed straight out again, etc.

So wearing a mask is a constraint on freedom like having to have a driving licence. Nobody cares If you want to kill yourself in your own car on your property, but we don't really want you to kill us on the public roads. Like having a licence, masks don't guarantee safety, but they help along with other stuff.

I don't want to wear any mask at all, end of story. I am no less safe now without a mask than I was 18 months ago. This bug has a name, untold numbers of undiscovered ones don't, and I am unconcerned about all of them. I am not saying they aren't real, I am saying that I am not more worried about them than I was before all this started. I wasn't wearing masks 18 months ago and when I am not at work (because I like my job) I still don't wear a mask.

Also the math is wrong: My mask ( that work makes me wear) is designed to stop over 95% of bacteria and pollen. Great. Bacteria are, on average 20 times greater diameter than the Coronavirus, so, mathematically, this is like using a volley ball net, set up appropriately for volley balls, to stop paint balls. To me this seems ridiculously ineffective. I am thinking the pain balls are gonna hit me anyway, so why bother with the net? — Book273

I suspect you're confusing masks as PEP and as a measure to protect others. It's not effective as PEP without additional PEP but it's quite obvious why healthcare staff wear a respiratory mask when, for instance, intubating or during surgery.

It stops droplets though, making it an obvious choice to limit risk for others.

It's not about you though. Read unenlightened post above.

Just interesting. But note that people take these things seriously.

Let's not forget what happened to all those poor Danish minks, all 17 million of them, now found in mass graves. Well, of course, at least the Danish government isn't going after the wild ones in the Danish fauna.

Except masks don't actually work eh. — Book273

Eh? Yeah, they do. Do a little research. CDC, WHO, Mayo, UMMS, UCSF, MIT, Johns Hopkins, and so on. So wtf are you talking about?

Is not wearing a mask in public a form of free expression, like burning the American flag, or wearing a tee shirt that says “Black Lives Matter”, or one that has the Thin Blue Line flag emblazoned on it?

Freedom of expression was born of the idea of freedom of speech, a child of the Enlightenment; the idea was that philosophers and scientists ought to be allowed freedom to publish their thoughts and conclusions, however opposed to the political/religious authorities...but with this caveat: that the products of science benefit, not just the thinkers (who, after all, just wanted to understand the truth of nature), but humanity at large, through the application of their knowledge to the practical problems of mankind.

It seems to me that this pandemic has exposed a theoretical flaw in the foundations of the Enlightenment. Medical science looks at the data, and concludes that masks significantly reduce the virus’ spread, and therefore promote public health; on the other hand, using the same arguments that a Copernicus or Galileo might have used to justify adhering to their discoveries and findings in opposition to ecclesiastical authorities, ordinary citizens rise in revolt by refusing to wear those same masks!

It's not about you though. — Benkei

This is why masks have to be mandatory. The world has too many selfish people like Book273 who say wearing a mask won't protect me, therefore there's no point in me wearing one.

(y)

:up:

Refusal, during a fucking global pandemic, to wear a mask, socially distance, etc is not substantively different from refusing to e.g. bathe or clean your clothes, wear a seatbelt, drive sober or with auto-insurance, stop @red traffic lights, use toilets, ... — 180 Proof

:mask:

I don't want to wear any mask at all, end of story. — Book273

Then stay away from other people, or at least ensure you don't expel your exhaust onto those that don't want it.
Hopefully a vaccine can be generally available soon, so we can do away with these (inconvenient) safety protocols. (y)

You assume I am concerned about catching this. Interesting assumption.

Sycophantism, who'd a thunk it - imagine, confusing sycophantism with sui generis!