Texas reopened early, here's the result

Jim:

The real sad part is that his reflects the attitude of the Head Honcho in our country where he knows more medicine and science than our experts. Unfortunately, that's the example set for anyone without thinking connected brain cells.

Mel

It has always struck me as strange that people are so anti-mask. People have long accepted that you can't smoke in most public places for health reasons. And "no shoes, no short, no service" has been around my entire life. Why do masks seem to provoke so much vitriol in 5-10% of the population? (And for the record, I don't think it's *just* politics, although that could be a small factor.)

Gee BB, you really don't know how to find the source of the stats in that tweet? They're listed right on the images showing the cases. Do you think someone made them up?

We've discussed Sweden to death. You remember right? How they tossed the elderly into early graves. The rest of it? It wasn't very long ago that we went over it.

Watch the news tonight:
https://twitter.com/cbseveningnews/status/1283499226333413379

You don't trust Twitter? Why is that?

Buddy, almost the same thing happened to my wife except it was half a tooth falling off so a crown was needed. I suspect you will be pleasantly surprised about the depth of precautions taken by your dentist. We have both had to go to the dentist during this pandemic and despite our uneasiness they were super cautious and that put us (somewhat) at ease. I'm sure it will be just fine...

Jim

So why do some people object so vehemently when asked, or required, to wear a mask?

Of course there are lots of articles out there now on this topic, usually emphasizing power issues, political perceptions, or the just plain stubborness of some people.

But I thought of something else the other day that may offer some additional explanation for it. It's a reason I'd like to mention because it's something I haven't seen described in the articles I have read so far (or else I have just missed it), but which strikes me as plausible.

Namely, it's the idea that when we are interacting, say talking, with other people in a public setting, and in particular when those other people are strangers, when talking to them we are at a subconscious level noting their facial reactions to what we are saying to them: their smiles, frowns, their raising of eyebrows, other facial movements, and such. These facial clues then serve as input, again at mostly a subconscious level, but do impact how we respond to them, as the conversation with them continues.

But if people are wearing masks, this dimension of communication with them is lost, and we are left only guessing as to just how they are receiving or reacting to what we are saying to them, and that can leave us feeling unsure or uneasy about how our talk with them is really going.

Since most of us want to have an accurate perception of how our talk with others is indeed going, even at a subconscious level, aided by those visual cues I have mentioned, when these are lost, we feel less secure about how we are relating to the other person, and for some people that is very bothersome and makes them uncomfortable.

Hence, anything that serves to cause that kind of discomfort in some people, such as mask wearing, compels them to object to it, even when it is beneficial for them for other reasons.

Just a thought.

This is hellish. I feel so bad for everyone. Imagine flu season this year, and into next. Come on with the vaccine.

Michael_T said...
It does feel like we have a small window in which we can try and beat this down--prior to a fall/winter surge that converges with flu season. I've been feeling that if we can get through to next spring, the worst will be behind us. Unfortunately, for now I think the worst is ahead of us. Sort of like what NYC had on a much wider spread basis.

this article does not give me much hope that we'll get get the virus under control any time soon with a vaccine.....

http://beniciaindependent.com/topics/vaccine/

F8 said...
this article does not give me much hope that we'll get get the virus under control any time soon with a vaccine.....

I've seen similar articles--it would certainly be bad if the premise of such short-lives antibodies turns out to be true.

But here's something positive...the CDC's detailed report on the two hairdressers in Missouri that tested positive for covid-19. The stylists worked 8 days after showing symptoms and exposed 139 people--and there was zero transmission, which the CDC credited to the fact that everyone was wearing masks.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6928e2.htm

I saw that about immunity being short-lived. That would, as they say, suck.

'Why dont you trust twiitter?'...now there is a classic strawman argument...used as a filler/distraction to one who really does not know how or does not really want to engage in a cogent argument(in the way argument serves in a court of law"... apologies to Buddy Blank,,,I went a bridge too far with " swamp speak "