Poll of the Day > Do you think you might wear face masks around strangers for years

(+) Yeah! (+)

do you

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The face mask comes off as soon as the public health order goes away. If you're not vaccinated by now, I don't give a fuck about your health.

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I think wearing a mask in general is just convenient, particularly when it comes to plausible deniability.

faramir77 posted...

The face mask comes off as soon as the public health order goes away. If you're not vaccinated by now, I don't give a fuck about your health.

So you aren't worried about breakthrough cases?

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It was stupid to stop mask orders to begin with already, the pandemic was not and is not in a good enough state to just TRUST people to only take them off if they're vaccinated. Kroger, my local grocer, many, many months ago put up the sign vaccinated people don't require masks, but of course they didn't have the staff to check and stopped taking any store capacity restrictions and having staff at entrances watching people come in. That is absolutely pants on head stupid. And now with the Delta and other variants masks are now 'strongly encouraged' as said by the CDC on the intercom in the store, and all staff are again required to mask, but they don't require it.

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Probably yeah

mouths are gross

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Hopefully not much longer.

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ill stop when most people are no longer wearing masks. but we still have a mandate in indoor spaces anyway

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I just wear a mask in public areas when Im out. Im used to it and I doubt I will stop unless I have a good reason. Sure I dont want to spread covid but if I can have a small bit of protection from stuff like the flu and cold viruses then sure its worth it to me. Being sick sucks.

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I sure hope not
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Only in winter, because the masks we have seem to block cold germs. With that and Lysol wipes, I did not any colds last winter.

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I'm only required to wear one at work. Don't wear it anywhere else (no where I go requires customers wear them)

I dont wear them at work or at the casino sooo yeah idk iv probably already had covid a bunch of times but thats why i went fully vaxxed on the bit.

Yes and no.

i think during the winter time on public transportation and in certain crowded areas they are here to stay.

othetwise they will trickle off over the next year or two.

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fuck no.

only wear my neck gaiter at work because it's required. any store that requires a mask doesn't get my business.
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Fierce_Deity_08 posted...

Only in winter, because the masks we have seem to block cold germs. With that and Lysol wipes, I did not any colds last winter.

This. I haven't been sick at all the last 2 years.

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I've already stopped save for in hospitals. Still I doubt it'll be required for much longer.

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I'll keep going until the recommendation goes away, presuming I have good reason to believe that's based on sensible public health policy and not a political move to appease voters. I'll probably maintain it for a couple months past that, just to err on the side of caution (unless global case numbers are actually so close to zero as to make that clearly unnecessary), but I'll likely stop after that. There's some merit to the idea of keeping it around during flu season, but most of that protection depends on other people wearing them (cloth masks aren't airtight, so most of their protective value comes from reducing the speed of air people exhale, rather than from keeping contaminated air out), so I don't really get much of a say in that unless I'm the sick one.

Krazy_Kirby posted...

any store that requires a mask doesn't get my business.

Why not?

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If everyone doesn't drop the mask requirements when it's time for the booster shot, I ain't getting it

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JixHedgehog posted...

If everyone doesn't drop the mask requirements when it's time for the booster shot, I ain't getting it

Why are you treating public health like a negotiation?

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I'm barely willing to wear pants around strangers.
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I'm over the masks. Have been for months. I currently only wear one when I'm in a location that requires them. Pretty much just work and a small handful of stores.


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No. I never wear a mask.

Probably for a while, I'm definitely nervous about spreading germs still.

In general, I actually love them in the winter and hope it's normalized. My face/nose usually get the coldest easiest, so the mask was genuinely freaking awesome.

It's horrible in the summer, though. Just plain unbearable to have on for long outside of air conditioning.

Nope.

I haven't seen a mask in months now. The only place I have seen them is at the hospital and one single store that required it a few weeks ago.

streamofthesky posted...

Probably for a while, I'm definitely nervous about spreading germs still.

In general, I actually love them in the winter and hope it's normalized. My face/nose usually get the coldest easiest, so the mask was genuinely freaking awesome.

It's horrible in the summer, though. Just plain unbearable to have on for long outside of air conditioning.

I'm guessing you don't wear glasses.

BlackScythe0 posted...

I'm guessing you don't wear glasses.

I'm guessing you enjoy being wrong.

Whenever I wore a neck gaiter, my glasses (when I had them) got super fogged up all the time
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I'd love to see it become normal for sick people to wear masks when they go out like they do in Japan.



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I stopped wearing mine after I got the shots and never looked back. Only time I wear one is if the business has a strict policy which is pretty rare. I've noticed that even when a place has a sign that says masks required now, most people still don't wear one in the store

I love my animal masks. I've gotten lots of comments and even more smiles.






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Some people who see masks will usually mention it. That said, I wear it far less these days. Mostly in military facility that require them. Sometimes at work when I havent shaved to hide my beard. Haha.
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LinkPizza posted...

Some people who see masks will usually mention it. That said, I wear it far less these days. Mostly in military facility that require them. Sometimes at work when I havent shaved to hide my beard. Haha.

It might be a super fucking sub-tangent, but...

There's constantly talk about how fewer and fewer % of the American youth meet the fitness standards to join the armed forces, how many of them adamantly refuse to, etc... And how it's a looming crisis to maintain our troop levels in the future.
Hell, in the mid-2000's, the Army infamously let people w/ criminal records become officers they were so desperate for people...

And yet, in spite of all of that, the military STUBBORNLY refuses to loosen up on its appearance and grooming standards to try to attract more people (or rather, drive away less).
Think of how corporate offices have loosened dress codes to be more casual to attract younger workers.
It's utterly insane to me. If you can fire a gun properly, why the fuck does it matter if you have 2 day old stubble on your face?
Just utterly preposterous.

I'm glad COVID gave you the opportunity to cover up not shaving every day, Link.

streamofthesky posted...

It's utterly insane to me. If you can fire a gun properly, why the fuck does it matter if you have 2 day old stubble on your face?

Because if you're unwilling to bother with even basic grooming requirements, how can they assume you're responsible enough to be trusted with anything actually important?

A lot of military discipline is built around the idea of doing what you're told without asking questions or backtalking, and taking pride in what you do to ensure you pay attention and do it correctly. If you can't be bothered with that, they sure as fuck shouldn't be giving you a gun and training you how to kill people.
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streamofthesky posted...

It might be a super fucking sub-tangent, but...

There's constantly talk about how fewer and fewer % of the American youth meet the fitness standards to join the armed forces, how many of them adamantly refuse to, etc... And how it's a looming crisis to maintain our troop levels in the future.
Hell, in the mid-2000's, the Army infamously let people w/ criminal records become officers they were so desperate for people...

And yet, in spite of all of that, the military STUBBORNLY refuses to loosen up on its appearance and grooming standards to try to attract more people (or rather, drive away less).
Think of how corporate offices have loosened dress codes to be more casual to attract younger workers.
It's utterly insane to me. If you can fire a gun properly, why the fuck does it matter if you have 2 day old stubble on your face?
Just utterly preposterous.

I'm glad COVID gave you the opportunity to cover up not shaving every day, Link.

They actually have loosened up the standards a little. I think you can have a beard (for religion, IIRC) And honestly, my base is mostly just fixing aircraft, and computer/desk jobs. Facial hair shouldnt matter. And depending on you job, I would say fitness tests are required if you can fo you job without being totally unfit. But those are the rules. That said, they are also changing the fitness test. So, thats good, as well

But wearing the masks and neck gaiters to cover up beards has been a lot more common

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Because if you're unwilling to bother with even basic grooming requirements, how can they assume you're responsible enough to be trusted with anything actually important?

A lot of military discipline is built around the idea of doing what you're told without asking questions or backtalking, and taking pride in what you do to ensure you pay attention and do it correctly. If you can't be bothered with that, they sure as fuck shouldn't be giving you a gun and training you how to kill people.

I mean, sure. But that can still trust people to do other things. Like desk jobs, or working at the gym or something. That said, while they train you to do whatever without back talking or asking questions, people still do so. Even more so these days. I learned that as long as I was right, I can straight up refuse stuff and say no. And I do so quite often these days
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I hope not. But with so many dumb people around its sure looking that way.

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LinkPizza posted...

That said, while they train you to do whatever without back talking or asking questions, people still do so. Even more so these days.

Which is a problem. Because the entire point of that style of training is supposed to be that, when you're in the middle of combat conditions, reacting to an order immediately versus stopping to ask for an explanation or justification can mean the difference between whether or not you succeed or your entire squad winds up dead.

Essentially, the idea is that people giving you order may know things you don't, and don't have time to explain those things to you. So you need to get used to the idea of following those orders instinctively, rather than stopping to question why.

Yes, troops can (and should) be taught to think for themselves to some degree, so they can be flexible in the field (this is a large part of why the German military was so effective in WWII, especially against Soviet troops), but there will always be situations where that instant, reflexive reaction is necessary for survival.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

Which is a problem. Because the entire point of that style of training is supposed to be that, when you're in the middle of combat conditions, reacting to an order immediately versus stopping to ask for an explanation or justification can mean the difference between whether or not you succeed or your entire squad winds up dead.

Essentially, the idea is that people giving you order may know things you don't, and don't have time to explain those things to you. So you need to get used to the idea of following those orders instinctively, rather than stopping to question why.

Yes, troops can (and should) be taught to think for themselves to some degree, so they can be flexible in the field (this is a large part of why the German military was so effective in WWII, especially against Soviet troops), but there will always be situations where that instant, reflexive reaction is necessary for survival.

In a combat situation, things are different. But most people in the military wont be in combat positions. Many just work with computers or other things. The other problem is when they are wrong, or giving dumb orders. They barely know what jobs people do For people in combat positions, theyll probably just follow orders. But those are different than the majority of jobs
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I hope not.

adjl posted...

Why are you treating public health like a negotiation?

Less of a negotiation, more of a drawing the line with the unvaxxed and the reason mask wearing is still a thing

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I still will because the COVID-19 will never go away. It might even get worse. Bad things will always happen and never go away while good things will never happen. If they do, then it's too good to be true, and will be gone right away and replaced with something much worse. Things will always get worse, never better. If they get better, then it's too good to be true, and will suddenly get much worse then they've ever been.

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Krazy_Kirby posted...

fuck no.

only wear my neck gaiter at work because it's required. any store that requires a mask doesn't get my business.

Fitting signature

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fishy071 posted...

I still will because the COVID-19 will never go away. It might even get worse. Bad things will always happen and never go away while good things will never happen. If they do, then it's too good to be true, and will be gone right away and replaced with something much worse. Things will always get worse, never better. If they get better, then it's too good to be true, and will suddenly get much worse then they've ever been.

Your optimism sickens me

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I never did in the first place. Don't plan to start.

I wear a mask when I enter a store or anywhere with a group of people because Covid is airborne so you don't have to be close to someone to contract it.

And we have people walking around without masks as if this thing suddenly disappeared and it hasn't and even with the vaccine, people are still getting the virus so I'd rather be safe than sorry.

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JixHedgehog posted...

Less of a negotiation, more of a drawing the line with the unvaxxed and the reason mask wearing is still a thing

You explicitly phrased it as a negotiation: "I won't do X unless governments do Y in exchange." In practice, lifting mask restrictions as a prerequisite for booster shots is a really stupid way to do things. Booster shots are one more tool to reduce infection rates (though getting the hesitant folks to stop being afraid of needles would do considerably more), and removing other restrictions before infection rates get low enough creates a risk of widespread breakthrough infections (see: what's happening to Ireland right now).

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Absolutely. I'm comfortable wearing a mask now. Keeps me safe from all these germy people.

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