It’s just super frustrating seeing people who are supposedly my brothers and sisters, who I’ve been there to the hilt, who know that my partner is struggling, who know that I’m terrified. We’ve gone through the science and racial and class inequalities together and they’ve voiced how they should mask a hundred times. And then they come to meet me IRL totally fucking unmasked, without even a fucking apology.

Well, if you’re “back to normal”, I’ll sit and watch you eat outside, but I’m not taking my mask off in front of you. I’ll wait till you finish your meal, and I’ll head home early. If I’ve complained about no masking two times already, you heard it enough, I’m not going to complain again.

Am I overreacting?

Edit: for those of griping that you’re not allowed to do COVID minimisation in this comm. These would be valid answer:

  • Maybe your friend forgot
  • Maybe your friend was tired
  • Maybe your friend was hung over
  • Your friend made a mistake but you should forgive him
  • I’m not yet fully covid conscious, but I’m trying
  • We can’t all be perfect. Hopefully they do better next time.

Not acceptable:

  • Oh here’s a tidbit about masks that’s been disproven in the science literature 10x already
  • Oh the chuds and libs aren’t masking, and I feel peer pressured
  • JoeByeThen [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    blob-no bugs-no

    Anyone out there who has gone “back to normal” when:

    1. Covid obviously isn’t over and researchers are out there pointing out we’re heading towards disaster.
    2. We watched them sociologically end the pandemic in real time at the request of businesses, completely at odds with science.
    3. Immunocompromised folks are literally out there begging people to mask and not abandon them the way the government has.

    Is a LIB Full Stop.

  • Chronicon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    My local anti-corporate anti-cop, etc alt. pride event was masks-required and it really re-opened my eyes in a way. I still have masks, and try to use them in crowded places or if I feel off, but I’ve been slipping and I didn’t know a single person who is still masking like, on the daily. So going and seeing hey, here’s several thousand people (minimum) and all are masking, almost all with n/kn95, was really nice to see and makes me want to be more vigilant.

    I don’t think you’re at all wrong to be disappointed. These aren’t random people, these are people who know you, know your situation, and still can’t just like, put a mask in their bag and wear it to see you? The whole “fear of covid” angle that libs love to take is bullshit. You don’t have to be afraid of something to take a basic precaution. I’m not afraid to ride my bike, even though statistically there’s a risk that I get maimed or killed by a car every time I ride it. But I do still usually wear a helmet (and n/kn95 masks straight up are probably more effective than helmets if some research I’ve seen is to be believed.) It’s not “fear” (or lack thereof) causing people not to mask, just social pressure and laziness.

  • ObamaSama [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    I can understand the sentiment that Covid is “over” since absolutely nobody takes it seriously or takes any preventative measures now. The media has completely stopped reporting on it and the CDC has even stopped counting COVID related deaths. Society seems to have decided to just move on, consequences be damned.

    However, it still hurts every time I hear people completely dismiss it as a thing of the past when my own mother fucking died from it just six months ago. Yeah, please let her know that it’s over and not to worry, that’s what killed her. Sure, the average young healthy person has been vaccinated and/or already had it multiple times so it’s no big deal to them but there are still a LOT of other at risk groups that could easily die. It’s not like the virus has been eradicated, we’ve just collectively decided that those people’s lives are worth less than going to a packed Taylor swift concert.

    So no, it’s not unreasonable at all to ask your friends to show some basic fucking respect and wear a mask around you and your partner. People are still dying from covid every day so I don’t question the validity of your concern in the slightest. If your friends are actual comrades and capable of understanding the way Covid deaths have been politicized perhaps a gentle reminder that the current administration is doing its best to sweep ongoing Covid deaths under the rug to give Biden a “win” would help

    • ButtBidet [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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      5 months ago

      I’m so sorry about your mum. Ya COVID was the thing that killed my father. I just assume that it was the family Christmas that did it.

  • nothx [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    NOPE! While I try not to actively show it, I do harbor resentment towards my friends who have gone “back to normal”. The main difference is that my friends are mostly libs, so its not unexpected or surprising, but still frustrating and sad.

    • ButtBidet [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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      5 months ago

      While I try not to actively show it, I do harbor resentment towards my friends who have gone “back to normal”.

      This is exactly me. Although I did have a small community of left people who all masked, but it seems to be deteriorating. Now the only one I can trust is my partner. I guess I’m lucky in that regards.

      • nothx [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        5 months ago

        Yup, my partner is also the only person that is on the same page as me. Neither of us will do indoor dining at restaurants, we mask in pretty much all public areas, we are still buying tests and using them when we feel off… The next closest people are out best friends, but even they will go to a restaurant on occasion. However, at least they respect our stance and will accomodate and understand our positions.

        The world seems to be shrinking and I am lucky enough to have a partner who agrees with me, I’ve seen couples that are at odds with each other over COVID and I don’t really understand how they overcome that. Not only the COVID part, but the fundamental differences in general at that point…

  • fart [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    masks are a good litmus test cuz it’s something that actually makes a material difference at the cost of your social capital and looking cool. Really easy to see what people value more. I know so many people that love posting radical stuff on instagram but somehow cant put on a mask.

    • Shinhoshi
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      Not to mention the fact that it takes only a few seconds of effort. It’s much less effort than voting, for instance.

    • wild_dog [they/them]@hexbear.net
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      masks are a good litmus test cuz it’s something that actually makes a material difference at the cost of your social capital and looking cool.

      i disagree bc you can make wearing a mask look good (especially if you wear a cloth one over a n95.) that’s one of the things that annoys me about people not masking, it’s actually a really good accessory if you put a little thought into it (and you know, it helps saves lives.)

      • ButtBidet [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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        5 months ago

        I don’t suggest wearing a cloth mask over an N95, sadly. If you prevent air flow out the mask, it’ll go through the sides.

        Edit:I could be wrong if your cloth mask is very breathable tho.

  • Ildsaye [they/them]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    Disability solidarity defines the left just as surely as Palestine solidarity or trans solidarity. Unchecked covid will make everyone disabled over time, and unchecked health chauvinism will make it easier to forget those who drop out of public life, whether by developing debilitating long covid conditions (acknowledged as such or not), or by adopting lonely precautions, or both.

    Also masking makes it less simple for cops and cameras to ID you, and can be an accessible and immediate source of relief for trans people who want to conceal unwanted puberty effects on their face. The more people stubbornly mask, the more cover is offered to the most exposed and vulnerable, along multiple intersections.

    When you wear a mask, you’re wearing communism. When you refuse to wear a mask, you’re wearing the emperor’s new clothes point-and-laugh-1point-and-laugh-2

  • AssortedBiscuits [they/them]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    There are people on this very website who sit inside the Covid death traps called movie theaters to watch their slop and expect you to just ignore the fact that they’re sitting in the Covid death trap. They can’t even patiently wait a couple of months to watch a pirated copy of the slop. No, they insist on sitting in the Covid death trap to watch their slop.

    Forget the outside world, Covid normalization has thoroughly penetrated even here. Just look at all the posts that are being removed in this very thread.

    • MaoTheLawn [any, any]@hexbear.net
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      really… We’re calling cinemas COVID death traps? Most movies I go to have no more than 10-15 people in the hundred seat auditorium.

      The last COVID rates in the UK Winter period were 1.6%. The chances of one of them being in your proximity at a dying cinema is not very high.

      • barrbaric [he/him]@hexbear.netM
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        Unless you know the theatre’s ventilation specs, yes, they’re an indoor public place and should be avoided. Immunocompromised people can still die of COVID, and regular people can still get long COVID even from mild cases. In March 2024, 17 million americans reported currently having long COVID, with disproportionately high numbers among trans people and disabled people.

        As for case numbers, if it’s anything like the US, the testing and reporting infrastructure has been completely destroyed, which leads to there being fewer cases on paper. I’d say to look at wastewater data to get a better idea of levels of COVID in the general population, but it looks like the UK hasn’t done that in 2 years.

        • MaoTheLawn [any, any]@hexbear.net
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          5 months ago

          I was actually very surprised by the numbers. I had assumed it was a lot worse because I get most of my COVID news from Hexbear. I’m no expert, but judging by their methodology I felt it seemed like a fair test. The rate has fluctuated across the different seasons. Up and down. It just tracks with my lived experience: I had COVID non-stop a few years ago - I’d get it again near the end of my vaccine/natural immunity period every time. I haven’t had it for almost a year now. It’s the same for a lot of people around me too.

          Perhaps the wool is being pulled over my eyes by business and the state. I don’t know.

            • MaoTheLawn [any, any]@hexbear.net
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              5 months ago

              Again, I don’t mean to be a debatebro, and I will check out those sources youre talking about, but I am asthmatic and COVID does fuck me up pretty bad. I would say I have a good chance of knowing when I’ve got it and when I don’t. My mother also has autoimmune liver disease so takes immunosuppressants, and again, hasn’t had COVID in a long time. It nearly kills her when she gets it.

              PCR’s near me cost about £1.80 per test… The NHS might be in a bad state but the UK is not as ravenous as the US.

              I’ve probably just built up some immunity though, true. I’m sure it’ll reap my lungs in the future.

      • ButtBidet [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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        5 months ago

        To build on what Ivysaur said, the UK government published that Corbyn was a massive anti-semite and that trans health care is bad. Oh let’s not forget the war on terror.

    • ButtBidet [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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      Covid death traps called movie theaters

      You are right. I just care must less since I personally can avoid theatres. There are so many things that I used to do regularly before 2020 that I’ve just stopped forever. And honestly, I’m mostly fine for it.

  • Rojo27 [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    Honestly, if its people that know your situation and you’ve pointed it out multiple time and they still go meet you unmasked, then no. Its not weird to be disappointed.

  • macabrett[they/them]@lemmy.ml
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    5 months ago

    nah I’m extremely disappointed too

    I don’t get in fights about it anymore, but I think I’ve just sort of slipped into a general depression over it all

    • ButtBidet [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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      Lol I do that too. I have a lot of socdems in my org who are getting into Marx for the first time, or reading Chomsky. God I want to push Lenin and Parenti on them.