Market the MAGA hats by claiming they cure arthritis better than apple cider vinegar and Vicks Vapo-Rub.
Put air-freshener scents on them - vanilla, beer, or bacon.
Make John Deere- or Smith&Wesson-labeled masks.
My words exactly. You type faster than I can.
You guys really are part of the problem. Throwing around murder accusations is not productive. The use of masks seems to provide some benefit but most Western countries got the disease under control without widespread mask laws or use. We did it with isolation, social distancing and shutdowns. Trump’s plan all along was to escalate conflict. You are playing along perfectly.
They’ve got it and you don’t, but you’re the one in danger?
If they have it, stay unmasked, they are much more likely to give it to me, indeed putting me in danger, even though I am masked.
You’d think they’d be at even greater danger than you, though, if they already have it.
Yes, they would be. I don’t want them to put me in the same danger.
I do regret that they are in danger, however it happened.
I have said it before, but maybe the Saudis are onto something with the whole public flogging bit…
That will really send a message, at least.
Who’s “we”. Since we lost the location field that we used to have I never know what people are referring to when they say something happened ‘here’.
I was thinkin’ the other day that if Obama were president, we’d still be in the same boat. He’d wear the mask and all of the Obama haters would refuse because they hate him. I imagine that’s the same crowd not wearing a mask now.
Trump is in fact the only one who can make it happen. Trump haters are going to continue to wear masks, Trump lovers will follow his lead and wear masks. It’s the only way.
Experience tells me that the venn diagram is almost a single circle with all of them.
“…there is a lack of substantial evidence to support claims that facemasks protect either patient or surgeon from infectious contamination.”
That was 2015…
It is different now.
I would love to see your response to GIGObuster’s post. I assume you’re now a mask-believer, right?
I’ve come to the conclusion that for people who are highly suspicious of official information, more official information is probably going to make them even more suspicious. And official rules that are based on official information that they don’t trust is going to make them really fucking hate those laws with a passion.
I have no idea wht, but this conversation reminds me of a write-up I saw a few years ago for the video game Far Cry 5, which I’ve never played but I thought the review was fascinating. It made me respect what goes into the process of video game production.
Far Cry’s tradition is to mix the beauty of landscapes with the madness of men.
Ubisoft’s game makers conceive of villains who rule over the local society with extreme brutality. But now Hay and his team are taking a risk and doing the unthinkable: finding such villains in the heart of America, with a focus on a fanatical doomsday cult.
Hay said that his team did research by going to Montana and talking with the locals. They found people who wanted to be left alone and were preparing for the inevitable collapse of American society. When the fall comes, they will be ready to defend themselves. And Hay said that in Far Cry 5, you’ll meet a leader who wants to speed that collapse along.
You can see this in a lot of the pro-Trump (and even non-ideological) types who just want to live off the land and not have any kind of authority telling them what to do. They reject civilization and instead operate at the local, tribal level.
Then they need to stay exclusively on their land and keep their infectious viral particles there, not in my local, tribal area.
Responding more directly to the thread, I think the only thing that is going to change minds on masks is experiencing the dreadful contagion itself directly. If you’re living away from cities or off the grid, the assumption is that it’s probably happening half-way around the world and doesn’t concern you, so why bother with a mask that makes a big burly man look sissified? Think about how New Yorkers or people in many of our large coastal cities felt about COVID-19 when it was rampaging its way through China, South Korea, and Italy. Most people here were unconcerned until it started bringing large cities here to its knees. People are people.
Pretty much the way I feel, but they’re going out in public and invade your space whether you like it or not.
I don’t know what the answer is - I really don’t. Maybe after a certain number of violations or refusals to comply, the store gets shut down for the rest of the day or for a few days. That’s punishing the people who work there of course, but it’s also protecting their health.
There are no easy answers. To a great extent, public health is dependent on a culture of cooperation, and when you don’t have it, this is what happens. People who refuse to wear masks should think about their behavior long and hard the next time their state or their cities get shut down and they can’t go to their favorite bars or shops.
I have a good friend who is a maker. And as liberal as they come. If someone asked her to make these she would pause, then sew them up happily while whispering, “Make All Governors Acquiesce” or some similar voodoo magic, and then deliver them with a smile. With your same reasoning.
By not wearing a mask and going into public, they are doing their part to create the world in which they wish to live.
Morals are what keeps a society functioning, ethics are how you act to mold the world into your ideal vision.
Appeals to their ethics or morality are useless, they don’t want a functioning society and are acting to bring that about. Only appeals that interest them on a selfish level can work.
I am not sure that there are any words that can be used to appeal to those who have willingly sided with a virus against humanity. And let me make this clear, these people are the enemies of humanity. They knowingly and willingly take actions that put others in danger, not out of any misunderstanding or naivete, but out of a desire to cause harm. Harm not just to the people who die, or to the people who are disabled temporarily or even permanently, but to our economy, our infrastructure, our healthcare system, even our politics which has gotten to even new lows. By not wearing a mask in public, and in doing so, normalizing or encouraging such behavior in others, they damage the entirety of our society, which is their goal.
How to get compliance then, if words won’t work? Well, we also have punishment and reward. Act on their selfishness and self interest.
First of all, free masks. Good quality masks in sizes and colors for people can choose from. All you need (within reason). Masks for different activities and different social distancing environments, along with easy to understand guides for which mask is best for which activity and environment. The confusion as to what mask to get, and how to use it is what fuels some of the desire to not comply with the mask requirement.
We can have a reward system, where we have govt agents out and about, that randomly give people money for proper mask usage. Person at the grocery store manages to open a produce bag without lifting their mask or licking their fingers, hand them a crisp new $100 bill for their troubles.
Put the NSA to work. “We see that you have been properly self quarantining after encountering that possible Covid carrier. Good news, he wasn’t positive, and we’ve transferred five grand into your bank account for being such a good citizen!” Creepy, but cool. (I think I’m joking on that, but if you are listening, why not?)
You don’t have to do all that much. The same people that can’t grok the odds of being a carrier or spreader are the same people that think that the lottery is a good investment. Give them something to gamble on, some anecdotes of winners, and you’ll get a surprising amount of proper mask and social distancing compliance.
And we do need to occasionally get out the stick to get compliance, so the ugly side of things, punishment:
First violation is a verbal chastisement. Second and third comes with a $50 fine. And if you still won’t wear a mask in public places, then you get a visit to a hospital with Coronovirus patients. You have a 10 minute face to face conversation with at least 15 of them, unmasked, of course, then 14 days of enforced quarantine, along with any medical treatment you may need.
After that, you get a special sticker that exempts you from mask wearing. (Assuming that there is at least a decreased chance of being a carrier after having had it, which I’m aware the jury is still out on.)