It is not over yet stupid!

Trump got 77 million votes. Case closed.

But unfortunately there are just as many blockheads in other nations. We have family in the Netherlands and the COVID denial and conspiracies are rampant there.

Funny thing is, I live just a few miles away and I see far more people wearing masks.

Since I did some shopping, too, I did a very good hand sanitizing when I got back to my car.

store was maskless. Even the pharmacist who gave us our boosters didn't wear a mask and the 2 people in front of us weren't wearing masks. The current infection rate in Georgia (and esp. the red areas, which is where I live) is extremely high. What don't these people understand?

His ignorance is contagioius with angry white people who hate science, think all educated people are looking down on them and want a 1950s United States where women and minorities "knew their place". No scientist is going to tell them what to do.

need a cart. Both places I shop at have you unload you own stuff onto the conveyor, so it works great.

doing that years ago at the grocery store because I didn’t like how close some people would stand to me.

My dumbass county is only 48% vaxxed and has been stuck at that number for weeks. I see a few masks here and there but most people go without. Bars and restaurants packed to overflow every night of the week. I still wear a mask whenever I’m indoors in a public place, I even wore a mask today to get my hair cut. Covid transmission is considered high here. People just don’t seem to care.

Just because they don't look stupid doesn't mean they are smart.

The Walmart I go to is surprisingly one of the better stores. All employees are required to mask and still the majority of customers are also masked. The Fry's (Kroger) on the other hand is nasty.

the infection rate around here had been close to zero. People started going without masks. I went into my local grocery store, nobody was wearing masks. When I checked out, they were all wearing them. The orders came down and someone passed them out while I was shopping. It was kind of surreal. I thanked them for trying to keep people safe. They still sanitize the carts after each customer. Yes we still have carryout people.

They are ignorant regardless of how they appear.

and fuck the CDC for their masking "honor system" - heck, even some DUers thought that was a swell idea

And while all employees were masked, I counted only about three in ten customers were. Costco!

This is the RW's jihad.

decades. internets is making it worse.

im worried about myself.

as the hot southern states have proven this past summer and the summer of last year and probably the summer of next year too.

Oh well, if Dems in Georgia are vaccinated then it's probably OK if a few GOP voters go the way of the dodo.

because it feeds their denial wish. A lot of people use denial to cope with threatening or dangerous situations.

"It's not that bad."
"It won't happen to me."
"Just a few minutes in the store won't hurt, so I don't need a mask."
"I'm young and healthy so even if I get it, it won't be that bad."
"Only old people die from it."
"It's just a virus. I've had viruses all my life so I must have a good immune system buildup against viruses."

Why turn to denial? Fear. They are afraid to face the fact that a new, deadly or life altering virus is running rampant throughout the world. It is too scary to face the full reality. They are usually the kind of people who downplay other things in life that make them feel helpless or afraid. Maybe they grew up in homes where their feelings were ignored and they were taught to "toughen up."

Even I engaged in denial once when I knew better. About 25 years ago I had a positive PAP test. The OBGYN did 3 biopsies from different spots on the cervix. All of them showed dysplasia, ranging from mild to severe. When he tried to schedule me for outpatient surgery, I kept putting it off, finding one excuse after another for each date he suggested. Why? Because the surgery would remove all the bad tissue for further lab testing and would reveal how far the dysplasia had spread, how deep, and whether any of the severe dysplasia cells had "crossed the line" to cancer. I was afraid to face it.

Finally, the doc got blunt and sharp with me. He said, "I can do quick, in office surgery now, or a complete in hospital hysterectomy in a few months if you keep putting it off. Which will it be since you can't escape one or the other?"

The surgery got all of the dysplasia. No cancer. I was relieved when it was over and could not believe that I had been so scared that I had tried to ignore it.

I think that kind of fear is behind the denial of many people regarding covid. They want to ignore it and hope it just goes away.

And I ask the same questions. What's wrong with these people?

Early on in the pandemic, a meme about masks was circulating,
"Wearing a mask isn't a political statement, it's an IQ test."

I think that's especially true now! I know many Democrats who feel protected from the vaccine and often go without a mask. Many posts here were talking about rethugs not wearing them, but I've seen people from both sides embrace the idea of not wearing a mask once they're vaccinated. They want things to return to normal, but we're negotiating a new normal. They don't get it.

I'm more cautious, and (I've been told) too smart for my own good. I've continued to wear a mask after being vaccinated. I work in retail and all 5 of us wear masks now, but 3 had stopped wearing them for a while, until the Delta surge. I expect to be wearing one for the foreseeable future. Pandemics circle the globe several times before burning out or getting vaxed out.

I'm your "northern" neighbor, in a vacation area in western NC, and we see people from all over the US, but especially the Southern states. I see a fair number wearing masks, but many come in to the store without, tell me they're vaccinated, and ask if masks are required. My boss is not requiring them but wears one himself. Many seem willing to put one on if requested. Stores are not. Many businesses that require vaccinations are not requiring masks.

I think older people are more at risk and should always be wearing a mask, as should people who are immunocompromised or have medical conditions that put them at more risk. They were told it's ok to go without a mask, and haven't believed or been told otherwise. I have met some older folks who inform me their doctor told them to keep wearing a mask. And many who tell me they're vaccinated and so don't need to wear one. I tell them I'm vaccinated, and choose to wear one.

When this shit first started last year and mask signs were in front of all the stores, I used to say
to the unmasked, "Funny, you don't look stupid." If they said- what? I said -can you read? Wear a mask!
Jeannie made me stop confronting people.