7 ms·

I've gone through cycles with this. Mostly I am done arguing. I hate arguing about this. It's just more of the culture war shit that so many different media sou

by titzer 5y ago

I've gone through cycles with this. Mostly I am done arguing. I hate arguing about this. It's just more of the culture war shit that so many different media sources love pushing to keep people amped up. I double vaxxed and boosted. Stopped wearing a mask for the most part, but with Omicron I started wearing a mask again because I just don't want this stupid virus. I'm healthy and would probably not have a symptomatic infection. But I still don't want this stupid virus, and I don't want to spread it. I think for 2022 I am going to try to argue less, and focus more on my areas of personal expertise. I've done a lot of arguing and feel like I'm generally worse off for it.

fourstar 5y ago
- glogla 5y ago
  I especially like the bottom right corner that says THE JEWS are all doing it. /s
  - fourstar 5y ago
    - glogla 5y ago
      > Disprove it, then. > Which families own the press? Or is it verboten? It is not verboten, it is dumb. Putting a large trend on religious/ethnic group of millions of people is just nonsensical. Do you really think millions of "jews", from gas station attendants to doctors to CEOs are somehow collaborating on pushing media a certain way? If bunch of dudes are colluding on shaping the public discourse from wealth inequality to something else, is it more likely it is because of their ethnicity or because they are on the "winning" side of the wealth inequality divide? Musing: Though considering the complaints about "they are now writing about systemic racism instead", it seems like very left-wing message (wealth inequality) packaged for hardcore right-wing people, so I guess complaining about "the jews" makes sense.
      - fourstar 5y ago
q1w2 5y ago
I'm just happy to have a good excuse to wear a mask on an airplane. I always used to get sick after flights.
- JSavageOne 5y ago
  I don't notice myself getting sick any less now that masks are required on planes. Recently took 3 back-to-back flights and got sick afterwards for a few days. Maybe COVID, maybe not (hard to tell because other than loss of taste/smell there are no real distinguishing features of COVID symptoms from the flu or common cold).
- lambdaba 5y ago
  I wonder how much of this is the mask-wearing in the airplane and how much is simply now nobody travels with a sniffle anymore (maybe a slight exaggeration, but pre-covid you few would stay home with respiratory symptoms if they could physically manage it).
- zarzavat 5y ago
  The airport is more risky than the airplane. In an airplane you are sat next to a fixed number of people and you have top down insertion of clean air, exactly like in an operating theatre. Meanwhile in the airport you are in a large building with many other people, you might come into contact with 100s of new people from a wide variety of places.
  - fomine3 5y ago
    airplane is dehumidified
- vanusa 5y ago
  Same here, and you shouldn't be downvoted for this. Flying is just gross.
- alx__ 5y ago
  I will continue to wear a mask on airplanes and airports. I'm really enjoying not getting sick with a cold or flu
lambdaba 5y ago
I don't want to discourage you but it appears to me like with this variant (and probably even more with further variants), it will be impossible to avoid infection whatever you do (and I mean, mitigation strategies will have probably no effect). Look at the numbers we're suddenly getting without anything changing in the landscape (actually, despite a very high number of vaccinations). It looks like the virus has become so contagious that it has rendered our mitigation measures moot.
- celtain 5y ago
  This reminds me of people who say that "duck and cover" is useless in the face of a nuclear strike. Obviously mitigations won't help if you're blasted in the face by an airburst (nuclear or biological), but it seems like it could still help if you're on the fringe of exposure.
  - lambdaba 5y ago
    I don't know how useless that would have been but in the case of Omnicron it does seem basically useless. I don't know, I don't have studies on hand or anything like that, but when you look at the numbers you have to wonder... [edit]: maybe some of the more "extreme" (n95 masks, etc) have some decent level of protection, but I'm not sure anybody knows, at least with this variant. Even for previous variants all I've seen so far are models, which as we all know have a lot of assumptions.
  - conradfr 5y ago
    Maybe it's more duck and cover in the face of lava like in South Park. It seems active / non-retired people will have a hard time avoiding it but after all the current wave will stop like the others so maybe I'm wrong.
- archagon 5y ago
  I don't see why that would be true if you just wear an N95 (or equivalent) mask indoors, or whenever you're in close proximity to others. Eventually, the spike will subside. https://calmcovid.substack.com/p/youre-not-doomed-to-get-omicron https://calmcovid.substack.com/p/youre-not-doomed-to-get-omi...
nradov 5y ago
The virus isn't going away. No matter what you do with masks and other measures you'll eventually be exposed. The most you can do is delay it a bit. https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/94646 https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/94646
- hiq 5y ago
  You may want to be exposed and catch it less often though.
- TameAntelope 5y ago
  Even if it's true that infection is inevitable (it's not true), delaying infection is a good idea, to reduce the immediate strain on the hospital system.
  - freewilly1040 5y ago
    The hospital strain is caused by staffing shortages, not an overwhelming number of patients. Those staffing shortages are in turn caused by strict quarantines for people who are asymptomatic but test positive. https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/COVID-San-Francisco-staff-shortage-UCSF-16758335.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/COVID-San-Francisco-s...
    - WA 5y ago
      It is not either or. It is also because hospital staff is burned out.
    - briffle 5y ago
      Maybe in your area. My hospital is literally putting people in the hallways because every bed is full.
fxbe12 5y ago
Thank you. Cannot agree more. Let's live out lives. Do what we love, grow in it and stop dividing. Our office director is scared and has closed down again (were doing 3 days a week in person) due to Omicron. I don't personally think it was necessary and I liked working there in the quite (away from kids). But, whatever. I am done with the fighting and with the political division over it.

by titzer 5y ago

fourstar 5y ago

glogla 5y ago
I especially like the bottom right corner that says THE JEWS are all doing it. /s
- fourstar 5y ago
  - glogla 5y ago
    > Disprove it, then. > Which families own the press? Or is it verboten? It is not verboten, it is dumb. Putting a large trend on religious/ethnic group of millions of people is just nonsensical. Do you really think millions of "jews", from gas station attendants to doctors to CEOs are somehow collaborating on pushing media a certain way? If bunch of dudes are colluding on shaping the public discourse from wealth inequality to something else, is it more likely it is because of their ethnicity or because they are on the "winning" side of the wealth inequality divide? Musing: Though considering the complaints about "they are now writing about systemic racism instead", it seems like very left-wing message (wealth inequality) packaged for hardcore right-wing people, so I guess complaining about "the jews" makes sense.
    - fourstar 5y ago

q1w2 5y ago

I'm just happy to have a good excuse to wear a mask on an airplane. I always used to get sick after flights.

JSavageOne 5y ago
I don't notice myself getting sick any less now that masks are required on planes. Recently took 3 back-to-back flights and got sick afterwards for a few days. Maybe COVID, maybe not (hard to tell because other than loss of taste/smell there are no real distinguishing features of COVID symptoms from the flu or common cold).
lambdaba 5y ago
I wonder how much of this is the mask-wearing in the airplane and how much is simply now nobody travels with a sniffle anymore (maybe a slight exaggeration, but pre-covid you few would stay home with respiratory symptoms if they could physically manage it).
zarzavat 5y ago
The airport is more risky than the airplane. In an airplane you are sat next to a fixed number of people and you have top down insertion of clean air, exactly like in an operating theatre. Meanwhile in the airport you are in a large building with many other people, you might come into contact with 100s of new people from a wide variety of places.
- fomine3 5y ago
  airplane is dehumidified
vanusa 5y ago
Same here, and you shouldn't be downvoted for this. Flying is just gross.
alx__ 5y ago
I will continue to wear a mask on airplanes and airports. I'm really enjoying not getting sick with a cold or flu

lambdaba 5y ago

I don't want to discourage you but it appears to me like with this variant (and probably even more with further variants), it will be impossible to avoid infection whatever you do (and I mean, mitigation strategies will have probably no effect). Look at the numbers we're suddenly getting without anything changing in the landscape (actually, despite a very high number of vaccinations). It looks like the virus has become so contagious that it has rendered our mitigation measures moot.

celtain 5y ago
This reminds me of people who say that "duck and cover" is useless in the face of a nuclear strike. Obviously mitigations won't help if you're blasted in the face by an airburst (nuclear or biological), but it seems like it could still help if you're on the fringe of exposure.
- lambdaba 5y ago
  I don't know how useless that would have been but in the case of Omnicron it does seem basically useless. I don't know, I don't have studies on hand or anything like that, but when you look at the numbers you have to wonder... [edit]: maybe some of the more "extreme" (n95 masks, etc) have some decent level of protection, but I'm not sure anybody knows, at least with this variant. Even for previous variants all I've seen so far are models, which as we all know have a lot of assumptions.
- conradfr 5y ago
  Maybe it's more duck and cover in the face of lava like in South Park. It seems active / non-retired people will have a hard time avoiding it but after all the current wave will stop like the others so maybe I'm wrong.
archagon 5y ago
I don't see why that would be true if you just wear an N95 (or equivalent) mask indoors, or whenever you're in close proximity to others. Eventually, the spike will subside. https://calmcovid.substack.com/p/youre-not-doomed-to-get-omicron https://calmcovid.substack.com/p/youre-not-doomed-to-get-omi...

nradov 5y ago

The virus isn't going away. No matter what you do with masks and other measures you'll eventually be exposed. The most you can do is delay it a bit. https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/94646 https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/94646

hiq 5y ago
You may want to be exposed and catch it less often though.
TameAntelope 5y ago
Even if it's true that infection is inevitable (it's not true), delaying infection is a good idea, to reduce the immediate strain on the hospital system.
- freewilly1040 5y ago
  The hospital strain is caused by staffing shortages, not an overwhelming number of patients. Those staffing shortages are in turn caused by strict quarantines for people who are asymptomatic but test positive. https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/COVID-San-Francisco-staff-shortage-UCSF-16758335.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/COVID-San-Francisco-s...
  - WA 5y ago
    It is not either or. It is also because hospital staff is burned out.
  - briffle 5y ago
    Maybe in your area. My hospital is literally putting people in the hallways because every bed is full.

fxbe12 5y ago

Thank you. Cannot agree more. Let's live out lives. Do what we love, grow in it and stop dividing. Our office director is scared and has closed down again (were doing 3 days a week in person) due to Omicron. I don't personally think it was necessary and I liked working there in the quite (away from kids). But, whatever. I am done with the fighting and with the political division over it.