At this exact time last year I was headed home from my parents house in TN with positive Covid test in hand (a very odd disease). I’m back in TN again visiting family and I am very thankful for the opportunity to spend time with loved ones. I am lucky that most of my family and friends don’t live in abject fear of Covid and vaccination status doesn’t trump get-togethers.
I really appreciate your rational arguments based on science and I wish more people would at least attempt to look into things rather than just be spoon fed by the media. There are real ways to keep yourself safe and healthy and those things are never promoted by the media. The constant fear, panic and worry are horrendous for your immune system.
Overall I think people desire to be heard and that best happens in intimate one on one conversations. It is very important to have someone to talk to and a lot of people are suffering from loneliness and depression (also bad for the immune system). I am cautiously optimistic for 2022 - Happy New Year!
It's definitely a different world out there. Even travelling to different counties and seeing places where there are still no masks mandate is almost a night/day situation.
It's such a shame that most media reports aren't just that, but instead have to push some type of message. It's never just information but has to have some type of narrative attached to it. It definitely isn't healthy. I've reached the point where any family member that mentions constant fear porn I just comment if they feel good from reading all of those media headlines. People believe they are being informed when they are barely informed but also fearful, causing them to act more on emotion than using logic and reason.
It's a struggle, but trying to engage in conversations and disabusing misinformation is the best way to reach out to people and understand that there's a lot going on that really doesn't make sense.
I wish all the best to you and let's see what 2022 brings! Stay optimistic, and happy New Year!
I appreciate this post so much. I teach bioethics and from the beginning I have watched in horror as the pandemic gets mismanaged — but despite all of it, I have maintained my sanity. I rolled with the punches (online teaching, mask mandates, lockdowns, the ridiculous rules at work). For nearly two years I have remained strong…until this past week, when my university announced another round of mandatory vaccines (deadline: February 28, which is predictably past the omicron surge…) to “protect us from omicron.” I fell to my knees and screamed until my lungs hurt, because I cannot take anymore intrusions into my bodily autonomy, I cannot continue to pump my body with a substance that may or may not have long-term side-effects for an illness that is indistinguishable from the sniffles, but I cannot afford to give up my career. I felt defeated and helpless. My helplessness turned to anger — anger at my liberal friends who voted against the recall, anger at their willingness to buy into the fear propaganda, anger at their trust in the mainstream media and the regulatory agencies that have been so obviously captured. But then I realized that if I acted on that anger, I would be doing exactly what they want us to do: to be divided, to scapegoat and fear each other. The most radical shit we can do right now is to redirect our anger and frustration to the assholes who have orchestrated this mess and to refuse to give into the hate.
It's absolutely horrifying seeing everything that is going on. So many people put up with the first round of vaccines, and now that many people are being mandated to get boosters I think people are having a sudden realization that there's a good chance things may not end soon. I do get angry at people. I see many people that I want to lash out at and call them idiots for really not seeing what's happening.
But It really does no good to stew in those negative emotions, especially if it causes us to act irrationally because of emotions. It's important to stay grounded, reason with evidence and rationale and try to find a way to have discussions with people.
I wish you all the best! Hopefully you can find people who may be brave enough to come together and fight back against these mandates. Please don't feel helpless, and know many people are in your situation. If people come together hopefully we can find a way to end the madness.
As for now, please enjoy your New Year, and let's hope that things will turn around soon!
I appreciate your comment immensely as I also face the end of a 25 year career over booster mandates. I’ve already had Covid and went through with the vaccine in order to keep my job and I will not continue to do this indefinitely. It’s a horrible situation to face but it’s true - our anger needs to be directed at the source of this insanity and not at our fellow human beings however duped they may be. Best wishes in your fight against your employer.
All the best to you as well Clarisse! So many people are realizing the amount of encroachment that the government and pharmaceutical industries are having into our lives. At some point the wall needs to break and I hope we reach that point soon.
Have a happy New Year and let's try to stay optimistic!
It definitely is. It's so much easier to act impulsively than to act rationally. In those moments it's best to reassess and gain some introspection, which is what many of us will need if we are to move forward.
I'm a little disappointed with the judgment in your post, given that you have previously called for more empathy towards differing viewpoints. Of course the constantly fluctuating messaging from "authorities" is very confusing, which is even more reason why we should be empathetic towards different viewpoints - from people who are ready for the pandemic to be over, to people who think they might die if they catch covid (both sides, and everything in between, can find evidence to support their way of thinking).
I found it particularly bothersome that you take issue with masking behaviors of people when eating. Given that there is no clear consensus on what viral load it takes to seed infection in individuals (varies by person, air circulation, etc), it makes sense that the simple way to view the problem is exposure = airborne concentration * time. Thus, wearing a high filtration mask whenever not actively eating makes a lot of sense, in that you decrease the time that you breathe in or out a large concentration of particles. Even a few minutes could make a difference depending on viral concentration in the air and individual tolerance. Of course there is no evidence that this makes a drastic difference in infection risk, but also no evidence that it does not. We simply haven't gotten that nuanced with studies, and probably never will. In that case, I definitely would urge you to err on the side of empathy rather than judgment, as you previously recommended. There could be a logical rationale to this behavior, and it possibly could help especially when dining indoors in close vicinity to others in an enclosed space. That, combined with the constant guidance to "wear a mask at all times when not eating" - to me, that isn't "bizarre" behavior, it's just people trying to be cognizant of guidance that they believe (even if you don't) will help.
That brings me to my second point - if people wish to believe they might get omicron and die, that's also a viewpoint to be empathetic towards. Just as we are empathetic towards those that fear vaccination due to the rare risk of side effects, we should also be empathetic towards those who fear covid for the small risk of death. Perhaps they lost someone close to them, or have had to care for people dying from covid related complications. If these people don't want their life to return to normal and wish to continue taking precautions, that is a view I can completely stand behind. Even if death is not the fear here, I think it's completely fine for people simply to not want to get sick and be willing to make sacrifices (such as not returning to "normal" and taking "bizarre" actions), and that is a choice individuals can make. I don't think you should judge them for it, or let that depress you. Family members scared of covid and wanting to mask their children also deserve empathy too, especially since they are trying to do the right thing. At the end of the day, they're not your children, and once you have made your views known, it's up to the parents to decide what their risk tolerance for their own family will be. The science is NOT clear cut on anything in this pandemic, and opposing papers come out every single day - you write on them a lot, so I'm sure you can imagine the confusion for people who don't have time to follow every development carefully but just want to do what they feel is common sense to protect their loved ones. Thus, as you mentioned in a previous post, the importance of empathy.
Tldr; a little empathy and a little less judgment for people on all sides of this debate. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and have a happy new year!
Thanks for your response and I understand where you're coming from.
From my perspective everyone takes some level of risk, and it's the balancing of risk that I tend to have an issue with. Those who go out with the idea of knowing they may get sick it's one thing, but at the point where we may begin engaging in "masking between bites" type of behavior I would assume that the best option would not risk going out and would prefer staying at home. I guess that's where some of my problems are. I do empathize with people who are concerned, but at the point at which the behaviors seem inconsistent would it be better to engage in inconsistent behavior or to avoid the public in general? It's the lack of consistency; if we are unaware of viral load in the air and how much has been inhaled it seems better to avoid that concern entirely.
As for masks and children, we do have evidence that children tend to fare better with COVID. We are seeing a rise in cases in children, but testing of children are becoming more widespread, especially with these "test to stay" procedures sprouting up in schools. Then with hospitalization, Dr. Fauci has admitted that many of these cases are likely to be incidental i.e. a kid enters the hospital for another reason, needs to be tested for COVID due to hospital procedures, and ends up testing positive. I wouldn't have issues with masking if we have engaged in a risk assessment there as well, and yet it doesn't seem to be the case. Children are suffering far more mental health issues and difficulties learning. It's also very difficult to learn emotional cues/understand empathy themselves without the ability to access external facial expressions. So from my own personal perspective the downsides of masking children are mounting more than the benefits. I haven't seen the Arizona masking study the CDC used, but many people have commented on the issues with that study so I will not judge the study for myself. The US is also one of the only countries in the world who are masking children, with many countries citing some of the points I have made above.
In the end, I hope people choose to behave in a manner they best see fit without bothering anyone else. However, I would hope that there is some consistency, but I will also argue that there are plenty of people who are well-intentioned and I can understand why people may be concerned. Hopefully this adds some more perspective from my end.
I appreciate you taking the time to expand on your initial post. I fail to see why choosing to go out but wanting to minimize risk while doing so is somehow "inconsistent". It is inconsistent with a hardline black-and-white view of covid in which everything one does must minimize risk, or in which one does nothing to minimize risk. However, I would like to think everyone falls in a grey area there. You can't mitigate all risk, and some things are worth taking a risk for (i.e. spending time with family for the holidays), but minimizing risk through utilizing different measures doesn't suddenly make someone a hypocrite or somehow "inconsistent" in their actions. Similarly, someone who is in favor of lifting all restrictions and mandates and thinks health guidance is a sham still might move to be far away from someone who is actively coughing/sick. Basically, I am a little confused as to why you think that minimizing risk to a degree that someone is comfortable would be inconsistent behavior.
I'm not arguing with any of your points regarding masking children. All I'm saying is that everyone has been bombarded with data and studies, and all of these studies have issues inherent in study design and data collection. What each person chooses to believe is up to them, and as you said, we should be empathetic and allow them to be as they are without bothering anyone - or pushing our views upon them. At least those are my thoughts - I respect that you have strong opinions on many of these topics, as do many other people. Hopefully we can all still empathize with each other!
No I understand it's not an argument. We each gave our own perspective and we're seeing where the differences lie. It's how proper discourse should happen!
So I will say that I did begin writing this around Wednesday after having a more disheartening scenario and so this really was going to be part of an emotional driven rant, which honestly would be hypocritical of me. It wasn't until I started writing it that I started to reassess and so I end on that more optimistic note.
Things definitely exist in a grey zone. Talking with someone outside would be very minimal risk while going to a crowded club or party will cause some problems. But in those instances the understanding may be that some mitigation strategies are better suited for certain areas. Going to a crowded place there's a caveat that masks are not likely to be effective as it may become a hotbed of virus due to being enclosed and heavily populated. If I was concerned I can rationalize deciding to order takeout rather than dining in, but to eat out and try to weigh out the risks and analyze the situation while out seems more difficult than to really just decide to not eat out. Overall as long it doesn't really hurt someone I see no problem, but also hope that these people will not be surprised if they may end up sick.
And with the masking of children I am of the same idea that parents should be able to make the assessment for themselves. However, most school districts don't provide that opportunity and instead have taken an authoritarian stance to the point that children are expected to eat outdoors. I have even seen it happen at an elementary school near my house. If parents were concerned I would hope that they had the ability to keep their children home while those who are willing to take the risk allow their children to go in person without masks. Unfortunately most areas aren't allowing people to make decisions, especially when we neglect other parts of a child's welfare.
We all have our own perspectives and it's always about finding where the differences lie where we can try to empathize.
thanks for this post. the contradictory/fluctuating messaging (regarding covid management or protection), taking sides (politically, on a medical issue), and fearful news is exhausting. Combine that with economic and social pressures..... passes the human psyche's tolerance. I do what I can to wake from the pseudo arguments that rob my peace of mind... and largely restricted news to printed 'dry' sources (read- not histrionic) so i know whats happening without the trauma. I am hopeful, but acknowledge (Im a mental health provider) I have to lean on self-care more than ever before to not get sucked into this vortex.
It really is difficult to just get clear posts and evidence, and part of me wonders if some of these are done intentionally. And I definitely understand the need for self-care, especially the need to avoid histrionics and possibly social media in general. Twitter has helped me find many studies to examine, but it also leads down the rabbit hole of histrionics. Have that occur from all over and it makes it easy to go at each other's throats over nearly everything.
At this exact time last year I was headed home from my parents house in TN with positive Covid test in hand (a very odd disease). I’m back in TN again visiting family and I am very thankful for the opportunity to spend time with loved ones. I am lucky that most of my family and friends don’t live in abject fear of Covid and vaccination status doesn’t trump get-togethers.
I really appreciate your rational arguments based on science and I wish more people would at least attempt to look into things rather than just be spoon fed by the media. There are real ways to keep yourself safe and healthy and those things are never promoted by the media. The constant fear, panic and worry are horrendous for your immune system.
Overall I think people desire to be heard and that best happens in intimate one on one conversations. It is very important to have someone to talk to and a lot of people are suffering from loneliness and depression (also bad for the immune system). I am cautiously optimistic for 2022 - Happy New Year!
It's definitely a different world out there. Even travelling to different counties and seeing places where there are still no masks mandate is almost a night/day situation.
It's such a shame that most media reports aren't just that, but instead have to push some type of message. It's never just information but has to have some type of narrative attached to it. It definitely isn't healthy. I've reached the point where any family member that mentions constant fear porn I just comment if they feel good from reading all of those media headlines. People believe they are being informed when they are barely informed but also fearful, causing them to act more on emotion than using logic and reason.
It's a struggle, but trying to engage in conversations and disabusing misinformation is the best way to reach out to people and understand that there's a lot going on that really doesn't make sense.
I wish all the best to you and let's see what 2022 brings! Stay optimistic, and happy New Year!
I appreciate this post so much. I teach bioethics and from the beginning I have watched in horror as the pandemic gets mismanaged — but despite all of it, I have maintained my sanity. I rolled with the punches (online teaching, mask mandates, lockdowns, the ridiculous rules at work). For nearly two years I have remained strong…until this past week, when my university announced another round of mandatory vaccines (deadline: February 28, which is predictably past the omicron surge…) to “protect us from omicron.” I fell to my knees and screamed until my lungs hurt, because I cannot take anymore intrusions into my bodily autonomy, I cannot continue to pump my body with a substance that may or may not have long-term side-effects for an illness that is indistinguishable from the sniffles, but I cannot afford to give up my career. I felt defeated and helpless. My helplessness turned to anger — anger at my liberal friends who voted against the recall, anger at their willingness to buy into the fear propaganda, anger at their trust in the mainstream media and the regulatory agencies that have been so obviously captured. But then I realized that if I acted on that anger, I would be doing exactly what they want us to do: to be divided, to scapegoat and fear each other. The most radical shit we can do right now is to redirect our anger and frustration to the assholes who have orchestrated this mess and to refuse to give into the hate.
Thank you so much for your response!
It's absolutely horrifying seeing everything that is going on. So many people put up with the first round of vaccines, and now that many people are being mandated to get boosters I think people are having a sudden realization that there's a good chance things may not end soon. I do get angry at people. I see many people that I want to lash out at and call them idiots for really not seeing what's happening.
But It really does no good to stew in those negative emotions, especially if it causes us to act irrationally because of emotions. It's important to stay grounded, reason with evidence and rationale and try to find a way to have discussions with people.
I wish you all the best! Hopefully you can find people who may be brave enough to come together and fight back against these mandates. Please don't feel helpless, and know many people are in your situation. If people come together hopefully we can find a way to end the madness.
As for now, please enjoy your New Year, and let's hope that things will turn around soon!
I appreciate your comment immensely as I also face the end of a 25 year career over booster mandates. I’ve already had Covid and went through with the vaccine in order to keep my job and I will not continue to do this indefinitely. It’s a horrible situation to face but it’s true - our anger needs to be directed at the source of this insanity and not at our fellow human beings however duped they may be. Best wishes in your fight against your employer.
All the best to you as well Clarisse! So many people are realizing the amount of encroachment that the government and pharmaceutical industries are having into our lives. At some point the wall needs to break and I hope we reach that point soon.
Have a happy New Year and let's try to stay optimistic!
It's easy to get caught up in our emotions. The long game is hard, it makes us much quicker to lose our tempers.
It definitely is. It's so much easier to act impulsively than to act rationally. In those moments it's best to reassess and gain some introspection, which is what many of us will need if we are to move forward.
Have a great New Year!
I'm a little disappointed with the judgment in your post, given that you have previously called for more empathy towards differing viewpoints. Of course the constantly fluctuating messaging from "authorities" is very confusing, which is even more reason why we should be empathetic towards different viewpoints - from people who are ready for the pandemic to be over, to people who think they might die if they catch covid (both sides, and everything in between, can find evidence to support their way of thinking).
I found it particularly bothersome that you take issue with masking behaviors of people when eating. Given that there is no clear consensus on what viral load it takes to seed infection in individuals (varies by person, air circulation, etc), it makes sense that the simple way to view the problem is exposure = airborne concentration * time. Thus, wearing a high filtration mask whenever not actively eating makes a lot of sense, in that you decrease the time that you breathe in or out a large concentration of particles. Even a few minutes could make a difference depending on viral concentration in the air and individual tolerance. Of course there is no evidence that this makes a drastic difference in infection risk, but also no evidence that it does not. We simply haven't gotten that nuanced with studies, and probably never will. In that case, I definitely would urge you to err on the side of empathy rather than judgment, as you previously recommended. There could be a logical rationale to this behavior, and it possibly could help especially when dining indoors in close vicinity to others in an enclosed space. That, combined with the constant guidance to "wear a mask at all times when not eating" - to me, that isn't "bizarre" behavior, it's just people trying to be cognizant of guidance that they believe (even if you don't) will help.
That brings me to my second point - if people wish to believe they might get omicron and die, that's also a viewpoint to be empathetic towards. Just as we are empathetic towards those that fear vaccination due to the rare risk of side effects, we should also be empathetic towards those who fear covid for the small risk of death. Perhaps they lost someone close to them, or have had to care for people dying from covid related complications. If these people don't want their life to return to normal and wish to continue taking precautions, that is a view I can completely stand behind. Even if death is not the fear here, I think it's completely fine for people simply to not want to get sick and be willing to make sacrifices (such as not returning to "normal" and taking "bizarre" actions), and that is a choice individuals can make. I don't think you should judge them for it, or let that depress you. Family members scared of covid and wanting to mask their children also deserve empathy too, especially since they are trying to do the right thing. At the end of the day, they're not your children, and once you have made your views known, it's up to the parents to decide what their risk tolerance for their own family will be. The science is NOT clear cut on anything in this pandemic, and opposing papers come out every single day - you write on them a lot, so I'm sure you can imagine the confusion for people who don't have time to follow every development carefully but just want to do what they feel is common sense to protect their loved ones. Thus, as you mentioned in a previous post, the importance of empathy.
Tldr; a little empathy and a little less judgment for people on all sides of this debate. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and have a happy new year!
Thanks for your response and I understand where you're coming from.
From my perspective everyone takes some level of risk, and it's the balancing of risk that I tend to have an issue with. Those who go out with the idea of knowing they may get sick it's one thing, but at the point where we may begin engaging in "masking between bites" type of behavior I would assume that the best option would not risk going out and would prefer staying at home. I guess that's where some of my problems are. I do empathize with people who are concerned, but at the point at which the behaviors seem inconsistent would it be better to engage in inconsistent behavior or to avoid the public in general? It's the lack of consistency; if we are unaware of viral load in the air and how much has been inhaled it seems better to avoid that concern entirely.
As for masks and children, we do have evidence that children tend to fare better with COVID. We are seeing a rise in cases in children, but testing of children are becoming more widespread, especially with these "test to stay" procedures sprouting up in schools. Then with hospitalization, Dr. Fauci has admitted that many of these cases are likely to be incidental i.e. a kid enters the hospital for another reason, needs to be tested for COVID due to hospital procedures, and ends up testing positive. I wouldn't have issues with masking if we have engaged in a risk assessment there as well, and yet it doesn't seem to be the case. Children are suffering far more mental health issues and difficulties learning. It's also very difficult to learn emotional cues/understand empathy themselves without the ability to access external facial expressions. So from my own personal perspective the downsides of masking children are mounting more than the benefits. I haven't seen the Arizona masking study the CDC used, but many people have commented on the issues with that study so I will not judge the study for myself. The US is also one of the only countries in the world who are masking children, with many countries citing some of the points I have made above.
In the end, I hope people choose to behave in a manner they best see fit without bothering anyone else. However, I would hope that there is some consistency, but I will also argue that there are plenty of people who are well-intentioned and I can understand why people may be concerned. Hopefully this adds some more perspective from my end.
Happy New Year!
I appreciate you taking the time to expand on your initial post. I fail to see why choosing to go out but wanting to minimize risk while doing so is somehow "inconsistent". It is inconsistent with a hardline black-and-white view of covid in which everything one does must minimize risk, or in which one does nothing to minimize risk. However, I would like to think everyone falls in a grey area there. You can't mitigate all risk, and some things are worth taking a risk for (i.e. spending time with family for the holidays), but minimizing risk through utilizing different measures doesn't suddenly make someone a hypocrite or somehow "inconsistent" in their actions. Similarly, someone who is in favor of lifting all restrictions and mandates and thinks health guidance is a sham still might move to be far away from someone who is actively coughing/sick. Basically, I am a little confused as to why you think that minimizing risk to a degree that someone is comfortable would be inconsistent behavior.
I'm not arguing with any of your points regarding masking children. All I'm saying is that everyone has been bombarded with data and studies, and all of these studies have issues inherent in study design and data collection. What each person chooses to believe is up to them, and as you said, we should be empathetic and allow them to be as they are without bothering anyone - or pushing our views upon them. At least those are my thoughts - I respect that you have strong opinions on many of these topics, as do many other people. Hopefully we can all still empathize with each other!
No I understand it's not an argument. We each gave our own perspective and we're seeing where the differences lie. It's how proper discourse should happen!
So I will say that I did begin writing this around Wednesday after having a more disheartening scenario and so this really was going to be part of an emotional driven rant, which honestly would be hypocritical of me. It wasn't until I started writing it that I started to reassess and so I end on that more optimistic note.
Things definitely exist in a grey zone. Talking with someone outside would be very minimal risk while going to a crowded club or party will cause some problems. But in those instances the understanding may be that some mitigation strategies are better suited for certain areas. Going to a crowded place there's a caveat that masks are not likely to be effective as it may become a hotbed of virus due to being enclosed and heavily populated. If I was concerned I can rationalize deciding to order takeout rather than dining in, but to eat out and try to weigh out the risks and analyze the situation while out seems more difficult than to really just decide to not eat out. Overall as long it doesn't really hurt someone I see no problem, but also hope that these people will not be surprised if they may end up sick.
And with the masking of children I am of the same idea that parents should be able to make the assessment for themselves. However, most school districts don't provide that opportunity and instead have taken an authoritarian stance to the point that children are expected to eat outdoors. I have even seen it happen at an elementary school near my house. If parents were concerned I would hope that they had the ability to keep their children home while those who are willing to take the risk allow their children to go in person without masks. Unfortunately most areas aren't allowing people to make decisions, especially when we neglect other parts of a child's welfare.
We all have our own perspectives and it's always about finding where the differences lie where we can try to empathize.
thanks for this post. the contradictory/fluctuating messaging (regarding covid management or protection), taking sides (politically, on a medical issue), and fearful news is exhausting. Combine that with economic and social pressures..... passes the human psyche's tolerance. I do what I can to wake from the pseudo arguments that rob my peace of mind... and largely restricted news to printed 'dry' sources (read- not histrionic) so i know whats happening without the trauma. I am hopeful, but acknowledge (Im a mental health provider) I have to lean on self-care more than ever before to not get sucked into this vortex.
Appreciate your response and perspective!
It really is difficult to just get clear posts and evidence, and part of me wonders if some of these are done intentionally. And I definitely understand the need for self-care, especially the need to avoid histrionics and possibly social media in general. Twitter has helped me find many studies to examine, but it also leads down the rabbit hole of histrionics. Have that occur from all over and it makes it easy to go at each other's throats over nearly everything.
Thank you and you as well.