Best post in many pages, congrats on winning dunce of the thread.

Allow me to throw my hat in the ring.

I hate to drudge up the mask debate again but I have some thoughts. I've never put on a mask, in fact, the idea of putting one on in any situation actually repulses me. Some security guard damn near clocked me yesterday for my abstinence.

I started to wonder why? There must be something in a certain part of the north american ethos that gives me this impulse. I'm not ******ed (>110 IQ), I don't want to kill grandma, I'm not sociopathic, yet I can't bring myself to do this supposedly beneficial thing for society. Maybe some armchair psychologist can shed some light.

Much like people who didn't wear seat belts in the 50s. Too cool and incorrectly associating vigilance with fear. The risk/reward for masks make it a no brainer. They may barely do anything, but something is better than nothing.

Some ppl are embarrased to wear one thinking it makes them look like scared sheeple. Others are embarrassed not to wear one thinking it makes them look like selfish pricks

#FREEDOM

It's not hard. Practice in front of a mirror in the privacy of your own home.

This isn't even one standard deviation above average

Yup.

I have pointed this out a few times as it seems Covid may leave a nice set of 'scars' for those who survive it and possibly even in people who are asymptomatic.

And guess what, those scars now become your Pre-Existing conditions and if Covid becomes like the Flu (or other Corona virus like the cold) and slightly mutates and comes back year after year and you can catch it again and again, you are now catching it with the type of pre-existing conditions that make you more likely to die the next time.

Covid don't play.

the above as I have also pointed out the Trump Co, fights its hardest on behalf of Big Insurance to cancel Obama care and get rid of the pre-existing conditions protection while saying 'trust us, we will create something else much better.

I was curious about that slide that Trump used in the beginning of May to defend the statistics of CV in the USA. As a reminder:



Some stats about this graph:

China is still at 0,3, hail China!
Germany is now at 10 (x2 since this chart)
Iran is now at 15 (x2,5)
USA is now at 41 (x3,7)
Netherlands is now at 35 (x1,5)
UK is now at 66 (x3)
France is now at 46 (x1,6)
Italy is now at 58 (x1,5)
Spain is no longer reporting accurate stats
Belgium is now at 84 (x1,9)

USA evolution is by far the worst, followed by UK & Iran. USA is also now higher than NL and will surpass France in a few weeks.

USA is also now adding close to 2x number of new cases per day than Europe was at its peak (and Europe population is >2X USA).
Has Corona just been normalized in USA, or is a collapse coming? Even some of the more heavily hit states are now starting to show a 2nd wave incoming and even NY and NJ never really got their figures down to levels that some countries in Europe are achieving.

What will it take for new major action? Avg daily deaths moving back above 1k? 2k?

And that trend will continue for a while.

You will see less deaths per million infected as the people being infected are much younger and thus less susceptible but since so many younger people, and mainly young people, are being infected a certain percent will die.


But eventually even the most careful older people and those at risk with pre-existing conditions will fall if the young people keep pushing this general infection rate up and up and up.

Eventually those at risk must go to a grocery or take a delivery or visit a doctor and the young people are slowly saturating every area with the virus making multiple contacts with it more and more certain.

The psychology is not unique.

It stems from the long understood view that 'those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it'.

That is speaking to people only being able to learn from personal experience and not the experiences of others.

Your reaction falls into that family of reactions.

Despite seeing all around you stories of OTHERS with your attitude either dying or worse, being asymptomatic and inadvertently killing family members or friends, you cannot process that information in a way that will make you take the precautions to protect yourself and others.

However if and when you do catch it and if that leads to the death of a friend or family member, then and only then, will your view change. Suddenly you will become an evangelist to others stating this is no joke, please learn from my experience.

Sadly you would be singing to a choir as those inclined to take precautions already would be. Those like you will not be able to learn from your experience.

I've point this out many times as this is one of the LAST major horrid stat that the US is not #1 in and if the US really wants to be #1 in everything they can take comfort that they will soon over come.

As the US gets to the impending and now inevitable 200,000 deaths that will take them to 61 deaths per 100,000 or 610 deaths per million as we see it more commonly cited.

Some Trumpers here say 600,000 deaths is the number we should now expect and in fact was inevitable so don't blame Trump as anything below that is 'great job'.

At 600,000 deaths that is 182 deaths per hundred thousand or 1819 per million citizens.

Trump himself, if you pay attention is now saying anything short of 1-2 million deaths means 'good job him', as he tries to set that bar at a level he really hopes won't be reached so he does not have to raise it again.

That is 303 deaths per hundred thousand or 3030 per million.



You can see at 200,000 or 61 deaths per million the US has Britain in their sites and it is clear they will sprint past them. And as you move on to those next threshold you have the US building an insurmountable lead and once again proving American exceptionalism.


MURICA!!!!

you clearly don't think it's actually beneficial. not sure why. probably what cuepee said.

26 June

10 July


https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06...g-abbott-open/
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07...as-mask-order/

The current strain has no problem spreading thanks to the pre- and asymptomatic spread. How and why would a new strain overtake it?

I mean the post you highlighted said, "If/When there is a vaccine or effective therapeutic that inhibits the virus's ability to replicate..."

So I guess that is the answer to the question.

https://news.yahoo.com/plasma-shot-c...130023057.html

Interesting article about how we could possible be using antibodies from plasma of previously infected Covid patients as prophylactic shots that would serve the function of a vaccine and provide some level of temporary immunity.

Unfortunately, it seems although many scientists think it is a perfectly valid concept scientifically, there is no interest in exploring this option due to economic realities and inertia.

One of three things.

1) You're worried about what people might think of your character if they see you with a mask. Strong, fearless men = no mask whereas weak, fearful men = mask, is the developing narrative on the right (whereas the left is the typical tack, "agree with us = smart/educated, disagree = ignorant)

2) You genuinely don't comprehend the potential consquences of the thing, in spite of all the warnings, and live in a state of impenetrable normalcy bias where you just don't understand the need to buy flood insurance until your house floods.

3) You have oppositional-defiance disorder and just do whaever is most antisocial and punk-rock.

A damning post

Being completely serious here you likely have an undiagnosed form of narcissism. You can be quite rational, intelligent, all of those things you self-describe as and still be a narcassist -- there are different forms but I honestly suggest reading up on it for 15-30 minutes (the traits, different types) and have an honest conversation with yourself. One of the traits is a lessened ability to feel empathy for others. Truth be told, even if you are one, if you can at least become self-aware of that and calibrate accordingly you're so much farther ahead than many others who are incapable of self-reflection or analysis.

So we get population immunity thanks to a vaccine and a new strain emerges just because?

That's pretty much how evolution works, yeah.

It is.

And it highlights what a bizarre age we live in.

Despite partisanship always being a thing, one thing everyone seemed to agree in was a lack of love for any specific politician who showed he was doing direct harm to the US.


This age of Trump, this worship of a politician as infallible regardless of how much death and mayhem he is responsible is very new and very bizarre and now has proven how dangerous it is to worship any politician.

No, genes don't successfully propagate just because they could.

check out polio, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus...

He's got good company in this thread

Love Sosa, masks are one tool in an imperfect toolkit. You wearing one when you go out and interact with other people WILL make a difference for you and them. Please wear one.