But don't you know that COVID-19 is no worse than seasonal flu?

I can only hope that this pandemic normalizes the wearing of masks for people have to go out in public while sick. Seems unlikely, though, with what I've seen myself. Less than half of people wearing masks while grocery shopping.

ETA: I just overheard a coworker say "I'm going to visit my grandson this weekend and give him a hug, but I think I'll wear a facemask while I do it." :facepalm: You're going to drive over an hour to give your grandson a hug, and completely miss the point. The facemask won't help if you're just going to touch him. Either of you could be an asymptomatic carrier. You've already talked about how concerned you are about your grandson during the pandemic, since he's immunocompromised. WTF is wrong with you?

I'm sick to death of those people and the ones who may or may not think it's real but are clamoring for re-opening. It's a harsh truth, but most Americans aren't prepared financially for something like this and while some of them just aren't able to save, I'm sure there are many who are but live beyond their means. I'm not against personally sacrificing to help people who couldn't be prepared and even those who could have and are facing some truths right now, but going forward I hope we can all make a change in that direction. I'm of the opinion that you do what you have to. I only have one person in my household bringing home the bacon so I have two jobs. When I wasn't willing to do that I wouldn't have survived this except for the kindness of friends. I suspect some of the people who are now stuck are lying to themselves about the virus so they don't have to take responsibility. Some people are stuck through no fault of their own and I am not unsympathetic. But some need to work harder to be solution-oriented and find a way to deal with this without pushing for re-opening and a second wave. Any way you look at it, it's complicated, but blaming it on the elite or aliens or a hoax or whatever doesn't solve anything. I think deep down they don't really believe those theories.

And look where we now are! A half-million dead in the US, and counting!

I mean you have people who are literally dying from covid arguing that it can't be covid right before they die from covid.

I do admittedly enjoy the "Person who said covid was a hoax died of covid" headlines though.

Those idiots are the reason this damned pandemic has dragged out so long. They listened to a con artist rather than doctors and scientists, and now we're in the mess we're in.

Look, I want to go back to the way things were before, too. I miss eating out (and I don't consider going through the drive through and eating in my car to be "eating out"!). I miss going to fairs, festivals, concerts, theater. But we've got to get through this mess, and the more idiots insist on treating it like it's a hoax, the longer it will last.

I wouldn't mind so much if they refused to understand and only killed themselves. I don't even really begrudge them the ICU beds and other medical facilities. But the problem is that they will infect many more people walking around while sick. Their irresponsibility could wind up killing *me*, or my wife or my mother. And that's where I have a real problem with those assholes.

Back when everything was locked down, a local barber defied orders and remained open. And looking back now, I know I shouldn't have done this, but at one point I got desperate and tried to go in for a haircut. I say "tried" because I waited almost two hours two find out he didn't have the means to cut long hair like I have, unless I wanted to get it cut short, which I didn't. Worse yet, I had to listen to a bunch of Trump talking points while I was waiting. Masks don't work, this virus is no worse than the flu, and people are only doing this to "get" Trump, because he's not corrupt like the rest of them. I didn't say anything, but inside I was screaming, "You fucking idiots! He's worse than the rest of them put together!"

One of my friends has been drinking way too much of the orange Kool-Aid, and she regularly brags about not wearing a mask, and that no one is making her. A few months ago on Facebook, she posted the lame-ass "If masks work, then why do we still have the virus?" Now, I have a policy not to call people out for what they post, because awhile back I realized it was just causing arguments and making everyone's blood pressure go nuts, including mine. But I couldn't hold back this time. I told her that "maybe" it's because of the all the idiots who don't wear their masks, or wear them all stupid with their noses sticking out. I didn't call her out personally, but I'm sure she got it. But at the same time I know it didn't change anything.

I mean if it only killed them I would be cheering it on but I am a terrible person.

If you're a terrible person, so am I.

If it were only them, I'd be happy to let them live and die by their own ignorance and stupidity.

'Eh - not terrible.

The idea that actions should have consequences that impact the person directly may be the just world fallacy, but it at least makes sense.

The injustice we live in is that these idiots are killing people they've never met and possibly mutating the virus beyond what our existing stuff vaccines can fix. All while claiming no accountability because you can't trace things directly back to them.

I'm not sure how I'm going to react if a variant gets announced that isn't covered by existing vaccines, but that's mainly because the idea I spent a year and a half being good didn't matter because of these clowns means I (and those like me) bore a disproportionate cost. In those cases a little just world fallacy is cathartic.