Mostly Apolitical Thread for Discussing/Venting our Rational/Irrational COVID-19 Fears and Experiences in 2020

Otm. Our school board had to listen to 30 speeches from scripted (probably planted) parents screaming at them about how their kids should have freedom from oppressive masks, and then they promptly voted *unanimously* to rescind the mask mandate. They need to be hearing from the other side too- the people with genuine concerns about health and safety, not just these loud bullshit freedom assholes.

You'd think we would've gotten at least a little better at pushing back against useless, loud-mouthed assholes by now instead of just sheepishly shuffling out of their way every goddamned time.

If the last five years have taught me anything, it's that we *always* end up caving to these dipshits, in one way or another. It's so disheartening.

have any of y'all seen the movie Threads?

imagine that, but instead of nuclear winter, it's just a buncha dead bodies lying around outside and shirtless people with Confederate flags slowly dying muttering "worth it, owned the libs"

It feels like part of this is “the squeaky wheel getting the grease”, i.e., conservative strategizing that the louder and more obnoxious their “concerned parents”, “common-sense thinkers”, “freedom-fighting patriots”, and other obvious plants are, the more their talking points will be accepted as a reasonable position. With the idea that actual normal people, who are not insane, will tend to be less belligerent, less rigid in their beliefs (more able to see “both sides”), and less vocal. So the more they crank it up to 11 with the bad-faith acting, the better results they get, because the other, more reasonable side will tend to allow themselves to get sidelined and spoken over.

But there is this underlying assumption, maybe not even thought out, but it’s there, that these highly vocal and belligerent people are so sure of themselves, that surely they must be ready and able to back up their words with reasoning, examples, evidence, and even action! That there is no sense challenging them because they will not back down, and they may even get violent. But maybe the actual fact is that they are not prepared to be challenged. Maybe their loud-mouthed, venomous hostility and self-assurance would wilt like wet paper in the face of a challenge. I’d like to start finding out if that’s the case.

christ this is a bleak tweet

COVID-19 vaccine required for all New Orleans deputy constables ahead of heavy eviction workload https://t.co/XYbIoIGwms

— wdsu (@wdsu) August 2, 2021

god that's depressing. and was avoidable.

Austin is officially in stage 5, which means the highest level of caution based on hospitalizations and other factors

Florida's in stage FUCK

Well, Austin is home to 51,000 University of Texas students, known affectionately by their team's mascot, as the Young Asshats.

https://www.austintexas.gov/covid19

Still showing Stage 4?

I read that Austin REACHED Stage 5 but it hasn’t been officially declared so still at Stage 4 rules

I read that the guidance for TX stage 5 is no different than stage 4, so not sure how much it matters.

stage 5 changes recommendation for travel for unvaccinated from "only if necessary" to "don't"

Yes, guess they haven't called it yet, assume it will happen soon enough.

Daughter-in-law took her dad to the ER weekend before last because he was short of breath. Turned out he was having a heart attack AND had covid (unvaxxed conspiracy theorist in Broward county FL). He panicked and made her take him home. Now DIL, son, (both vaxxed w/J&J in April) and their 1 year old are all sick and waiting on their covid test results. So worried, so angry.

oh god, Jaq, so sorry

NYC to require vaccination for indoor dining.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/03/nyregion/nyc-vaccine-mandate.html

This is good, even if I'm not rushing to do this at least while the weather is still ok.

Oh wow Jaq,, so sorry, sending good vibes your way.

Good job NYC, would love to see more of that, though again... this puts the onus on restaurants to staff up vaccine bouncers.

That's great, esp. the trickle down effect on tourism.

insert Calvin peeing graphic here

very very sorry Jaq, that's a horrible situation :(

fuck yes to the NYC requirement though. but i guess families won't be dining indoors then

I assume they'll make exceptions for masked kids?

Good question. If the point of the policy is to suppress spread, I don't know why you'd make an exception; kids are a pretty substantial proportion of the unvaccinated population of New York City, where 2/3 of adults are vaccinated, and why be casual about their ability to transmit? But if the point of the policy is to make it a pain to be unvaccinated and encourage vaccination, then yes, you'd make the exception (since in that case not making the exception actually REDUCES the incentive for unvaxxed parents to get the shot, if doing so doesn't let them go out to dinner with their kids.) Probably the point is some combination of both.

man, the Times Square Olive Garden will take a hit.

What about McDonald's?

new york mandate also requires vaccination to enter gyms, which strikes me as a bigger deal

I assume they'll make exceptions for masked kids?

The exception only applies to kids who can eat and remain masked at the same time.

Metro (big club here) just announced vaccine requirement. My daughter's place of part time bakery work just formally shifted from vaccines suggested to required for employees.

Glad to see Metro's announcement. Hoping to see more spots do the same. Notable thing with Metro being that negative tests are no longer acceptable, only vaccinations, which have to be shown along with an ID.

It's hilarious to watch all the vaccinated, previously pro-mask people on reddit devolve into rabid, frothing anti-maskers screaming about their "freedom" to the point where they are completely indistinguishable from the MAGAts that have been anti-mask from the start.

are people on reddit anything like the people you know irl? if so, then I'd worry more.

i have to genuinely wonder if some people I know don't watch the news, because one of my friends who is decidedly not anti-vax, and is vaccinated, has been photoed out without one, and when I talked to him, he didn't seem to realize the CDC had just changed course on it.

are people on reddit anything like the people you know irl? if so, then I'd worry more.

Not worried at all, in fact I said it was hilarious.

Would a few of ye be better off maybe paying less attention to covid do ye think, asking for a message board

i wish covid would pay less attention to us, tbh

If venues call for proof of vaccination for any of the bands I play in, attendance will go down 0% and attendees will feel 100% safer

— Jason Narducy (@SplitSingleband) August 3, 2021

yes, and...?

And nothing! Just a well regarded artist affirming the decisions.

just saw that the Offspring, which I did not know was still a going concern, just fired their drummer for refusing to be vaccinated.

I just posted my first ever comment on YouTube to someone with a fair few subscribers who has been veering way off their usual topics into "wake up, look around" covspiracy stuff and immediately got a lengthy reply from someone explainng ("with respect") that diseases actually aren't transmissible.

Which hopefully is too whacked out for the youtuber in question, because they don't seem to be getting much pushback (or deleting comments?) and my concern is the viewership they are now cultivating.

diseases actually aren't transmissible

It's all easily explained by the miasmas-and-humours theories of disease.

I think they literally said "germ theory" is disproven. But hey, I don't exactly keep up with the very latest findings so what do I know.

Dental flossing is not empirically proven either, but I'm gonna keep doing it (sporadically).

Miasmas and Humours is Duran Duran's second best album.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germ_theory_denialism

A ton of Chicago venues, bars, restaurants, etc., are all taking the proof-of-vax step today. Personally, I haven't had to show it once since getting the second shot, so it's a big/wise change.

Starting this Thursday, have that vax card in your wallet or stored on your phone, and be ready to whip it out. After all the hard work we've done to literally survive over the past 16 months, we're not letting anyone fuck it up for us. pic.twitter.com/SzftoELe4E

— Metro Brewing (@MetroBrewing) August 3, 2021

A friend of mine works at Metro brewing, they've been on point throughout

I'm dying to whip out my vax card