Poll: Masks and Face Shields

[Ernie]

This is a thread to discuss all matters related to masks and face shields.


Feel free to add other poll numbers in this thread if you think of options not listed. I wish the polls allowed more than 10 options.

[joshuabgood]

I wear one without complaining where ever I am expected to. However, if I am in a setting where it isn't expected and most other people don't, I don't. For instance, my extended conservative family had a reunion, very very few folks had masks, I didn't wear one either.

[ohio jones]

4. I only wear a mask or shield if I think the folks inside the store want me to.

4a. I wear a mask or shield in stores where the practice is required, even if not enforced by law.

6. I have a "medical condition" so I don't wear a mask.

I've seen recent social media posts by well-known Mennos whose ministry gives them a wide audience, suggesting that people exercise a medical exemption, apparently based on nothing more than the argument "well duh, of course masks restrict breathing." This seems deceitful to me. If someone has tried wearing a mask and experiences genuine side effects, or if medical professionals advise them not to based on their condition and medical history, that's certainly legit. But simply not wanting to and using the medical exemption as a loophole (and after all, it's illegal to ask about the details) is not the right approach.

[joshuabgood]

4. I only wear a mask or shield if I think the folks inside the store want me to.

4a. I wear a mask or shield in stores where the practice is required, even if not enforced by law.

6. I have a "medical condition" so I don't wear a mask.

I've seen recent social media posts by well-known Mennos whose ministry gives them a wide audience, suggesting that people exercise a medical exemption, apparently based on nothing more than the argument "well duh, of course masks restrict breathing." This seems deceitful to me. If someone has tried wearing a mask and experiences genuine side effects, or if medical professionals advise them not to based on their condition and medical history, that's certainly legit. But simply not wanting to and using the medical exemption as a loophole (and after all, it's illegal to ask about the details) is not the right approach.

I agree. It is tricky though...because in PA exceptions are allowed for "mental health" reasons. However there is no technical definition given of what that means or what the process is by which a person would get one officially. So in my mind, that makes individuals and parental guardians the ones who assess such a possibility. For instance my 2nd grader has some sensory issues and also has some anxiety. I don't think it is in her best interest emotionally/mentally to force her to wear a mask 6 hours a day at school. So given the lack of and definition or process to acquire said mental health exception, I'll apply it myself in the way that seems right. That is, I will not ask her to wear a mask to school. I also think the teacher's inability to respond to her confused/frightened facial expressions at times also endangers her emotional/mental well being. Further, I think really all of our little ones mental and emotional health is harmed by a normalized culture of masking. SO I support all parents making decisions around these "mental health" exceptions for their little ones. (If it is going into a store for 20 minutes at my side, I insist she wears it, though I look to minimize the excursions because even then her anxiety level goes up.)

[Bootstrap]

3. I wear a mask or shield anytime I go into a store or public building.

I am in an area where Covid-19 is spreading, so I wear a mask inside. And in most places, it is required where I live. Outside, I can keep a distance. When I run, I stay away from people.

[Neto]

My wife has to have a shot in one eye every 6 weeks or so, to contain the damage from macular degeneration. Usually our son (who works from home) can take her, but yesterday I did it. Those kinds of places stipulate that the person who brought them must stay outside of the office. I stopped off at a Loews in the area (where I wore a mask), and then sat outside the doctor's office building until she was ready to go back home. We stopped at a couple of grocery markets on the way home, where we also wore masks. I do not think I am being hood-winked, or that my rights are being trampled on.

Edit: Oh, and I've heard that Holmes County, Ohio is on some sort of national list of places with the fastest growing virus cases.

[Ken]

We have a accumulated a huge collection of masks over the past 3 months, homemade ones from grandma, cloth masks bought on amazon, medical masks my wife has brought home from work, and surgical style paper masks bought at Costco.

I keep a supply in the car and put them on anytime we are in public shopping. But not walking the dog in the neighborhood, getting the mail, etc as we are in suburbia with quiet streets and wide sidewalks and it is trivial to maintain social distance.

I don't find it to be the least bit inconvenient. I might feel differently if I were in a public position where i had to wear one 8 hours a day. That is coming when we return to school and I expect to get more annoyed.

The politics of this just astonishes me. I just can't believe stuff like this:

https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2 ... ting-utah/

Provo • As she walked up to the podium to speak, one of the moms grabbed a face mask and spit her gum out into it. “It’s garbage,” she shrugged, wadding it up. “It doesn’t work anyway. Not for me and not for my kids.”

A dad who spoke after her said he, too, doesn’t think the masks are effective, and said he’s pulling his kids out of school this fall if the state doesn’t lift its mandate requiring all K-12 students to wear a face covering. Another mother carried her 4-year-old son in her arms, noting there’s no way he would keep one on in his kindergarten class — but she thinks they’re stupid anyway, regardless of age.

Parent after parent followed at the Utah County commission meeting Wednesday afternoon, objecting for more than two hours to having their kids in masks even as counts of the virus continue to climb across the state, where there are more than 30,000 confirmed cases.

They packed into the small boardroom to talk, pulling tape off the seats meant to maintain social distancing and crowding in against the walls. They wore “Trump 2020” hats and carried little American flags, and every time someone said “freedom” or “constitutional rights” the whole room cheered. Almost no one wore a mask; those who did had them pulled under their chins.

“This mandate for the children to wear masks is baloney,” said Cynthia Harding, a Provo resident. “We have the right to make our own choices.”

. . . .

When a few counter-protesters showed up, with one man holding a sign that argued, “Wearing a mask is an act of compassion,” the group yelled and screamed.

“It’s an act of submission,” they said. “Jesus gives us a choice,” they added. “And mandates are against freedom.”

“You guys are at the wrong rally,” they shouted.

One mom and dad brought their two kids to challenge the anti-mask crowd, and a woman shouted: “Get that mask off that poor little boy.” Carrie Hall put her arm around her son to defend him.

“If we want this pandemic to go away, then we need to embrace masks,” she said. “We feel like wearing a mask is not only to protect ourselves but others.”

Her seventh-grader added, “I’d rather wear a tiny piece of cloth than spread COVID.”

Inside, tensions rose. When the meeting started, Commissioner Tanner Ainge declared he wouldn’t support so many people in the boardroom not social distancing. He made a motion to adjourn and hear the proposal from Lee another day in a bigger space. The board’s third member, Nathan Ivie, voted in favor and Lee against. After the 2-1 decision, Ainge walked out.

“This is the exact opposite of what we need to be doing,” Ainge said, noting he’s written a letter supporting the governor’s mandate. “We should be physically distancing and wearing masks. This room is not complying with those health guidelines.”

One reason this is so difficult is that the Federal Government has completely abdicated any sense of responsibility. The Department of Education is completely AWOL in terms of providing any guidance to schools and school districts. They have an enormous budget and Betsy DeVoss has been absolutely worse than useless. Threatening to cut off funding for schools that don't open but providing no guidance on how to do it safely.

The CDC is also a complete disaster when it comes to schools. They had draft guidelines for school re-opening a month ago but pulled them back when Trump threw a twitter fit. Now they have been pulled back indefinitely. This is today's news. Many schools are scheduled to re-open in a matter of weeks and the CDC and White House are still playing ridiculous politics in the height of a pandemic. Today was the record number of cases in the US. And this is what we are getting from our Federal Government:

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronaviru ... nticipated

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will not release a set of documents this week aimed at giving schools advice on how to reopen to students after coronavirus shutdowns, NPR has learned. Instead, the full set will be published before the end of the month, a CDC spokesperson says.

"These science and evidence-based resources and tools will provide additional information for administrators, teachers and staff, parents, caregivers and guardians, as together we work towards the public health-oriented goal of safely opening schools this fall," the spokesperson said.

President Trump has emphasized that he wants to see schools reopen their classrooms in the fall, but many teachers and parents have balked, concerned that children would spread the virus and get sick themselves. Trump complained on Twitter that the CDC's existing guidance was "too tough."

Vice President Pence had said as recently as Tuesday he anticipated guidance would be released later this week to help parents and schools grapple with whether — and how — to open this fall. Pence had said the CDC would release five new documents, including recommendations on screening for COVID-19 symptoms. The guidance was aimed at augmenting advice the agency released in March about social distancing and preventive measures in schools.

So.....they are going to wait until the week before school starts in some parts of the country to release guidelines? Inexcusable. And that's what leads to these endless contentious meetings across the country as school districts are left to figure it out for themselves.

[RZehr]

It’s hard to keep up with politics. Now the pro-choice are pro-life, and the pro-life are pro-choice.

[Grace]

Saw this on Facebook.

When I wear a mask in public:
-I want it to be known that I'm educated enough to know that I could be asymptomatic and still give the virus.
-No, I don't ′′ live in fear ′′ of the virus; I just want to be part of the solution, not the problem.
-I don't feel like the ′′ government is controlling me ". I feel like an adult contributing to society and I wish others would too.
-The world isn't about me. It's not just about me and my comfort.
-If we could all live thinking about others, the whole world would be a better place.
-Wearing a mask doesn't make me weak, scared, stupid or even ′′ controlled ". It makes me considerate.
-When you think about how you look, how uncomfortable it is or what other people think about you, imagine someone close - a child, a father, a mother, a grandfather, an aunt or uncle - wheezing to breathe, choking on a ventilator, alone, without any family allowed by their bedside.
-Ask yourself if at least you could have done it for them.

I do understand there are those who can not wear a mask for different reasons.

[Josh]

Perhaps the same logic behind masks could be applied to liberals when it comes to fornication and sodomy. They sure seem to only care about their own pleasure when it comes to spreading STDs, AIDS, and broken homes with fatherless children.

Perhaps we could go back to a national dress code too where in addition to wearing masks, people generally have to dress modestly and cover themselves up. That would have health benefits too.