I can't remember who told me that perhaps Brits are less reactionary than Americans. I think the comment was made within the context of hoarding and not really what "reactionary" means, but the message was understood. Okay.

We have not and continue to not react appropriately to this pandemic.

1. SIL was hospitalized for 11 days with COVID-19. She was never on a vent, she recovered, but she has permanent heart damage due to taking hydroxydumbass.

2. Close family friend of 30+ years was found unconscious by her son when he came home from work. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance. She never regained consciousness and died two days later.

3. Today my mother told me that my cousin has tested positive for COVID-19. He is a physical therapist. They sent him home to quarantine in place and to come back to the hospital if his symptoms get worse. So he's alone and expected to gauge when he should go to the hospital.

These people live in three different states, they never were in contact with each other. Keep that in mind. They lived in three different states, one of which is reopening.

We have to keep ourselves, and by extension, each other safe. Period.

Wearing masks is annoying. Wear a mask anyway. Sheltering at home is not good for one's mental health. It's painful to not have any physical human contact for months. Stay the hell home.

Be vigilant. Be smart. Talk to therapists. Use the suicide hotline even if you're not suicidal. Talk it out. Please stay alive.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2020 01:09PM by Beth.

Masks are the new unisex condom.

I don't want to sneeze anywhere near anyone.

Oh - and wash those masks, unless they're disposable like a jimmy hat. Do not reuse condoms!

Nice try Beth, but there are so many who just will not get it---or care, which is the real issue.

I firmly told a delivery person not to come back on our property unless he had a mask on. He said, "Well I have one in the cab of my truck," which sounded grade school enough, but then added as he pointed to some people fifty feet away at another business, "They don't have them on either."

He may as well have said, "The cool kids aren't wearing them."



The percentage of ignorant selfish people on the planet is a lot higher than I expected.

I only go to work and to the grocery store where all restrictions are enforced to a tee. I start my walk at 5:30 in the morning now to avoid the mask-less runners and hikers that are suddenly on our street since closing the main hiking trails nearby.


Sorry for the rant. I needed one.

Maybe it's a defense mechanism. "Surely *I* won't get it because I refuse to acknowledge that I might die a horrible and lonely death. I'm invincible!" <-- so stupid.

I need a hug. I'm incredibly lonely. Even a handshake will do. I'm miserable.

But I know it's not safe. It's not safe.

Flirtatious eyes are now more important than ever. This goes on much longer I swear my eyebrows will become prehensile.

Virtual Hug. Virtual eyebrow arched to the upper left with a half lowered lid. You'll have to figure out what that means.

I just called my father. He asked me if there was anything he could do to help me. I told him to find a cure for this virus. ;)

Why you givin me the side eye, homes?

And yes, I love how you can see people smile with their eyes. Those five people in the stupid Safeway who are wearing masks.

I live alone as well...and I worry about getting it. I've pretty much been a hermit for 2 months and I wear a mask on those rare occasions I shop for food. Amazing how little food one can get by on...when you hate the whole process of going to buy it.

Haven't heard from you in a while, Beth. Welcome back!

So far, my little corner of Washington State (Whitman County) claims zero deaths and I want it kept that way. So I'm still living life as a shut-in except for grocery shopping and I wear a mask when I do go out. I don't want COVID-19 and I don't want to spread it if I can help it.

And yes, we underreacted and tried the old "maybe if we ignore it it'll go away" trick months ago. It's what made America's response a SNAFU.

I am SO glad you're doing okay out there. When this nightmare is over, will you ride that scary cable car thing in Spokane with me? They paint the cars, but they still look not quite right.

We're right off 5. We have blocks of fast food joints and gas stations. My town is sandwiched between 5 and an Amtrak stop, and my street goes from 5 into the center of town.

Somebody is lying out here.

If I had a car, I'd try to arrange a road trip to Spokane after the pandemic with you. Bus okay?

Can we stay in that creepy ass Davenport Hotel? The Shining through and through.

Contrary to what some people blieve about me
I DO TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY
the problem that I have is the methodology by which it was presented and EXPLOITED by the news media blowing it all out of proportion and in doing so creating panic
If you disagree with me that is OK. You, as a human being, are entitled to your opinion. As am I!
It is OK to disagree but blasting each other is questionable
Beth Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I can't remember who told me that perhaps Brits
> are less reactionary than Americans. I think the
> comment was made within the context of hoarding
> and not really what "reactionary" means, but the
> message was understood. Okay.
>
> We have not and continue to not react
> appropriately to this pandemic.
>
> 1. SIL was hospitalized for 11 days with COVID-19.
> She was never on a vent, she recovered, but she
> has permanent heart damage due to taking
> hydroxydumbass.
>
> 2. Close family friend of 30+ years was found
> unconscious by her son when he came home from
> work. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
> She never regained consciousness and died two days
> later.
>
> 3. Today my mother told me that my cousin has
> tested positive for COVID-19. He is a physical
> therapist. They sent him home to quarantine in
> place and to come back to the hospital if his
> symptoms get worse. So he's alone and expected to
> gauge when he should go to the hospital.
>
> These people live in three different states, they
> never were in contact with each other. Keep that
> in mind. They lived in three different states, one
> of which is reopening.
>
> We have to keep ourselves, and by extension, each
> other safe. Period.
>
> Wearing masks is annoying. Wear a mask anyway.
> Sheltering at home is not good for one's mental
> health. It's painful to not have any physical
> human contact for months. Stay the hell home.
>
> Be vigilant. Be smart. Talk to therapists. Use the
> suicide hotline even if you're not suicidal. Talk
> it out. Please stay alive.

We overreacted and 100,000 died (so far). Good thing we didn't under-react.

I've been out shopping about once every two or three weeks since the middle of March. I've worked from home for 11 weeks now.

I have one N95 mask that I guess I bought from Home Depot at some point. I read on-line how to sterilize masks, but one doctor said, "Just let the thing dry out. If it dries out after 72 hours, it should be okay to use again."

I only have one mask and I only go out once in at least every two weeks. So for now, I've just re-used the one mask that I have. My Mom and I were talking about ordering some from on-line, but I'm not sure what is best to get.

Before my mom went all Sound of Music and started making masks from the curtains (okay - it was really from bedsheets - unused bedsheets that were in her hoard), I was using a pashmina. I folded it several times and wrapped it around around my head above my nose and under my chin. IIRC, if you hold it up to a light, you shouldn't see pinpoints of light through it.

There's some serious price gouging and bogus stuff being sold online. I wonder if your state has issued guidance on alternatives to masks.

Be well <3

For anyone who's been around any highly volatile east coast Italians, this is gold. It's a rant about people not being careful about COVID-19. Irritated is his schtick, like Back in Black, but I looked at some of his other videos. This one is kicked up several notches. I don't think it is totally an act.

https://youtu.be/dyKH6VieEQg EDIT: EOD reminded me - this video probably not safe for work, so caution around tender ears. Like he says "capiche". :)

There is another one that has been making the news rounds. ND Governor Doug Burgum commenting on people who had been harassing others for wearing masks. He broken down for a short time (it passed the normal description you see in the news of "he almost broke down") while begging people not to do that, that you don't know the situation in other people's lives.

I actually know Doug. He started a very successful software company in Fargo and they hired a lot of our students. The press conference was very much in character for him. I've often joked that ND is what Utah thinks it is in terms of good Christian people / government. This is about as good a concrete example as I can think of.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/23/politics/doug-burgum-north-dakota-face-masks/index.html

Bonus: I stumbled across this short C-Span clip where Governor Burgum is being interviewed about contact tracing. See what an interview sounds like when the government official actually knows something about technology.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4870611/north-dakota-gov-doug-burgum-contact-tracing-technology



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2020 03:45PM by Brother Of Jerry.

> For anyone who's been around
> any highly volatile east coast
> Italians, this is gold. It's a
> rant about people not being
> careful about COVID-19. Ir-
> ritated is his schtick, like
> Back in Black, but I looked
> at some of his other videos.
> This one is kicked up several
> notches. I don't think it is
> totally an act.
>
> https://youtu.be/dyKH6VieEQg


I reported him!

Why the subtitles?

And yah. Masks aren't forever. Dead is.

Those of us with marginal hearing often benefit from subtitles, even for English. I've not figured out the difference, but some movies and most television programs I can understand just fine, and some movies and pretty much all of Masterpiece Theater on PBS are incomprehensible without subtitles. It's very annoying. I wish I had worn earplugs on that construction job in the 1960s.

And I wish all music videos had a subtitle option. Everyone sounds like Rickie Lee Jones to me. :-/

Is anybody else going crazy about not being able to read lips because people are wearing masks??

I can get by without my hearing aids most of the time because we have closed-captioning on TV, and in dealing with other people, I've become fairly proficient at lip-reading as a supplement to my impaired hearing.

But the masks - oy - try fumbling with glasses, hearing aids AND a mask! It's a wonderful thing that I am retired and don't have to deal with this all day long.

Don't get me wrong. I'm totally into mask-wearing. And I'm glad that most other people are, too.

catnip Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is anybody else going crazy about not being able
> to read lips because people are wearing masks??


Yes, I have partially read lips my entire life. I know that it's necessary to wear the masks right now, but it's frustrating.

Particularly since people's voices are also muffled by the masks...

Well on a global scale this pandemic is a lot bigger than what's going on here in America or Europe. We've handled it in a more freedom respected way than the Chinese or South Koreans did. In Western nations there is still a sentiment of Virtuous Application using Independent Judgment. Rather obeying the Authorities and being muzzled (Russia, China) without freedom of speech, freedom of expression. Hopefully there are still enough intelligent free thinking people who can take the information and use personal morality in decision making rather than living in fear and passing our rights off to powerful men (who don't seem to follow the same rules).

One nation that made all the wrong decisions is India. I was watching a documentary about it, they say they have 300,000,000 people living on one meal a day, migrant workers who desperately have tried to get out of the city and are having to resort to walking all because the out of touch upper class is worried about their own hides. The poor are running out of food, and have no way to make money because of the politically correct lock down, The Monsoon season is coming and things may get even more grusome.

Lesson for all, use your own brain, don't always believe the Authorities and credentialed people.

And always disbelieving authorities and credentialed people is the logic of a two-year-old.

Do you wear shoes in a restaurant? Stop at stop lights? Buy shatterproof glass for your car windows? Yes you do because the government doesn't give you a choice about any of that. You can argue about where the line gets drawn on what is acceptable behavior and what is not, but there is a line and we all know it and we all live with it.

To pretend that in this case there is no line, is just silly.

> Lesson for all, use your
> own brain, don't always
> believe the Authorities
> and credentialed people.


Yeah, but what about those of you who don't actually know what is entailed in the term, "...use your own brain..."?

When you got appendicitis, your mom and dad didn't tell you to "use your brain" in dealing with the situation. when you want to fly to the East Coast, you don't buy a ticket and expect to be seated in the cockpit.

One criterion that I really appreciate in a person is the ability to recognize when he or she doesn't 'know' the answer. By contrast, the quickest way to earn my disrespect is to announce that you 'heard' what the real truth of the matter is when that 'real truth' contradicts what seems to be a fact-based path of action.

I don't see 'ignorance' as a complete liability because unless you can recognize your own 'ignorance', you can't correct it.

Yes, I believe there are individuals and groups who want and attempt to steer large herds of people; I think such individuals and groups have always existed, as have their 'victims'. I see people like you as a 'victim'.

I don't have any answers to the conundrums that disturb your sleep, but I personally am happy, and I'll settle for that.

I wear a mask for the same reason I wear my seatbelts.

Maca, I'm sure that there are plenty of credentialed people that you have trusted over the years -- physicians, dentists, pharmacists, engineers, plumbers, electricians, car mechanics, your barber, etc. This isn't to say that credentialed people get things right 100% of the time, but at least you can be assured of a minimum level of knowledge and competence.

All of your prescription and over the counter drugs have been vouched for. Most types of meat that you put in your mouth have passed inspection. You rely on experts for your health, safety, and welfare every day of your life.

My only regret is that I have but one life to give for other idiots' freedom.

I'm grateful that my home county requires masks when out shopping. It's very comforting to see everyone in a mask. Maryland has been very cautious about reopening, and so far it seems to be going well. I personally don't have any desire to go out on any unnecessary errands right now. All of that can wait.

Now I'm ready to turn the hose on people chatting in front of my house with no masks or anything of the sort. Sure there's a fence and maybe 20 feet between my house and the sidewalk, but my hose can make it. They look parched anyway.

website that masks need only be worn if you are coughing, sneezing, or taking care of someone who is sick?



"If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with COVID-19.
Wear a mask if you are coughing or sneezing.
Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
If you wear a mask, then you must know how to use it and dispose of it properly."

Links:

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/epi-win/when-to-use-a-mask-v0-1-print.pdf?sfvrsn=447aa72d_2

My clairvoyant powers aren't strong.

I wear a mask in public.

I'm the same as Beth, and----I'm also really bad at predicting when someone else is going to cough and sneeze in public. Also my eyes aren't what they used to be and nowadays its really hard to spot which droplets hovering in the air have the virus and which don't like so many others apparently can.

I wear a mask.

The WHO and other medical experts have updated their recommendations several times.

This time around, "overkill" might turn out to be "over-live."

I can tell you that when teachers return to school, we want everyone in the building to be wearing a mask. It will give us a fighting chance. I've had young children sneeze in my face when I bend down to help them, because they are not always aware when a sneeze is coming.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2020 06:02PM by summer.

Here there are stores that won't serve you unless you have on a mask. They did say that masks weren't necessary at first, but at some point they changed their minds, telling everyone to wear one.

I hurt my ocular muscles by violently rolling my eyes when I heard about a store owner, a real 'Murican' store owner, who will not allow anyone to wear a mask in his store. Ain't no one gonna pull no fast one on him!

I used to shop in that store but then I died.

It's a county guideline in my area to wear a mask when shopping or getting takeout, but I made masks when the CDC first started recommending them for healthy people. Even without the county guideline, I would still wear one since they protect others in case you're asymptomatic and don't know it. Now, it's thought those asymptomatic people have been spreading the virus, especially in areas where masks are optional.

My county and city just got approval to allow hair salons to reopen, as well as restaurants for dining in, but even then, I'm waiting for at least a couple of weeks before I feel comfortable eating a meal inside a restaurant. I found out over a week ago that I will be going back to work around July 1st, and it still looks that way. Since March 20th, I've been home because the company shut down. As I can't do my job from home, I've basically been on paid leave until we go back to work so I'm more fortunate than many others who are at home as I don't need unemployment.

Chuckling over the word perhaps in the opening. Perhaps it's not over reaction to confront a jogger in your neighborhood armed with guns. Perhaps it's not over reaction for four policemen to respond with handcuffs and a takedown of a man only suspected of
a measly 20 dollar crime. But then perhaps I am guilty of over reacting to events which after 50 years in the US are still alien to everything I was reared to expect in society.

Perhaps you were trying to be clever and ended up being incomprehensible. I have no idea what you are trying to communicate. (nothing personal. I've succeeded in being incomprehensible on multiple occasions myself)

I think I understand Kentish--he's saying the attacks on black men are alien to everything the US is supposed to stand for.

But then again, I'm just a run o' da mill cultural Marxist so I'm probably way off the mark.

I think I get kentish. Perhaps his reaction is because he comes from England. His ears are going to perk up when you mention Brits. Perhaps I get him (I think) because I was born in England too. And perhaps due to my parents remaining very very English even after many years in Canada. It rubbed off on me a bit.

Whatever one takes 'reactionary' to mean in this context it's certain that Brits & Americans respond in vastly different ways. That's what I take from kentish's comment - deep agreement with that sentiment. That doesn't necessarily denote a negative.

As for what we are "reared to expect", for some, me included, the lessons we are taught in our youngest years stick hard and influence us indefinitely.

I'm sorry, Beth, that the virus has touched you so deeply. I am fortunate that no family or friends have been struck by it. Here in BC it's been a long three months but we seem to be in recovery mode now. Hope it holds as we open back up.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2020 12:34AM by Nightingale.

Probably should have ended my post after the first sentence since I believe there is no perhaps about it. The two topical cases of violent death all began IMV as examples of OTT reaction and just happened to be on my mind when I posted.

Perhaps I should also have included that there's no perhaps about the fact that there are national characteristics. That's a generalization, obviously, but there's some truth in those.

State wide we are doing well. But in my little town in two weeks we have gone from 14 lab confirmed cases to 20. We are 35K. Hubby is right now getting our curbside groceries. He will be wearing his mask as will the person loading. But we will still quarantine and wash. Sigh. Between the planning, washing and quarantine it is a pain but we will keep on. Same for mail.

An hour later.....

Groceries done. It is a damn good thing that my wine is not in short supply.

I'm buying my wine by the case now. I did it to save trips to the store, but I also like the feeling of having a case of wine in the house. lol

Hydroxydumbass, indeed. That’s too bad about your sister’s heart. I’m glad she’s still alive, though.

TG

Hydroxydumbass never works on its own. It should always be administered with a chaser of bleach.

Oh, I’d nearly forgotten about that part of the cure! Sheesh.

TG

Important to note that the Clorox 2 that is Safe for Colors is not nearly as effective.

If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right, people!

Thanks for the heads up, Done ;)

TG

We gave the dog a bath, because he really needed it. The bathtub tap finally gave out and wouldn't turn off. So I turned off the water to the house and now there's a plumber here. Masks all-round.

I don't know if it helps, but I opened up the window to my room to get some air flowing too.

I find that I waste no crumb of food anymore. I've been using up stuff that I never would have gotten around to eating. No left-overs get thrown away. I'll find a way to use them.

I've created some rather interesting dishes. LOL So far, all have been quite edible.

I've gotten a lot better at using up my fresh food supplies as well. This is not an easy task for a single person, yet I am doing better at it, and it feels good. I'm constantly picking up things in my refrigerator, examining dates, and making plans for their use.

Also, since I'm getting slightly larger supplies of things I use everyday like hand soap, TP, paper towels, dish detergent, etc. that has been helpful as well. I'm not constantly checking to see if I have enough of the basics. It has resulted in less mental clutter, fewer things that I have to think about.

One thing that I'm not sure about is that I've been using my credit card for all purchases. This has not been a problem at all since I've been paying off my charges, and in fact has been a help in many ways -- I get points back that I can spend on Amazon or elsewhere, transactions are seamless, and my checking account records are far easier to maintain. But all the same, it feels a bit weird.

Greyfort Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've created some rather interesting dishes. LOL
> So far, all have been quite edible.

:D