Your stance on wearing masks?

[Bloodflowers]

I don't wear a mask. I have my reasons and concerns. Ever thought about long term mental health? I've seen that it's mentally gimped peoples self esteem and has made them severely depressed. When was the last time you saw someone smile? That's why I still live like I lived in 2019. I smile and act compassionate when I can. Smiles are literal gold dust in current times. Let that sink in.

I live with severe depression, anxiety and complex PTSD so I know all about mental health problems unfortunately. I’m sorry if you are suffering. But the only way we will be rid of this situation is for everyone to cooperate. That’s showing compassion.

 

[Croconaw]

I don't wear a mask. I have my reasons and concerns. Ever thought about long term mental health? I've seen that it's mentally gimped peoples self esteem and has made them severely depressed. When was the last time you saw someone smile? That's why I still live like I lived in 2019. I smile and act compassionate when I can. Smiles are literal gold dust in current times. Let that sink in.

I agree that these are depressing times we are living in. It’s almost hard to remember how things were like before COVID-19. It’s become more of a pro-mask, anti-mask, pro-vaccine, anti-vaccine war. I’d say debate, but it’s gone past that. It’s both sides attacking each other and it’s basically a distraction at this point.

 

[G0DFlesh_88]

I dont mind wearing a mask to go to the stores or in crowded places. I rather wear a mask than get vaccinate tbh lol

 

[Imbri]

I'm fully vaccinated, and my state has lifted all restrictions. I still keep a mask in the car and will throw it on when going into a store, especially crowded areas - grocery shopping, for instance. I'll probably pull them out again next winter, because I liked not getting the flu (got the vaccine, but I've still got it late in the season before), a cold, or pollen affecting me as much as usual.

Plus, it kept my face warm during the colder parts of winter.

 

[KnoxUK]

I live with severe depression, anxiety and complex PTSD so I know all about mental health problems unfortunately. I’m sorry if you are suffering. But the only way we will be rid of this situation is for everyone to cooperate. That’s showing compassion.

I'm sorry to hear about your health, it's completely wrong how this situation has been brought upon us. As much as I want to agree with you, you need to understand that people originally complied. I remember here in the UK it was only 2 weeks to bend the curve. That was a year and a half ago. Has it gotten more restrictive or less over time? The goal posts keep moving. Let's say everyone complied. What's stopping the news and media lying? People would be none the wiser. That's why I'm living the way that I do. I think it's evil with all this emotional blackmail and belittlement to comply to these rules. If I was over there I would hug you Taengoo.

Post automatically merged: Jun 8, 2021

I agree that these are depressing times we are living in. It’s almost hard to remember how things were like before COVID-19. It’s become more of a pro-mask, anti-mask, pro-vaccine, anti-vaccine war. I’d say debate, but it’s gone past that. It’s both sides attacking each other and it’s basically a distraction at this point.

It's become incredible divisive and dogmatic. Especially when it's affected family. I'm the only one who's sceptical about this whole ordeal in my family and they are incredibly dogmatic and belittling. However I still love them, you basically have to be firm and try and be the best person you can be. I don't like how this situation has basically become people's identities.

 

[Lavamaize]

I don't wear a mask. I have my reasons and concerns. Ever thought about long term mental health? I've seen that it's mentally gimped peoples self esteem and has made them severely depressed. When was the last time you saw someone smile? That's why I still live like I lived in 2019. I smile and act compassionate when I can. Smiles are literal gold dust in current times. Let that sink in.

What about the long term mental health issues for people who have lost family members/friends to Covid-19 becuase some decided not to wear a mask? I'm not attacking you or anything, smiling can do wonders, but it is a severly flawed argument when it is said that a smile could do more than wearing a mask.

 

[sleepydreepy]

I don't wear a mask. I have my reasons and concerns. Ever thought about long term mental health? I've seen that it's mentally gimped peoples self esteem and has made them severely depressed. When was the last time you saw someone smile? That's why I still live like I lived in 2019. I smile and act compassionate when I can. Smiles are literal gold dust in current times. Let that sink in.

my grandma literally got covid and died last year because caretakers in her nursing home did not wear masks or follow other sanitary regulations. I don't care about seeing "people smile" and only care about my grandma's smile which I will never see again thanks to people like you.

sorry to get aggressive but comments like this just make me so angry because you have no respect for other people, especially those who are immunocompromised. As I mentioned in my previous post, my mom also has a chronic medical condition which has left her more at risk for serious complications (death) if she got covid. before the vaccine my family and I rarely left the house to protect her. I would only go out if it was absolutely necessary, and when I did I would almost have panic attacks seeing people without masks because I was so afraid of my mom getting sick.

 

[Croconaw]

It's become incredible divisive and dogmatic. Especially when it's affected family. I'm the only one who's sceptical about this whole ordeal in my family and they are incredibly dogmatic and belittling. However I still love them, you basically have to be firm and try and be the best person you can be. I don't like how this situation has basically become people's identities.

My only problem with the masks and the vaccine is the mandates. I don’t believe the government should be so involved in people’s lives. It’s not even anything to do with the vaccine or masks, but just mandates in general. I always thought good ideas shouldn’t need to be mandatory. It’s one thing if you’re going out of the country, but not if you’re just working and living a normal life.

I don’t have a problem if people choose to be vaccinated to protect others, but there should be a line drawn with how much power the government actually has. I mentioned the traveling thing because some travel shots are already required to travel certain places, so the COVID-19 vaccine requirement is obviously inevitable at this point. I do foresee certain jobs maybe requiring the vaccine, but not exactly every job. People need to work in order to survive, and requiring us to do something with our body in order to receive a source of income doesn’t sound right at all. Other shots aren’t required to get jobs, so this shouldn’t be any different.

I honestly believe without the mandates, people will do what’s best for them and others. You could make the argument that there weren’t mandates at first and people weren’t wearing the masks, but the government messed up when they made it required. That’s how it turned into an anti-mask, pro-mask war. I didn’t see any bashing before the mandates. Again, I’m not even sure if we’d be in a better place now had there not been mandates, but we’ll never know. I saw many people complying with wearing masks before every store made it mandatory.

 

[-Lumi-]

I honestly believe without the mandates, people will do what’s best for them and others. You could make the argument that there weren’t mandates at first and people weren’t wearing the masks, but the government messed up when they made it required. That’s how it turned into an anti-mask, pro-mask war. I didn’t see any bashing before the mandates. Again, I’m not even sure if we’d be in a better place now had there not been mandates, but we’ll never know. I saw many people complying with wearing masks before every store made it mandatory.

I’ve snipped your message down because it's easier for me to reply this way.

I wholeheartedly believe that mask mandates were necessary. We didn't have the mask mandates in Canada until summer last year, I believe? From March-summer the masks were "recommended" but not mandated. Barely anybody wore them. I would go to a shop and see a handful of people wearing masks but that was it. Wearing a mask needed to be mandated and they made that decision by looking at the number of people who chose not to wear a mask before it was required. If people are given the option to not wear a mask a lot of people will stop in a heart beat because that's the easier option. Not the safer option, not the smarter option, the easier option.

It turned into an anti-mask vs pro-mask "war" because people are being ridiculous. I'm sorry to be rude but they are. Being mandated to wear a mask during a global pandemic is not impeding on your rights anymore than driving drunk being illegal is. Driving while drunk (or under the influence of alcohol) is a dangerous, self centered, self serving position and it is rightfully illegal. It doesn't matter if the person has a drivers license and is driving a car that they bought themselves - driving while under the influence is dangerous and so it is illegal.

Going out to stores, the movie theatre, sitting on a plane - being in close proximity to people when you're not wearing a mask is dangerous. "But I'm not sick!" You could be and not know it. You could be asymptomatic and never show symptoms or you could be spreading covid before the symptoms become present. You don't know if you're spreading covid the same way a drunk driver doesn't actually know that they won't hit somebody when they get behind the wheel of a car. It is reckless, dangerous, and selfish. You wear a mask to protect others.

You may have saw many people comply with the mask before the mandates but the vast majority of people are only wearing them because they're mandated. They needed to see it become more than a recommendation before they took it seriously enough to wear one.

I don't wear a mask. I have my reasons and concerns. Ever thought about long term mental health? I've seen that it's mentally gimped peoples self esteem and has made them severely depressed. When was the last time you saw someone smile? That's why I still live like I lived in 2019. I smile and act compassionate when I can. Smiles are literal gold dust in current times. Let that sink in.

My mental health is not being negatively impacted by a lack of smiles. That is incredibly self centered of you to believe that your smile is worth more than another persons health. Your need to show your smile could be the reason somebody gets sick, could be the reason somebody loses a loved one - those are the things that negatively impact a persons mental health. The global pandemic is hard and there are a lot of reasons for a person to be struggling mentally but not seeing somebody at the grocery store smile? That isn't it.

Furthermore if you really intend to argue this aspect of it - when I am grocery shopping I can still tell when somebody is smiling. Their eyes crinkle. Their voice is chipper. We are still interacting. I am still aware that they are happy in the moment. People are home with their families (and if they're not most places are allowing single person households to meet up with one other household), or they have the ability to video call with friends. They can see them smile that way. The smile of a stranger is not more important than the health of another person. Smiling at strangers during a global pandemic is not saving lives. Wearing masks, getting vaccinated (if you're able! If you aren't able to get vaccinated then that's all the more reason to wear a mask), doing your part to stop the spread of Covid, that is what's saving lives.

 

[KnoxUK]

What about the long term mental health issues for people who have lost family members/friends to Covid-19 becuase some decided not to wear a mask? I'm not attacking you or anything, smiling can do wonders, but it is a severly flawed argument when it is said that a smile could do more than wearing a mask.

The thing is how do you know that Covid19 was the cause of their death, they could have died from a magnitude of issues such as heart disease or a form of cancer, or any other hidden illness or age. Then to be found to have covid19 upon inspection. Masks do more harm than good especially wearing them long term. How does breathing in your own carbon dioxide make you healthy exactly? It'd make you sick. Believe you me, I've seen people standing in the freezing cold rain with masks on, or have smoked a cigarette then quickly put back on a mask. I feel that they must really want to get ill because the levels of stupidity is baffling sometimes.

 

[Croconaw]

The thing is how do you know that Covid19 was the cause of their death, they could have died from a magnitude of issues such as heart disease or a form of cancer, or any other hidden illness or age. Then to be found to have covid19 upon inspection. Masks do more harm than good especially wearing them long term. How does breathing in your own carbon dioxide make you healthy exactly? It'd make you sick. Believe you me, I've seen people standing in the freezing cold rain with masks on, or have smoked a cigarette then quickly put back on a mask. I feel that they must really want to get ill because the levels of stupidity is baffling sometimes.

Nothing is ever certain. I don’t think you can really conclude the cause of one’s death. People will believe what they want to believe in regards to how someone died. I think it’s dumb how in restaurants you need to wear a mask to be seated, but you take it off to eat. Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of wearing the mask inside? Even at work during eight hour shifts, you pull your mask down to take a sip of your drink. If you’ve got the virus, it will spread in that split second the mask was pulled down to take a drink. Masks may stop the spread, but it’s really not efficient if you pull it down momentarily to eat or drink.

 

[KnoxUK]

Nothing is ever certain. I don’t think you can really conclude the cause of one’s death. People will believe what they want to believe in regards to how someone died. I think it’s dumb how in restaurants you need to wear a mask to be seated, but you take it off to eat. Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of wearing the mask inside? Even at work during eight hour shifts, you pull your mask down to take a sip of your drink. If you’ve got the virus, it will spread in that split second the mask was pulled down to take a drink. Masks may stop the spread, but it’s really not efficient if you pull it down momentarily to eat or drink.

You see what I mean, nothing makes sense. That's why I refuse to do it. I feel that it's basically dog training at this point, governments seeing how much power they can get away with. If the whole mask and vaccine was as good as they say it is then this should have been over quickly right? Instead there's mentions of variants and boosters shots, like give me a break. I just want to get on with life you know?

 

[fairysyndrome]

DOG TRAINING? you think the vaccine and mask requirements are akin to DOG TRAINING? is this a psychology 101 class? are you ivan pavlov?

i can't believe i have to say something in this same vein a second time in the same thread, but the reason things aren't over quickly is because not enough people are vaccinated. not because the vaccine doesn't work. in case you have forgotten, this is a global pandemic, and easy vaccination access isn't available for a large portion of the world. here is a map of the world (that was updated today), posted by NYT:

did you know there are plenty of countries who haven't had access to vaccines at all? amidst a global pandemic? how 'bout that!

Even within countries with higher vaccination access and rates, the United States alone still only has about 42% of the population fully vaccinated. Less than half the country.

 

[IonicKarma]

You see what I mean, nothing makes sense. That's why I refuse to do it. I feel that it's basically dog training at this point, governments seeing how much power they can get away with. If the whole mask and vaccine was as good as they say it is then this should have been over quickly right? Instead there's mentions of variants and boosters shots, like give me a break. I just want to get on with life you know?

It's not "over quickly" because there's a number of people who refuse to get the vaccine, thus preventing even countries with high amount of vaccines from reaching the threshold of herd immunity where the virus can die off naturally. I'm sure you must realize how hard it is to give an entire country of people the vaccine right?

What makes you think this is the government trying to see what they can get away with. What exactly would the government be gaining from giving away free vaccines to the general public, they aren't even making a profit out of it? I'm genuinely curious.

 

[Sheep Villager]

I debated posting at all but seeing the carbon dioxide argument which went around a lot during the start of the pandemic be brought up.

If re-breathing in your own carbon dioxide was a major health risk, how are all our surgeons and doctors still kicking? They all wear masks more or less non-stop during shifts, even before the pandemic. Think about how long something like say, a heart operation takes. I'd wager that's a lot longer than it takes for you to get your groceries & they do this daily for years on end.

I can't change peoples views on masks but I just wanted to point this out to maybe make people who might see that theory think twice. There's already so much misinformation out there.​

 

[Trent the Paladin]

Got vaccinated, still wearing a mask since my little brother can’t get it yet. My state dropped the mandate for vaccinated people but so far i’ve only seen cases go back up at work now. 8 coworkers all out since it got dropped. Gonna keep wearing it, no desire to smile at customers because frankly I don’t get paid to smile.

 

[tiffanistarr]

Got vaccinated, still wearing a mask since my little brother can’t get it yet. My state dropped the mandate for vaccinated people but so far i’ve only seen cases go back up at work now. 8 coworkers all out since it got dropped. Gonna keep wearing it, no desire to smile at customers because frankly I don’t get paid to smile.

Same! i live with my 10yr old nephew and if he can tough it out until he gets vaccinated then i can as well! I hear all the time, “you’re fully vaccinated, you don’t have to wear it.” Well, I have a child at home who is not so no deal. I feel confident in some places, but other places I'm still going to wear it.

 

[daringred_]

i avoided this thread for so long because i knew there were going to be people commenting that would just make me angry, but i have to say something because this last page especially is ridiculous.

mandates are no different to laws. the argument that a "good idea shouldn't have to be mandated because everyone will do it" is ludicrous. if you made murder legal, more people would do it even though it's not a good idea. if you made getting a vaccine optional, less people would do it even though that's not a good idea.

wearing a mask on its own is almost definitely not going to impede mental health. i'm severely depressed. i have been since i was 12. it's gotten worse during the pandemic, yes, but not because i had to wear a piece of cloth on my face. it was because of lockdowns and being isolated and not being able to see my doctor or my girlfriend, restrictions that will continue to be an issue so long as there are people who refuse to cooperate because, what, big brother is watching? because they don't want to? because of some self-imposed idea about free will? give me a break.

if you can't see people smile because of a mask, you're not looking hard enough. people smile with their eyes. with their actions and their voices. kindness and compassion are everywhere if you pay attention, and right now it starts with wearing a mask and getting yourself vaccinated so we can protect each other.

i got my first vaccine last friday. i can't wait to get my second. i still wear a mask when i go into stores, and i will continue to wear one when i'm fully vaccinated. until everyone else who can be has been and this whole pandemic is under control. i won't put other people at risk just because, what, it's a little easier? no. people's lives are more important to me than a little bit of convenience.

 

[oath2order]

The mandates dropped and now I don't wesr them anywhere unless a business clearly says "required". I'm fully vaccinated and the science says that I don't need to wear them. I trust the science.

**** masks they suck.

 

[a potato]

Anyone who chooses not to wear a mask is selfish. End of story.