Masks On Masks Off

[emapples]

You are correct...HIPPA mostly applies to medical authorities and prevents them from releasing medical information without your consent. Your employer and anyone else is free, in many cases, to ask for and even demand proof of a condition, especially if you are asking for entry onto private property. OKC's mask mandate specifically requires you to produce a letter from your physician stating that the wearing of a face covering will cause impairment. It doesn't have to reveal the condition....but OKC's mask mandate also allows for clear face shields instead of a mask, which would alleviate those concerns.

These days I look at mask usage as being similar to concealed carry. Statistics say I'm very unlikely to need a pistol for self defense from day to day, but I still carry one. I even succumbed to the government's demand that I secure a license to do so, before permitless carry passed. Most of us did, willingly and without much complaint...far less complaint than those fighting the largely voluntary mask "mandates". If having a pistol gives me a slight edge or is there on the very, very slim chance I need it, then good.

Same with a mask. The science is not settled that they flat out don't work. If there is a chance that they work, especially if I'm in prolonged contact with other people, then I will gladly wear it. It doesn't threaten my freedom or my manhood. I spent the good part of last week doing a tough job out in western Oklahoma...hanging out at the top of an antenna array. I wore a mask because my coworker, who was two feet away from me up there, has a high risk 80+ year old mother-in-law living at home.

Wear it or don't wear but quit acting like it's some statement on liberty or a threat to your masculinity. If you don't want to wear one, cool, but stop acting like people have a right to enter private property without one if the owner has set that as a condition (kinda funny to scream about liberty on one hand but then ignore private property rights don'tcha think?).

I wear one occasionally when I am in doors in closed proximity, i see a lot of people wearing masks with valves which are actually far less safe for others if the person wearing it is positive. Personally I think taking Vitamin D and Zinc is very important which I have been doing for years (oddly enough I haven’t so much as had a cold during those years). What happens when they demand we all wear goggles, after all the virus needs simply needs a warm moist place to grow, and it can infect eyes? I mean at some point we might be in hazmat suits just to pick a 6 pack. We will need to find our way to herd immunity eventually. Why do some people have no symptoms at all and never know they were infected if not for a test? Do you think far more of us were infected with the previous coronaviruses SARS MERS there are others but perhaps we have some coronavirus immunity from surviving other coronaviruses we didn’t know we have.

The most important take away from Covid 19 for me (and I hope for many of you) is this. As bad is Covid 19 may or may not be, the reality is that it’s not that virulent. What happens when we truly have a really nasty, lighting speed virus spread through the planet. One day we could very well encounter something really bad. Something with a long incubation period thats very easily transmitted airborn perhaps, but extremely lethal once it starts rolling. Are we really prepared for such an event? After 2020 I think it’s clear we are nowhere near prepared for a truly nasty pandemic.

 

[SMS]

I wear one occasionally when I am in doors in closed proximity, i see a lot of people wearing masks with valves which are actually far less safe for others if the person wearing it is positive. Personally I think taking Vitamin D and Zinc is very important which I have been doing for years (oddly enough I haven’t so much as had a cold during those years). What happens when they demand we all wear goggles, after all the virus needs simply needs a warm moist place to grow, and it can infect eyes? I mean at some point we might be in hazmat suits just to pick a 6 pack. We will need to find our way to herd immunity eventually. Why do some people have no symptoms at all and never know they were infected if not for a test? Do you think far more of us were infected with the previous coronaviruses SARS MERS there are others but perhaps we have some coronavirus immunity from surviving other coronaviruses we didn’t know we have.

The most important take away from Covid 19 for me (and I hope for many of you) is this. As bad is Covid 19 may or may not be, the reality is that it’s not that virulent. What happens when we truly have a really nasty, lighting speed virus spread through the planet. One day we could very well encounter something really bad. Something with a long incubation period thats very easily transmitted airborn perhaps, but extremely lethal once it starts rolling. Are we really prepared for such an event? After 2020 I think it’s clear we are nowhere near prepared for a truly nasty pandemic.

Agreed.

I personally think a statewide mask mandate, quarantining of the high risk population, and NO shutdown would have been more effective if executed back in March....and far less damaging to the economy.

You are right. If we have another, much worse, pandemic with a more virulent disease it's going to be a whole different ballgame. Even then there will be legions of "Ah noes mah rights! You can stick yer mask where tha sun don't shine!" folks lol.

 

[Dale00]

The virtue-posturing is irksome......"Masks are stupid!" versus "People not wearing a mask are stupid"....."I'm intelligent, patriotic and virtuous because I wear/don't wear a mask" (choose one).

 

[emapples]

I also saw the OU Pride practicing with masks that had holes in them for their instruments. Frikkin stupid!

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Those aren't for instruments ...sheesh I remember the college years quite fondly.

 

[emapples]

Agreed.

I personally think a statewide mask mandate, quarantining of the high risk population, and NO shutdown would have been more effective if executed back in March....and far less damaging to the economy.

You are right. If we have another, much worse, pandemic with a more virulent disease it's going to be a whole different ballgame. Even then there will be legions of "Ah noes mah rights! You can stick yer mask where tha sun don't shine!" folks lol.

I think you have to admit this one has been over politicized (beyond my wildest imagination) and is being used as a tool to aid in the removal of the evil orange man. I mean MERS and SARS had a higher death rate and we didn’t shut the whole world down for them? We didn’t cause wide spread global panic and economic destruction? Meanwhile China is growing their economy today like nothing ever happened I find that quite odd, not that we can trust their numbers but there economy is rolling along. Containers are coming in I can attest to that fact. They were rolling again in June. I mean maybe they have so many people they dont care if they lose any?

I have two family members that tested positive (and they didn’t even take the test) and I know of a few other people beyond that who didnt want to wait on a particular day and received positive test results anyway (and never actually took the test). So I know of 5 positive covid tests that were fabricated LOL. Is this happening en masse? I don’t know I can speak to 5 instances 3 in Texas 2 in Oklahoma but can’t say it’s happening everywhere.

 

[RickN]

 

[TwoForFlinching]

The sentiment I don't understand is this. If it's so whole heartedly believed that this was an attack from China, why aren't people doing whatever they can to get the US recovered and beating China back for it? Given the political climate in America, could China have known we'd be too busy fighting each other rather than working together to beat it collectively?

 

[RickN]

I did take the test and tested negative. They could have easily faked mine but did not.

 

[SMS]

I have two family members that tested positive (and they didn’t even take the test) and I know of a few other people beyond that who didnt want to wait on a particular day and received positive test results anyway (and never actually took the test). So I know of 5 positive covid tests that were fabricated LOL. Is this happening en masse? I don’t know I can speak to 5 instances 3 in Texas 2 in Oklahoma but can’t say it’s happening everywhere.

Sorry, but those have been shown to be fabricated urban legend. The "I showed up to get tested but left before getting tested and still received a positive result" stories have been all over social media but there has yet to be a single, verified, first person account with proof. It's always "I know someone" that it happened to. It's been debunked several times:

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2020/07/27/watch-gov-reeves-discusses-covid-outbreak/

https://www.wbay.com/2020/08/25/dr-rai-dispels-covid-19-myths-and-whats-ahead-for-flu-season/

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/corona...0200713-xk3aueospjef7dffzazn4zm5ky-story.html

https://sanangelolive.com/news/poli...-fake-positive-covid-19-results-untrue-so-far

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story...itive-test-letters-when-not-tested/113375226/

But yes, there is definitely a pollical element to much of the virus and mask hysteria. However, people exploiting it for one reason or another doesn't invalidate some protective measures. We certainly went too far with the shutdowns and quarantines.

 

[DavidMcmillan]

The great mask debate is a bit like the OU-Texas game yesterday; that was fun, now it’s over and nothing really has changed. The Texas QB is still very good, their cheerleaders are uglier than ours, and football is still a great sport!