As I recently pushed a cart through the new Market 32 supermarket in search of luxuriously large Honeycrisp apples, I asked myself why I wasn’t wearing a mask, and neither were any of the people around me, including employees who had contact with customers all day long.
My neighbor, who I otherwise adore and chat with often, finally confided to me a year ago that she's never been vaccinated for Covid, and doesn't take any other vaccinations either. I was shocked and stepped away from her because I was in her small house! (And up until then, and now, I have somehow remained Covid free.)
I said to her, "we've talked about Covid and vaccinations before. Why did you not tell me then that you are not vaccinated?"
Her reply: "I didn't want you to judge me."
Omg. She is older than me, 70 or more, and she gives massages FFS, mostly to older people, in her home!
I just have to wonder how many people she has made sick or even killed over the past few years by passing along the virus, even if she remained unaffected. Which I'm not sure about because she would probably think it was just a bad flu.
Another nice neighbor, who gave birth to her toddler during the height of the pandemic, also told me she wasn't vaccinated because she didn't want to poison her child through her milk. OMFG.And she has another on the way.
This story is going to stick with me. "I didn't want you to judge me": This translates loosely into "I wanted to deny you the information you need to decide whether you want to hang out with me or not." And it goes way beyond COVID. I'm thinking, for instance, of the stories that have surfaced since 1/6, told by people who were astonished and shocked that their brother / son / next-door neighbor was motivated to travel 200, 500, 1,000 miles and more at Trump's behest. Until then they'd had no idea . . .
Has it been settled one way or the other if the vaccine protects against COVID infection or transmission? The only thing everyone seems to agree on is it keeps hospitalizations down. I don't really know.
mRNA COVID vaccines/boosters minimize serious illness while boosting the body's own immune system to better resist infection. They never claimed to be anything more or less.
I wear a mask when I go to any store and will continue to do so. No, I do not trust other people to be vaccinated. As a retired California Licensed Vocational Nurse, I believe in science and vaccinations.
Lucian, you speak of “trust”; trust that the other guy has his vacs, or if he doesn’t, that he’s wearing a mask or not going out if he’s sick. Unfortunately, I think YOU trust others more than maybe you should. I wish I had your optimism…
Mr. T. must be feeling mellow these days, because not wearing a mask these days for me has nothing to do with trust. It has, rather, to do with not remembering or not caring. I wouldn't trust the anti-vaxers about a whole lotta things.
I think the main reason why vaccinated persons don't wear masks when in public places is that with every round of vaccines, the perceived severity of the disease decreases. No one wants to get Covid and it can still be fatal or linger on, but often it's no worse than the two-week cold that's going around. As for anti-vaxxers, may they all vote for Mr. Kennedy.
I can't say I have much trust in anyone anymore, but I don't dwell on it , either. It's not so much a matter of trust, just common sense and caution. The covid virus, and many others that are out there, could kill me. But so could the car coming down the road, and I wouldn't step in front of it, trusting that the driver would stop!
Trust should also be coupled with truth...the two go hand-in-hand. When people start to understand that, we have a chance. If not, we're doomed as a nation.
Americans in general are a friendly people and default to trust one another. MAGAs on the other hand believe everyone else is the enemy and have no trust. Just another nice thing that the Orange Menace has broken.
The line between "Americans in general" and "MAGAs" may be blurrier than you think. I'd say something like "Americans in general are a friendly people . . . until they realize that you're different from them in some way." I came of political age watching white people on TV screaming at Black kids who wanted to go to school. A few years later I had people (again, overwhelmingly white) screaming at me because I was marshalling at an antiwar demo, or wearing an antiwar button. A few years after *that* they were screaming at me because I was pro-choice or a lesbian or fat or something else they didn't like. I don't believe that Trump broke anything that wasn't broke already -- but I do hope that he's woken some people up.
Re: "I don't believe that Trump broke anything that wasn't broke already -- but I do hope that he's woken some people up." And "trust".
I don't wear a mask due to be fully vaxxed meaning I trust the vaccines/boosters.
I don't lock my home's doors because I trust my doggos.
I don't open carry however carry under my shirt because I trust my training.
I trust my and my doggos situational awareness not that of others.
If I wore a mask and open carried then MAGAs and Trump might mistake me for the Lone Ranger instead of Tonto. After all Trump insisted only he knows what an "indian" looks like during a Congressional Hearing As Seen On You Tube. So, it follows only MAGAs do so as well.
I saw that clip of Trump years ago. Didn't know/care about him at the time but after I heard him say "...they don't look like Indians.." had to pick my jaw up off the floor.
Yes, although it came from the WABAC Machine it was for many the first full revelation and a portend of Trump's dark soul v, all the softball interviews where he marketed self as a business man etc. Agree, doggos are the best, and Trump hates them for that reason.
If I were a trusting person I wouldn't wear my mask in the grocery store. I do even after all this time and I'm pleased to see other people wearing one as well.
I don't trust anyone.
Why?
About a month ago, I was dealing with a bunch of symptoms that felt different than I was used to, and went to my doctor to get a referral to an ENT doctor.
Remember, I said I had been masking? I lied. I'd stopped earlier this year and until I went to my doctor had not been doing it regularly.
I trusted people.
They did a swab test on me for various respiratory diseases.
Covid was one of them.
In the followup email they said I was clear for Covid, but I had influenza A!
I got the referral, but it was after I'd recovered from the flu-which I hadn't expected to get.
So now I mask consistently everywhere.
I don't trust anyone.
I don't think I want to trust any one any more.
Because we are stupid. We think we can trust others to do the decent right thing but when it comes right down to it,
The other people vote for a vaccine denier (RFK jr) and an insurrectionist leader.
We haven't learned a damn thing in 5 years and I'll be goddamned if I ever trust anyone ever again.
PS-I'm going to Alaska for the second and last time in my life to see my brother.
Is that the Market 32 in Matamoras that used to be Price Chopper?
When we moved to Milford in 2006 the Borough was a solid Democratic oasis. Now the town seems to have been taken over by fringe jobs. We are still down in the deep Red part of Florida until the end of April, 40 miles north of Tampa. We live in a condo development next to a huge, notoriously Conservative community called River Country. I walk every street in there during an average week and I have been able to count only 2 Trump flags. A Trump sticker on any vehicle right now is extremely rare here. I don't know if his minions are ashamed or considering their options but I feel a change in the air in Florida.
My neighbor, who I otherwise adore and chat with often, finally confided to me a year ago that she's never been vaccinated for Covid, and doesn't take any other vaccinations either. I was shocked and stepped away from her because I was in her small house! (And up until then, and now, I have somehow remained Covid free.)
I said to her, "we've talked about Covid and vaccinations before. Why did you not tell me then that you are not vaccinated?"
Her reply: "I didn't want you to judge me."
Omg. She is older than me, 70 or more, and she gives massages FFS, mostly to older people, in her home!
I just have to wonder how many people she has made sick or even killed over the past few years by passing along the virus, even if she remained unaffected. Which I'm not sure about because she would probably think it was just a bad flu.
Another nice neighbor, who gave birth to her toddler during the height of the pandemic, also told me she wasn't vaccinated because she didn't want to poison her child through her milk. OMFG.And she has another on the way.
But MAGA beliefs really scare me.
We all know where Robert Kennedy JR stands on any sort of vaccine. And yesterday he said that Biden is a greater threat to democracy than Trump!
This guy is not right in the head. Now two of the three candidates for President of the USA are, let's face it, NUTS!
The real stunner is that the outcome of the election is in doubt.
Lucian, I long ago lost faith in the sanity of the American electorate. I certainly DON'T TRUST my Arizona neighbors.
This story is going to stick with me. "I didn't want you to judge me": This translates loosely into "I wanted to deny you the information you need to decide whether you want to hang out with me or not." And it goes way beyond COVID. I'm thinking, for instance, of the stories that have surfaced since 1/6, told by people who were astonished and shocked that their brother / son / next-door neighbor was motivated to travel 200, 500, 1,000 miles and more at Trump's behest. Until then they'd had no idea . . .
Has it been settled one way or the other if the vaccine protects against COVID infection or transmission? The only thing everyone seems to agree on is it keeps hospitalizations down. I don't really know.
mRNA COVID vaccines/boosters minimize serious illness while boosting the body's own immune system to better resist infection. They never claimed to be anything more or less.
Vaccinated people, especially old people, can still get covid, but much less severely, meaning that if they were unvaccinated many of them would die.
I wear a mask when I go to any store and will continue to do so. No, I do not trust other people to be vaccinated. As a retired California Licensed Vocational Nurse, I believe in science and vaccinations.
I live in Philadelphia, and it’s not that I don’t trust my fellow humans. It’s that I don’t trust the virus.
Lucian, you speak of “trust”; trust that the other guy has his vacs, or if he doesn’t, that he’s wearing a mask or not going out if he’s sick. Unfortunately, I think YOU trust others more than maybe you should. I wish I had your optimism…
Mr. T. must be feeling mellow these days, because not wearing a mask these days for me has nothing to do with trust. It has, rather, to do with not remembering or not caring. I wouldn't trust the anti-vaxers about a whole lotta things.
I think the main reason why vaccinated persons don't wear masks when in public places is that with every round of vaccines, the perceived severity of the disease decreases. No one wants to get Covid and it can still be fatal or linger on, but often it's no worse than the two-week cold that's going around. As for anti-vaxxers, may they all vote for Mr. Kennedy.
Anyway—I mask. Double mask in supermarkets.
I can't say I have much trust in anyone anymore, but I don't dwell on it , either. It's not so much a matter of trust, just common sense and caution. The covid virus, and many others that are out there, could kill me. But so could the car coming down the road, and I wouldn't step in front of it, trusting that the driver would stop!
Trust should also be coupled with truth...the two go hand-in-hand. When people start to understand that, we have a chance. If not, we're doomed as a nation.
Trusting luck!
Speaking of Covid - this is a must-read.
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/04/18/the-corruption-playbook-trump-walter-shaub/
Trust…it’s a bit easier to implement when treatment of COVID (except for those exceedingly vulnerable), has evolved greatly.
Americans in general are a friendly people and default to trust one another. MAGAs on the other hand believe everyone else is the enemy and have no trust. Just another nice thing that the Orange Menace has broken.
The line between "Americans in general" and "MAGAs" may be blurrier than you think. I'd say something like "Americans in general are a friendly people . . . until they realize that you're different from them in some way." I came of political age watching white people on TV screaming at Black kids who wanted to go to school. A few years later I had people (again, overwhelmingly white) screaming at me because I was marshalling at an antiwar demo, or wearing an antiwar button. A few years after *that* they were screaming at me because I was pro-choice or a lesbian or fat or something else they didn't like. I don't believe that Trump broke anything that wasn't broke already -- but I do hope that he's woken some people up.
Re: "I don't believe that Trump broke anything that wasn't broke already -- but I do hope that he's woken some people up." And "trust".
I don't wear a mask due to be fully vaxxed meaning I trust the vaccines/boosters.
I don't lock my home's doors because I trust my doggos.
I don't open carry however carry under my shirt because I trust my training.
I trust my and my doggos situational awareness not that of others.
If I wore a mask and open carried then MAGAs and Trump might mistake me for the Lone Ranger instead of Tonto. After all Trump insisted only he knows what an "indian" looks like during a Congressional Hearing As Seen On You Tube. So, it follows only MAGAs do so as well.
I saw that clip of Trump years ago. Didn't know/care about him at the time but after I heard him say "...they don't look like Indians.." had to pick my jaw up off the floor.
Also, dogged are the best.
Yes, although it came from the WABAC Machine it was for many the first full revelation and a portend of Trump's dark soul v, all the softball interviews where he marketed self as a business man etc. Agree, doggos are the best, and Trump hates them for that reason.
You hit the perberbial nail on the head Susanna.
Optimism, Lucian?
If I were a trusting person I wouldn't wear my mask in the grocery store. I do even after all this time and I'm pleased to see other people wearing one as well.
I don't trust anyone.
Why?
About a month ago, I was dealing with a bunch of symptoms that felt different than I was used to, and went to my doctor to get a referral to an ENT doctor.
Remember, I said I had been masking? I lied. I'd stopped earlier this year and until I went to my doctor had not been doing it regularly.
I trusted people.
They did a swab test on me for various respiratory diseases.
Covid was one of them.
In the followup email they said I was clear for Covid, but I had influenza A!
I got the referral, but it was after I'd recovered from the flu-which I hadn't expected to get.
So now I mask consistently everywhere.
I don't trust anyone.
I don't think I want to trust any one any more.
Because we are stupid. We think we can trust others to do the decent right thing but when it comes right down to it,
The other people vote for a vaccine denier (RFK jr) and an insurrectionist leader.
We haven't learned a damn thing in 5 years and I'll be goddamned if I ever trust anyone ever again.
PS-I'm going to Alaska for the second and last time in my life to see my brother.
I'll be masking on the public transportation.
Is that the Market 32 in Matamoras that used to be Price Chopper?
When we moved to Milford in 2006 the Borough was a solid Democratic oasis. Now the town seems to have been taken over by fringe jobs. We are still down in the deep Red part of Florida until the end of April, 40 miles north of Tampa. We live in a condo development next to a huge, notoriously Conservative community called River Country. I walk every street in there during an average week and I have been able to count only 2 Trump flags. A Trump sticker on any vehicle right now is extremely rare here. I don't know if his minions are ashamed or considering their options but I feel a change in the air in Florida.