Acceptable Death - Right vs Left

BigMcGuire

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https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1297547642961002497/

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My wife sent this one to me. I've seen this very evident with people I talk to (family and non-family). 170k+ is nothing, yet I guess. I wonder what the driving force is behind this...
 

Eric

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That's flat out scary TBH, if we all just wore masks and practiced the guidelines Fauci and the FDA have put forward many of these deaths can be avoided, it seems like a solution we could all get behind but sadly so many refuse. It will take Biden winning to see an actual national response, until then we just need to do what we can to stay safe.
 

Renzatic

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I think the problem is that people expected pandemics to play out like what we read about in The Stand.

Since reality tends to be a lot more tame in comparison, and Coronavirus isn't disrupting things to the point we're facing complete global societal collapse, well hell, it must not be that big of a deal.
 

BigMcGuire

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Disclaimer: I'm a conservative.

I'm one of two (that I know) on the right side of the fence that is pushing mask wearing and treating this virus seriously. Most everyone I know (who are conservative), even those I consider smarter than myself, are anti-mask and think this whole thing is an overblown joke. I happen to know several independents who take this virus even more seriously than I do.

Really disheartening and discouraging when even my own family is downplaying this, advocating for things and events that could really backfire. Guess they won't take it seriously until there is a death.

Very scary.
 

Renzatic

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Disclaimer: I'm a conservative.

If it makes you feel better, things haven't been about liberals vs. conservatives for about 3 and a half years now. Sure, we have some people who refer to themselves as liberals, and others who refer to themselves as conservatives, but it's an entirely new game, with all new players.
 

Eric

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Disclaimer: I'm a conservative.

I'm one of two (that I know) on the right side of the fence that is pushing mask wearing and treating this virus seriously. Most everyone I know (who are conservative), even those I consider smarter than myself, are anti-mask and think this whole thing is an overblown joke. I happen to know several independents who take this virus even more seriously than I do.

Really disheartening and discouraging when even my own family is downplaying this, advocating for things and events that could really backfire. Guess they won't take it seriously until there is a death.

Very scary.
Would be nice if it wasn't left vs right and we all just wore the mask for everyone's benefit. I'm in a high risk group and live in a rural area where many reuse to wear it so I'm essentially house arresting myself, I haven't had an outside meal in 5 months now.

It's funny though, in San Francisco everyone is wearing them and they have less cases than we do in the valley as a result. It's my hope that we get an effective vaccine and enough people to take it so we can put this behind us.
 

Renzatic

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It's funny though, in San Francisco everyone is wearing them and they have less cases than we do in the valley as a result. It's my hope that we get an effective vaccine and enough people to take it so we can put this behind us.

I just got back from the grocery store. While I was there, I noticed around half the people are wearing masks. Among those who are, about half of them have their noses sticking out.

I guess it's not that big of a deal, since my county has only had 100 cases, and 11 deaths from it. It's easy to take it for granted, especially since no one's really taken it seriously around here.
 

yaxomoxay

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Disclaimer: I'm a conservative.

I'm one of two (that I know) on the right side of the fence that is pushing mask wearing and treating this virus seriously. Most everyone I know (who are conservative), even those I consider smarter than myself, are anti-mask and think this whole thing is an overblown joke. I happen to know several independents who take this virus even more seriously than I do.

Really disheartening and discouraging when even my own family is downplaying this, advocating for things and events that could really backfire. Guess they won't take it seriously until there is a death.

Very scary.

I am with you on this. While I do agree that there are some legal questions that need to be clarified, the bottom line is that wearing a mask is a very minor inconvenience and we should all do our part to prevent the virus from spreading further. I am appalled by some posts and comments I hear by some friends (including biologists, scientists, engineers etc.). I also think it's very counterproductive, if we want to be 100% sure that we won't lockdown the best way is to show to everyone that we're sensible on our own, that there is no need for intervention of any kind. Wear a mask, live your life.
 

thekev

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I just got back from the grocery store. While I was there, I noticed around half the people are wearing masks. Among those who are, about half of them have their noses sticking out.

I guess it's not that big of a deal, since my county has only had 100 cases, and 11 deaths from it. It's easy to take it for granted, especially since no one's really taken it seriously around here.

100% wear masks indoors here, but we got hit pretty hard. Aside from state mandates, stores post notices on their entrances indicating that a mask is required to enter. My county mandated it long before the state, which was actually really annoying. The problem was they implemented it badly. At the time, we lacked easy procurement of masks. They were sold out online, unavailable in stores, and the city and county did not offer suggestions on procurement.

Of course those problems were basically solved a long time ago.
 

hulugu

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If it makes you feel better, things haven't been about liberals vs. conservatives for about 3 and a half years now. Sure, we have some people who refer to themselves as liberals, and others who refer to themselves as conservatives, but it's an entirely new game, with all new players.

Yeah, I think these dipoles are mostly nonsensical at this point. Biden isn't a liberal and Trump isn't a conservative, but yet they're representing those two wings? Trump is an egomaniacal fascist, while Biden's largely a central-leaning corporatist. It's how we have Bush-era intelligence officers stumping for Biden, while Trump's wing is gun nuts, white supremacists, and evangelicals.

And, we end up with a mainline prosector being on the side—apparently—of Black Lives Matter, while the guy who operates like a mobster gets the support of the American Police Association. Everything's topsy-turvy.

The stuff I see ... I complained often on MR about what I saw and what I keep seeing.

To be honest, I am also fairly disturbed that now all face coverings are considered a "mask". While I agree that a bandana is better than nothing, I have serious issues in calling it a "mask".

Yeah, I've watched people run around looking like "bandits" from a western, but I'd rather accept the attempt. The people who bother me are those who walk around with their noses hanging out over their masks.

I've yet to find a mask I've been happy with, using a N95 when things might be hairy under a neck gaiter. If you want to really push yourself, try running with a protest with camera gear while wearing two masks.

I'd really like a structured cloth mask with elastic ties that can host a filter, and I'm hoping that the ones I ordered from Outdoor Research fit the bill. Also, the ones that CBP have deployed make everyone look like they're wearing a badly-made duck costume. Makes me LOL a bit every time.
 

lizkat

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Interesting article about tribalism in politics today.


The tribalism is real but it's not as easily targeted to gerrymandered locations as some of the Rs' strategists might hope. And the overarching assumption of the GOP that their pitch invariably appeals to small town America is crumbling year after year. It's inevitable. Kids flee the villages for college and jobs in the big cities. When they come back 45 years later for a retirement in quieter, cheaper environs, they may well bring their changed selves back to those villages and meanwhile their visiting children and grandchildren are not "the same" either. Life is a river and you know the thing about rivers is it's not the same water today as yesterday,

So it has been a horrendous jolt for some of us to see full blown unrepentant racism on display-- and not sotto voce or in layers of coded language-- in the Republicans' 2020 convention. This is what the aftermath of the 2016 election has wrought in terms of Trump's having dogwhistled overt racism off the porch and into our parlors. The message seems to be a bristling "get over it, we're here to stay." But it comes across as offered up with a sense of desperation, not like a set of stump speeches celebrating America with Americans on the campaign trail.

Maybe these speakers at the 2020 Republican convention never heard that old saying from a 1980s Gillette ad: "never let them see you sweat."

Anyway this is what happens when a bunch of people pretend their fears and fantasies are actually the last bastion of "the American way of life" or even more absurdly as Charlie Kirk put it the other night, "of Western civilization." It comes off as desperate play acting, performed by folks who look for all the world like understudies afraid they're going to go up on their lines while on stage.

We are not actually threatened if we are white or evangelical Christians or from small towns and rural areas. But in trying to assert special privilege just because it has been asserted for four hundred years, such Americans can themselves threaten their own enjoyment of being Americans in the USA of today -- just through trying to wish away the natural evolutions of a democratic republic, most of whose diverse population actually aspires to realize the ideals of our equality under rule of law under the US Constitution.
 

thekev

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The stuff I see ... I complained often on MR about what I saw and what I keep seeing.

To be honest, I am also fairly disturbed that now all face coverings are considered a "mask". While I agree that a bandana is better than nothing, I have serious issues in calling it a "mask".

I didn't spot this one earlier.

The reason or at least a significant reason why people started using random coverings traces back to the start of this thing. Initially, any and all masks were sold out everywhere. Part of that was people stocking up on supplies for themselves and family members. Some amount of it seemed to be caused by random jerkwad scalpers, who may have been trying to cover losses on event tickets in the wake the zombie apocalypse.

Some counties and municipalities started requiring masks indoors around February to early March, but masks were largely sold out at this time in stores and online. Medical facilities would generally provide them to patients with appointments entering their premises, but there wasn't a reliable retail supply through consumer channels.

It's also worth noting that the discussion on the role of masks has changed over time. Initially it was stated that the virus was much smaller than holes in any mask, so it wouldn't do much good. The practice was still put in place, partly because it discourages people from touching their face, then touching something else. The experiments involving droplets were largely published after that point.

At this point, I am looking for a source of high quality masks myself, since I want to be prepared for the fall and winter. Aside from having caught both the flu and bronchitis more times than I would like, doctors haven't raised any concerns about my lungs. Breathing is smooth and capacity is slightly above average according to the tests they have run. I would probably get through it without significant complications, but I really really don't want to find out. Some of my relatives are up to five decades older and therefore in higher risk groups.

Yeah, I think these dipoles are mostly nonsensical at this point. Biden isn't a liberal and Trump isn't a conservative, but yet they're representing those two wings? Trump is an egomaniacal fascist, while Biden's largely a central-leaning corporatist. It's how we have Bush-era intelligence officers stumping for Biden, while Trump's wing is gun nuts, white supremacists, and evangelicals.

If someone classifies Biden as an ultra-left liberal, I will probably immediately classify them as a dishonest person. It's a completely ridiculous notion. It's like they just needed to reach a consensus on what attack ads to run and so they went with this, figuring that their base will buy anything.
 
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Renzatic

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If someone classifies Biden as an ultra-left liberal, I will probably immediately classify them as a dishonest person. It's a completely ridiculous notion. It's like they just needed to reach a consensus on what attack ads to run and so they went with this, figuring that their base will buy anything.

It's all about branding those scary words into people's heads. The words the Radical Leftists don't want you to hear.
 
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