Need some perspective
I'm starting to type; I suspect this might be a bit long, don't know yet.
First: don't let my post count fool you. I've been here since GWB, I think about 2002. I remember fondly the week's Top 10 Conservative Idiots, Bob B. I've never been a prolific poster; I suppose mostly a lurker. Reading here keeps me sane, knowing there's others who think and feel in similar ways. LBN is also a good news aggregator. So...on to the main topic.
I broke one of my cardinal rules last night. I engaged on Facebook. Let me step back; I'm aware of the general opinion on FB. I despise Zuckerberg. My family and friends are spread out, and whether I like it or not the platform allows me a window (however polished) into people's lives and a medium to share what's going on in ours if I choose. I value discourse, so I tend not to block too many people. I wish there was another platform. But this is where we are. So, if you're so inclined to weigh in, grant me the grace that I know many of you don't use or like the platform. I get it, and respect your decision.
Back to the main point: most of the time I skim right over the crap that annoys me. But not last night. I have friends and family in Wisconsin, I live a state away. Tony Evers is trying again to get people to mask up and I happened upon someone's feed. And I just couldn't take the utter idiocy. So I engaged.
What made me swallow the hook was a comment about kids getting lip and lung fungus because they have to wear masks. I mean, WTF? Lip fungus? My kids have had to wear masks since going back to school in late July (we go early here). No fungus here. And more importantly, my sample size of two is about as relevant as whatever this person's anecdotal evidence is/was. Maybe there were some isolated cases. It does not disprove anything about wearing a mask.
Next was an NIH quoted study where they looked at post-op infection rates of masked vs. unmasked surgeons. Putting aside the repugnant idea of an unmasked person looming over you with a scalpel, the sample size was < 3100. And post-op infections aren't respiratory infections. Apples aren't oranges.
Naturally, next was 'I hate being forced/I'm sick of being forced/two year olds are gross and you can't make them mask up'. M'kay, so as a society, we all accept there are certain things we're forced to do. Seatbelts. Driver's licenses. Maybe a pet license depending on your location and jurisdiction. Why are those things OK, but wearing a mask is *SO* terrible? Someone's three year old kid scratching their butt doesn't absolve you of being an adult and making sure you don't inadvertently spread a disease.
Where did this all leave me? First, it showed the divide that exists. Half the people responding obviously think along the same lines as me. The rest of of course, are on the 'other side'. But that's the part I just don't understand. Why is this such a thing for people? I get some people may have medical conditions that preclude wearing a mask (much like some people can't get vaccines), but for the majority of the population...I'm just at a loss.
When did we lose the ability to separate fact from anecdote? From shit sample sizes to ones that are actually statistically relevant?
Why is something so clearly awful not drawing people together (and not physically), but emotionally? I want to help other people. I don't want more people to get sick. I couldn't live with myself if I knew someone got sick because I didn't want to be 'forced' to wear a mask. Even if it's proven a mask is 1% effective, I'd rather err on the side of 1/100.
When did we lose the ability to -- frankly -- pull our heads out of our asses and give a damn about the people around us? I bet if I asked the arguers in this fun little dive I took most would claim proudly they're pro-life and yet therein lies another damn contradiction: they (apparently) don't give a shit if people get sick or die and f*ck the government for telling them to wear a mask, yet they want that same government to tell 1/2 the population what they can and can't do with their bodies.
I'm angry. I'm tired of sitting silently with this. Something so simple, and it's been used to divide us yet another way.
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