Masks...

[Paggos]

1 hour ago, Gentoo said:

This, but unironically.

 

The social contract does not extend beyond the government; anyone who thinks it does is a Lennon tier dreamer. Forfeiting your own freedoms for no reason other than 'its the right thing to do' or for some arbitrary morality doesn't mean everyone else has to automagically do the same.

3 hours ago, Gentoo said:

+1 for posting death tolls of a virus without a vaccine vs those of one with. Next time do yourself a favor in credibility and post the survival rate. I'll do you the favor and share that the mortality rate of COVID-19 is somewhere about 2% or lower, considerably lower for healthy adults with no outstanding respiratory illnesses. So yes, somewhere about flu-tier. 

 

It's very easy to point the finger at 'thise idiots that don't wear masks', but who's to stop them from pointing the finger at 'thise morons who brought the damn thing over on flights' or them to point the finger at 'those retards in china that let the damn thing out of the lab'. We live in a world where we have so little control over the things going on around us. Pointing fingers and trying to hold someone else accountable at every conceivable circumstance quite literally gets you nowhere. If you aren't doing everything in your power to prevent yourself from catching the disease or spreading it to others (and you're not), who are you to judge the level that people are comfortable with engaging with this pandemic and holding themselves accountable for their own safety? (You can start by swapping out those comfortable cloth masks we all love with something that doesn't shoot your nasty breath out of the sides and actually does some form of micro filtering)

 

This isn't a country where you're legally obligated to be responsible for the well-being of others. If you're talking ethically, sure, but once again, imposing your own ethics on others gets you nowhere. The blame game stops when adopt any sort of personal responsibility. If I get the virus, it is MY fault, not the fault of some weirdo on the street the didn't even know he had the thing. You have literally had since January (almost a whole year) to start banking moolah and flipping assets so you can hole yourself up at home and take yourself out of the picture. Why haven't you? My guess is because you've weighed the risks and compromised your own well-being to do whatever you want: welcome to the club.

 

If your dream society is where everyone is legally obligated to the well-being of others and in turn these 'idiots' get locked up, you best start saving up to move. Personally I'd shoot for Scandinavia, but I'm sure Britain, China, maybe Venezuela also fit the bill.

[BoM]

1 hour ago, Gentoo said:

This, but unironically.

 

The social contract does not extend beyond the government; anyone who thinks it does is a Lennon tier dreamer. Forfeiting your own freedoms for no reason other than 'its the right thing to do' or for some arbitrary morality doesn't mean everyone else has to automagically do the same.

What brand of tinfoil are you going to use for your hat?

[Kieran]

4 hours ago, Gentoo said:

If you aren't doing everything in your power to prevent yourself from catching the disease or spreading it to others (and you're not), who are you to judge the level that people are comfortable with engaging with this pandemic and holding themselves accountable for their own safety? (You can start by swapping out those comfortable cloth masks we all love with something that doesn't shoot your nasty breath out of the sides and actually does some form of micro filtering)

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you here, but this mindset doesn't make sense at all. Anti-maskers preach it all the time: we can't keep the country locked down. Businesses need to reopen for our economy. Schools need to reopen so students can actually get a quality education. People need to get out of their houses for the sake of their mental health during a time of surging suicide rates. You know what we absolutely can do? Wear a mask when we're near others and distance ourselves. To say people can't criticize people for not wearing a mask since they aren't keeping themselves locked in their basements all day is unfair and ignorant.

 

No, you're not obligated to wear the mask, nor should our government (or anyone for that matter) force you to. Just remember though, every time you choose not to be safe and wear a mask around others, understand what you're doing to your country. COVID-19 cases are seeing a massive surge. Businesses are being shut down again and people are getting laid off. Hospitals are once again reaching full capacity. People are failing their classes due to the worsening quality of their education. People are blasting their brains out due to the isolation and mental stress the pandemic put onto them, like that 11-year-old boy who shot himself during his Zoom class the other day. People aren't going to get to embrace their loved ones again.

 

So congratulations, you've exercised your freedoms as an American and didn't put a mask on, but you've sacrificed our ability to return to normal and happy lives. To me, it's heartbreaking to see how many purposefully choose not to wear the masks around others, especially those who take pride in their decisions. It reveals the ugly truth about a lot of people in this country. They would rather go out and engage in risky behaviors, which contribute to the massive loss of jobs and lives across the country, then put a damn piece of cloth on their face. It's disgusting and shows a total lack of empathy for those in more unfortunate circumstances. 

[thuxys]

 
Would like to thank these fire starters that kept the tradition of igniting a flame war every year @Error. @lynxie@Kieran @phoenix_

[Gentoo]

11 hours ago, Kieran said:

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you here, but this mindset doesn't make sense at all. Anti-maskers preach it all the time: we can't keep the country locked down. Businesses need to reopen for our economy. Schools need to reopen so students can actually get a quality education. People need to get out of their houses for the sake of their mental health during a time of surging suicide rates. You know what we absolutely can do? Wear a mask when we're near others and distance ourselves. To say people can't criticize people for not wearing a mask since they aren't keeping themselves locked in their basements all day is unfair and ignorant.

 

No, you're not obligated to wear the mask, nor should our government (or anyone for that matter) force you to. Just remember though, every time you choose not to be safe and wear a mask around others, understand what you're doing to your country. COVID-19 cases are seeing a massive surge. Businesses are being shut down again and people are getting laid off. Hospitals are once again reaching full capacity. People are failing their classes due to the worsening quality of their education. People are blasting their brains out due to the isolation and mental stress the pandemic put onto them, like that 11-year-old boy who shot himself during his Zoom class the other day. People aren't going to get to embrace their loved ones again.

 

So congratulations, you've exercised your freedoms as an American and didn't put a mask on, but you've sacrificed our ability to return to normal and happy lives. To me, it's heartbreaking to see how many purposefully choose not to wear the masks around others, especially those who take pride in their decisions. It reveals the ugly truth about a lot of people in this country. They would rather go out and engage in risky behaviors, which contribute to the massive loss of jobs and lives across the country, then put a damn piece of cloth on their face. It's disgusting and shows a total lack of empathy for those in more unfortunate circumstances. 

I appreciate the sob story, but once again it's a case of cherry picking and drawing an imaginary line in the sand. I get it man, it's embarrassing being one of the only first world countries struggling with these things, and it's not unlikely that you'll personally know someone affected by it. With that being said, I'll let you in on a little secret: it's not the fucking masks. If you think the reason Europe/Asia are somewhat back to normal and we aren't is because of the 1% of people that don't want to breath in their exhaust fumes all day, you're grossly deluded. Just take a look at what the countries looked like when the virus was in full tilt. America looked relatively the same, people packed in like rats, except this time most of them have a tiny piece of cloth on their face. Now take a glance over to Europe, China, wherever you please and the difference is night and day. The streets are empty. That's what has to happen if you want this thing to be kicked swiftly; total lockdown, you're not leaving the house to see your friends, go to work, go on a date, get some exercise. Now if this is what you're really advocating for, that's fine; pick your hill and die on it. Just keep in mind who lockdowns affect the most, but drawing an imaginary line in the sand at masks and pointing at everyone on the other side for being literally Hitler while you continue to go outside willy nilly and put others at risk while you go get your McDonald's and go see your friends all day. Now I'm not pointing my fingers to name call you specifically, that's not the point. The point is that by and large people are continuing to put others at risk (while pointing their fingers at everyone else) and thinking a tiny piece of cloth absolves them of any guilt and will let them carry on with their lives like normal.

 

Gonna go ahead and TL;DR this for the sake of clarity and so I don't keep reiterating things.

 

The difference between where we are now and things returning back to normal is not the fraction of people not wearing masks. With the exception of the few Q-Anon retards out there that think this thing is a hoax, everyone out there has the same information you do and understands the risks of this thing, yet have decided they are not wearing a mask. Barking at them, wishing ill upon them, and punching them in the head - like people have been since January - is obviously not going to change their mind. Instead you can focus on things that YOU can do to keep YOU and your loved ones safe.

 

As Americans, we've heard a lot about 'Freedom ain't free' and the 'price of freedom's growing up. It's generally equated to war in some sense, but that's not really what it's about. Every country faces war, free or not, and it's been ages since one has actually threatened our sovereignty. The price of freedom is that every other dumbass in the world gets the same freedoms you do to live their life the way they please, even if it's not in the best interest of everyone else. Learning to live with that is a large part of what being American or 'Free' is about.

[Prez]

The only way that society can start to regain any sense of normalcy is threefold:

 

1) An effective vaccine and vaccination program, that will be able to get a significant enough majority covered in order to develop some sense of herd immunity

2) Social distancing and sanitizing protocols will continue to be needed in some settings where any risks of infection are much greater. 

3) Masks can and will help to control the spread of diseases like COVID and will be used in public settings.

 

 

 

[Asher]

 

[Polarzz]

12 minutes ago, Asher said:

 

 

Can't believe they made a mask after you 

[Asher]

27 minutes ago, Polarzz said:

 

Can't believe they made a mask after you 

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[williamc_d]

On 12/4/2020 at 8:17 AM, lynxie said:

 

- stay hydrated people!

 

just drank some water