Masks...

[Kieran]

6 hours ago, Gentoo said:

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.

You're misunderstanding the point I'm getting at here. Also.. I'm not praising other nations for their handling of COVID. They're not even back to normal like you say they are. COVID cases in Europe are spiking too and I sure as hell don't believe any information coming from China. 

 

We don't have access to a long-term solution yet until we develop a vaccine ready for the American people. Our life won't be anywhere close to normal until we reach that point. However, we have an opportunity to return to somewhat normal operations to keep our country afloat until we can ship out a vaccine and virtually end the pandemic. How can we accomplish this? Wearing the fucking masks and distancing ourselves.

 

The science is out there for the American people to see. The masks and distancing do help - if you don't believe that.. you're delusional. Everyone except those who wear tin foil hats or blindly consume the bullshit anti-COVID right-wing propaganda have the brain capacity to understand that. Almost every fucking scientist in the country will tell you they help. The masks aren't going to make COVID go away, but they sure help slow the spread.

 

The masks are here to slow the spread so it's safer for businesses to reopen, people to make a living, kids to get a quality education, and also so lives can be saved. These are processes we legitimately need to survive as a nation, not a choice. What is a choice is whether you choose to wear a mask or not. When morons go out without masks to exercise their American rights, they're putting those around them in danger and contributing to the surge this country is experiencing. That's what's going to close the businesses and schools, and those same idiots turn around and cry about how the "tyrannical government" is killing this country and shit needs to reopen. They should be pointing the fingers at themselves.

 

Yeah, I am drawing a line between what is acceptable and isn't, but I'd argue it's a damn good one and one that most people with common sense and morals would agree with. There is an option that has been scientifically proven to reduce spread of the virus and empowers the country to reopen while we wait on the vaccine, yet what do we have? Morons preaching that the masks are a creation of the devil. American leadership who publicly refused to wear masks, hosted unsafe indoor gatherings, and even ridiculed people for wearing masks. 

 

The fact people are choosing not to slightly inconvenience themselves in order to help this country legitimately function is ignorant, unethical, and quite frankly, unpatriotic. A real patriot would wear a mask and not bitch about it knowing their efforts might be the reason why someone will get to see their grandmother again. 

 

 

[Korean Ninja]

Some of you may be misunderstanding the purpose of masks. Masks are not here to prevent you from getting the virus, they are not meant to protect you from potential droplets; they are meant to reduce your chances of getting the virus. If you do, unfortunately, get the virus, it's meant to reduce the possibility of your spread to other people.

 

For those of you comparing the COMMON FUCKING COLD to a NEW disease, ONCE AGAIN FOR THE SECOND TIME, are doing yourself a disservice. This is not a common infection that will knock you down and go away within a few days or weeks, this is an infection that has been researched/continued to being researched to have ramifications and complications FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! Yes, the flu is lethal; but, once again, comparing the flu to a new disease will not work. These are two completely different entities and you should treat it as such. Stop comparing the common cold to COVID. We have years of research for influenza, we do NOT for COVID-19.

 

I want to stress that this is a new disease, we do NOT know long-term complications, its too early. If you want to know potential long-term effects of COVID, I suggest looking into long-term effects of SARS, both come from coronaviruses. One such long-term implications (as highlighted by the WHO) of SARS include chronic fatigue. WE! DO! NOT! KNOW! ENOUGH! ABOUT! THIS! DISEASE!!!!!!!! < This is something that this thread seems to take for granted.

 

Whether you are Republican or Democrat, I think both sane sides of the aisle can agree that we need to play this safe. We need to limit as much as we can. It is a heavy shame that this is not so and there are those that simply refuse to wear masks. Yes, wearing a mask or not is your right; it is also the right of whatever restaurant, convenient store, outlet, what fucking ever, to kick your dumb ass out because you refuse to wear one. You negatively affect their business and you are one of the reasons why the virus will continue to last as you refuse to follow ONE simple request of human decency. If you get COVID-19, it is not your fault, it IS your fault if you spread it. As Kieran said, there are medical professionals literally pleading to humans to wear a mask. This virus is not a joke, stop treating it as such.

 

Lockdowns and masks are there to LIMIT spread. You cannot contain an infectious disease by complete lockdown, that makes no sense. Just because you trap those infected in their homes for a long period of time does not mean the virus will stay there, it will get out. Total lockdown will NOT fix this disease!

 

You may not like your mask, but please wear it. There are people dying every day to this virus, there are medical professionals who are presenting with increasingly negative affect because of the stress this virus has had on them and the community they are a part of. You may be a good person pre-COVID, but if you do not wear a mask because of your political affiliation or because it infringes on your freedom, STAY! THE! FUCK! AWAY! FROM! PEOPLE! It's that simple.

[Gentoo]

8 hours ago, Kieran said:

You're misunderstanding the point I'm getting at here. Also.. I'm not praising other nations for their handling of COVID. They're not even back to normal like you say they are. COVID cases in Europe are spiking too and I sure as hell don't believe any information coming from China. 

 

We don't have access to a long-term solution yet until we develop a vaccine ready for the American people. Our life won't be anywhere close to normal until we reach that point. However, we have an opportunity to return to somewhat normal operations to keep our country afloat until we can ship out a vaccine and virtually end the pandemic. How can we accomplish this? Wearing the fucking masks and distancing ourselves.

 

The science is out there for the American people to see. The masks and distancing do help - if you don't believe that.. you're delusional. Everyone except those who wear tin foil hats or blindly consume the bullshit anti-COVID right-wing propaganda have the brain capacity to understand that. Almost every fucking scientist in the country will tell you they help. The masks aren't going to make COVID go away, but they sure help slow the spread.

 

The masks are here to slow the spread so it's safer for businesses to reopen, people to make a living, kids to get a quality education, and also so lives can be saved. These are processes we legitimately need to survive as a nation, not a choice. What is a choice is whether you choose to wear a mask or not. When morons go out without masks to exercise their American rights, they're putting those around them in danger and contributing to the surge this country is experiencing. That's what's going to close the businesses and schools, and those same idiots turn around and cry about how the "tyrannical government" is killing this country and shit needs to reopen. They should be pointing the fingers at themselves.

Mostly points we already agree on. Masks slow the spread of COVID - cool. Whether it's a little bit or a lot a bit is sort of irrelevant here, as long as it's not the only thing that does - which it's not.

8 hours ago, Kieran said:

Yeah, I am drawing a line between what is acceptable and isn't, but I'd argue it's a damn good one and one that most people with common sense and morals would agree with. There is an option that has been scientifically proven to reduce spread of the virus and empowers the country to reopen while we wait on the vaccine, yet what do we have? Morons preaching that the masks are a creation of the devil. American leadership who publicly refused to wear masks, hosted unsafe indoor gatherings, and even ridiculed people for wearing masks. 

 

The fact people are choosing not to slightly inconvenience themselves in order to help this country legitimately function is ignorant, unethical, and quite frankly, unpatriotic. A real patriot would wear a mask and not bitch about it knowing their efforts might be the reason why someone will get to see their grandmother again. 

This is where I disagree. Mostly pandering and I assume what you were going for is ethics, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on that. What makes this the line between what is acceptable and what isn't? You mentioned common sense, but didn't really substantiate anything there other than saying masks slow the spread. You brought up morals - or ethics, but didn't really lay any foundation for what exactly you're talking about here. I'm going to make an assumption here, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong; although it's unlikely to be of relevance anyways. I assume what you're proposing is that the ethical thing to do is to put other people's wellbeing before your own comfort and convenience. I'll give you that, that's a rather noble thing to think, despite how vague that is or how much it may vary from person to person; except that's not where you're drawing the line. There are LOADS more things that would qualify as over that line. Start with not leaving the house unless necessary, not going to work if you're not a mandatory employee (the current perception of that is overwhelmingly forgiving, but I'll leave it there anyways) or can't survive without that income, keeping a 6ft distance, practicing good hygiene and washing your hands frequently. If you want to readjust your line, go for it. With that being said, the productive way to go about things is to assess where you stand on this and encourage people who have already proclaimed that they're on your side of the line, not barking at people that clearly don't give a shit or getting angry about something you can't change.

 

I see the lines of thinking you've mentioned - "slightly inconvenience" - echoed quite frequently. Clearly I've already addressed that this is a ridiculous metric to draw your line by, but even just mentioning it seems a bit off to me. Alright, it's a slight inconvenience to you, and maybe some of these are things are just too inconvenient, great. Why do you think this applies to everyone else? Why aren't they able to draw their own lines between slight inconveniences, substantial inconveniences, and things they just outright won't put up with?

 

Maybe I'm nitpicking here, but you wrote it so I'm responding. I see the comparison between intelligence and choosing not to wear a mask drawn quite frequently - that they're 'idiots' or 'morons'. Don't delude yourself into thinking that way. Maybe they are dumb, maybe a whole host of them are downright retarded...that's not why they don't wear a mask. You've already clarified why they don't; because they don't want to. Call it selfish, unethical, immoral, whatever - based on the line that you have elected yourself to draw in the sand, that's it, that's the point you're making. I can understand that, I'd even agree to an extent. However, there is close to 0 chance that calling people bad is going to make them good people. It's never worked and isn't going to work now. There's always been bad people, and the only way they're going to recalibrate their worldview is if it affects them personally. I can tell you, however, that conjuring up ridiculous names to call them is a surefire way to make sure they never consider a word that comes out of your mouth.

[dolo]

Stop clogging comms. No need to boost your guys agenda when no one is paying attention argue in discord dm's and be more professional than a redditard posting on a topic. Everyone has their own opinion about nothing you guys arguing about is going to persuade someone to there side and if that's not your goal then what's your point. I shouldn't have to say this to you but I will cause no one else will.

 

[John]

28 minutes ago, dolo said:

Stop clogging comms. No need to boost your guys agenda when no one is paying attention argue in discord dm's and be more professional than a redditard posting on a topic. Everyone has their own opinion about nothing you guys arguing about is going to persuade someone to there side and if that's not your goal then what's your point. I shouldn't have to say this to you but I will cause no one else will.

 

Plenty of people are reading the thread and responding to it. Stop clogging the comms with your shitposts unless you come up with something meaningful to contribute. The goal is to discuss, don't know what you're getting at. totally based and red pilled

 

[snoopy.]

I'm supposed to leave my room?

[Gentoo]

43 minutes ago, dolo said:

Stop clogging comms. No need to boost your guys agenda when no one is paying attention argue in discord dm's and be more professional than a redditard posting on a topic. Everyone has their own opinion about nothing you guys arguing about is going to persuade someone to there side and if that's not your goal then what's your point. I shouldn't have to say this to you but I will cause no one else will.

 

 

When you clicked on this thread did you see a sign that said "No discussion"?

 

Maybe I don't agree with someone I'm talking to and they don't agree with me. That doesn't mean the guy sitting on the fence next to us doesn't get something out of us running our gums. More importantly, you don't have to agree with someone to seek to understand them. Not everyone goes into conversations expecting to change someone's mind or collect upvotes, man...

[dolo]

6 minutes ago, Gentoo said:

 

When you clicked on this thread did you see a sign that said "No discussion"?

 

Maybe I don't agree with someone I'm talking to and they don't agree with me. That doesn't mean the guy sitting on the fence next to us doesn't get something out of us running our gums. More importantly, you don't have to agree with someone to seek to understand them. Not everyone goes into conversations expecting to change someone's mind or collect upvotes, man...

your google history is covid facts my guy you look shit up pick the first maybe second source of info than copy and paste that shit in, you seem like you have the reddit app and avidly try for reddit karma.  If your history isn't just covid facts and you memorize that shit man i think that further proves my point in why this discussion is pointless you ask the 10 normal people that wont suck your cock because of your position and they wont give a shit about this post. Use your time and knowledge on the game perhaps. 

[Gentoo]

5 minutes ago, dolo said:

your google history is covid facts my guy you look shit up pick the first maybe second source of info than copy and paste that shit in, you seem like you have the reddit app and avidly try for reddit karma.  If your history isn't just covid facts and you memorize that shit man i think that further proves my point in why this discussion is pointless you ask the 10 normal people that wont suck your cock because of your position and they wont give a shit about this post. Use your time and knowledge on the game perhaps. 

You've caught me red-handed. I'm an avid redditor that Google's COVID facts to own libtard gamers on their gamer forum to push my Anarcho-Capitalist agenda. I apologize for wasting everyone's time by shitting up the very important and meaningful discussions in Off-Topic. In return for my apology, I have just one question. 

 

Why did you bother replying when you know you aren't going to change my mind?

[John]

10 minutes ago, dolo said:

your google history is covid facts my guy you look shit up pick the first maybe second source of info than copy and paste that shit in, you seem like you have the reddit app and avidly try for reddit karma.  If your history isn't just covid facts and you memorize that shit man i think that further proves my point in why this discussion is pointless you ask the 10 normal people that wont suck your cock because of your position and they wont give a shit about this post. Use your time and knowledge on the game perhaps. 

What's wrong with looking up facts for an ongoing disease. What's wrong with going on Reddit either LOL. I can't believe the guy with an xqc profile pic is trying to say something about us discussing a pandemic. If the discussion posts are so pointless then why have 50+ people responded and why do you care so much man. Just turn your computer off if it bothers you so much.