Performative Masking
I of course wear a mask if I go to a store, the doctor, or drive in a car with Gregg. (We roll the windows down and I sit in the back seat, masked.)
However...
A TV news reporter was describing a scene in Beverly Hills -- standing outdoors and wearing a mask. Maybe a PR order by his station, but HOW RIDICULOUS.
I take a mask with me when I walk my wee dog, and wear it if someone's approaching to be polite, but otherwise -- if you are outside and you aren't standing anywhere near other people -- why wear a mask?!
From CTV's Brooklyn Neustaeter:
TORONTO -- Wearing a face mask is required in most indoor settings across the country, but some experts are advising Canadians to also wear masks when outdoors.While the risk of transmission is lower outside than indoors, infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch told CTV News Channel on Monday that masks should still be worn if physical distancing cannot be maintained.
"The risk of transmission is negligible. Of course, nothing is 100 or zero per cent in medicine or life but... it doesn't matter. If you're indoors or outdoors, and you can't maintain a two metre separation, you should be wearing a mask," Bogoch said.
...Bogoch said masks are only necessary outdoors when the area is crowded and keeping a safe distance from others isn't possible. But if one was alone outside, for example, Bogoch said he sees no need for a face covering.
"If you're walking through the park outside and you're not near anybody, there's no reason to put on a mask," he said.
Bogoch said he has seen more Canadians wearing masks while outside and recommends people use "common sense" when deciding if they need one.
"Masked indoors for sure, masks outside if you can't maintain two metres of distance, but if you're outside and you're separated from other people by two metres, a mask isn't going to do much there," he said.
Note that we did not have mass hospitalizations after the BLM protests!
Don't even get me started with mask-wearing out of doors. It's just not a mode of transmission, but experts refuse to say that. You have to be close to a person for way more than the few seconds it takes to pass by them on the sidewalk----yes, even if (GASP) you are only 4 feet away from them---to pass on the virus outdoors.
I walk nearby forest trails pretty much every day, and it has probably been the only thing that kept me sane over the past year. The trails aren't crowded but I do pass by a few folks most days. I step off the trail and 99% of the time there's way more than six feet between us. Occasionally on a narrow pass, I might be 4-5 feet away. Facing away from them. For 3 seconds. And sometimes I still get angry glares for not being masked in those situations.
People have been seriously misled and terrorized about modes of transmission because no one in authority has the balls to admit that outdoor transmission absent close, sustained contact just isn't happening. Follow the science!!
RigelDog at March 6, 2021 6:03 AM
"Note that we did not have mass hospitalizations after the BLM protests!"
We have seen how Cumo was fibbing on numbers. We know many medical professionals came out in favor of the riots/protests by BLM and against 2nd Amendment/free speech ones. And I kept on hearing how racist the virus was since it was hitting the black community harder. So maybe there was high hospitalizations after the protests/riots, and we were fibbed to.
Just heard how more black owned businesses (0ver 40%) than white owned ones (17%, a quick blurb on CBS this morning) went under due to shutdown. They tried to spin it as racist bankers not giving loans. More likely, black owned businesses are more urban and more likely in Democrat controlled cities/states, where riots were likely and shutdowns harsher.
Joe J at March 6, 2021 6:06 AM
"If".
"IF"!!!!!
IF physical distance cannot be maintained.
I practiced mask common sense today. I wore my mask in the lift lines and did not while actually skiing.
NicoleK at March 6, 2021 8:45 AM
I wear a mask outside if I’m walking from store to store because I want to minimize how much I’m touching the piece of fabric on my face (and would rather not touch it to take it on and off).
I know some outdoor shopping centers, statue parks, etc. require masking because, in these settings, people are standing in line, stopping to talk to strangers, shouting orders to vendors, etc.
The TV reporter might need to talk in close quarters with a producer/camera person right after, and there’s no time to juggle taking masks on and off (with germy hands).
But yes, I do wonder sometimes at my neighbor who wears a mask and face shield while walking totally alone through our neighborhood, which gets almost no foot traffic and it’s easy to maintain at least a 20-foot buffer around oneself at all times.
I also saw a guy throw a spittle-heavy maskless tantrum in a grocery store yesterday for being told by an employee to wear a mask, so I’d rather have performative masking than performative anti-masking.
sofar at March 7, 2021 3:15 PM
✔ sofar at March 7, 2021 3:15 PM
Crid at March 8, 2021 10:43 PM
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