Pandemic Masks

[bartlebyyphonics]

it is indeed getting a little heated...

tin hat w/denim co-ordination thread needed... 

but then this shitshorm (worldwide pandemic, tin hats, lizard theories, antivaxxing hysteria and more) ain't going away anytime soon, so might as well work it through now... [though I'm sure solutions are less likely to be found than continued enmities already played out elsewhere ... ]

[Duke Mantee]

Gentle words John - a message most of us can understand and pursue.

Sometimes though credulity needs to be abandoned. The malicious agitprop derailed the thread far beyond anything connected to the face masks. Let’s realise that and deal with it.

[julian-wolf]

8 hours ago, Maynard Friedman said:

I am level-headed. That’s why I like to question things rather than blindly accept them. I’ve read various reports on pros and cons of the effectiveness of masks and obviously the current research is advocating their use. The WHO is recommending we wear them although it wasn’t back in March. There are variables which impact their effectiveness too, such as type of mask, who should wear them, when, etc. If this is a thread about masks, then surely it’s the space for a wider discussion on them?  Like most people, I wear a mask when required to do so although I consider them as a functional item rather than a fashion accessory, that’s my opinion. I think it’s fine for people, including me, to post our thoughts here rather than be asked to discuss elsewhere or leave the thread, that’s not a very tolerant perspective.

This is a largely reasonable take, and I respect where you're coming from. I shouldn't have lumped you in with the tin foil hatters in the start—when I wrote that post I was frustrated with the derailment of the thread and the state of things at large, and may have been seeing things as a little too black and white. Sorry for that.

That having been said, I abhor the notion that following the near-unanimous advice of research scientists amounts to any sort of blind acceptance. The very foundation of the scientific method lies in extensive questioning, in assuming a lack of knowledge until information makes itself undeniably present, in rejecting any form of blind acceptance. This is what makes it so significant to see the clear agreement of the multitude of studies that have now been conducted on this topic. You're right that the whole thing was unclear in March, but it hasn't been March for half a year. Research takes time, and enough time has now passed for the results to be clear. Blind acceptance is no longer necessary: the efficacy of masks can be seen and accepted with open eyes.

Edited October 4, 2020 by julian-wolf

[JohnM]

21 minutes ago, Duke Mantee said:

Gentle words John - a message most of us can understand and pursue.

Sometimes though credulity needs to be abandoned. The malicious agitprop derailed the thread far beyond anything connected to the face masks. Let’s realise that and deal with it.

I hear ya Duke.  I guess I have a soft spot for the malicious agitprop.  And for you too -- not only for your wise words and clothing knowledge/expertise, but for the fact that I learn new words (agitprop) and have to use a dictionary!  At least at 65, I'm clicking on dictionary.com, instead of opening a dusty tome.  Hey, at least I didn't say 'tomb' ;-)

 

[Radiohead89]

2 hours ago, JohnM said:

Please forgive me if I sound like a preacher or schoolmarm trying to make peace.  But after listening to the same debate play out everywhere, including my own home, over masks, vaccines, and politics, I've come to believe that the enemy is the virus and intolerance, rather than the imperfect actions or views of others.  Sometimes it's better to refrain from blame, however justifiable, because we have problems to solve and life to enjoy, and we're going to do more of that respecting each other than pointing the finger.

Every group will have a range of views and we have that here.  Should that be a surprise?  We like jeans, but that doesn't mean we're going to agree on much else.  Disagreeing should be a given, for anyone who's lived more than 25 or 30 years.  But can we be patient and even enjoy the variety of views, which can be entertaining, if not always enlightening?  To quote one of our leading lights here, Duod noted that we're not all scientists.  So most of us are not experts on a stealthy virus that everyone is still learning about.  Even ardent maskers occasionally go without and freedom loving anti-maskers might wear one at times.  Similarly, most vaccines may be essential, but a few may do harm.  Issues are often not simple and the 'answer' may lie somewhere in between our most extreme and dichotomous views.

So let's enjoy the ride folks and the company, whether the topic be denim or something else.  While I don't love it when someone criticizes me or disagrees, I've often learned more from them than from those who see things my way or say nothing.

 

 

 

 

[JohnM]

^ Radiohead, despite having a son who loves COD, League of Legends, and Melee, I don't know squat about memes.  So I'm taking that as a compliment ;-)

[ColonelAngus]

[bartlebyyphonics]

[BrownMetallic]

WW!  As usual,  missed again ...

 

Seriously, though ... mitigation measures may not be an acceptable solution for everyone, but prevention is the only weapon we have, in the absence of a cure. The success or failure is entirely up to each & everyone of us.  Inaction is like  “the final solution” to the most vulnerable in the population.

As for the mask itself, not the wearing of it,  it does not have to be boring ... like wearing socks, each decide how they wanna rock it ... FCS, we have WAYWT & all these niche threads

Edited October 5, 2020 by BrownMetallic

[Dan_F]

^I agree, that makes this a fun thread. It’s nice trying to make the best of things in ways like this. Not surprised that it got derailed for a minute there, but hopefully the flat-earth level silliness is over. 

[JDelage]

I'm 100% for masks. I wear them; I encourage others to wear them.

This being said, "Inaction is like "the final solution” to the most vulnerable in the population" is a silly (to be gentle) comment on several levels.

[conqueror]

the uniqlo airism masks are better than expected, although i wish the ear loops had more elasticity.

[aho]

13 hours ago, Dan_F said:

@aho I really like that mask. Where did you get it?

Railcar's wabash mask!

[bartlebyyphonics]

7 hours ago, BrownMetallic said:

 The success or failure is entirely up to each & everyone of us.  

^ this

I'm 99% sure already been thru the covid experience back in march [until antibody tests more widely available who can say...] so not too concerned with its functionality... more a public reminder...

 

[Thanks_M8]

^stylegod

Edited October 5, 2020 by Thanks_M8

[bartlebyyphonics]

6 minutes ago, Thanks_M8 said:

^stylegod

thnx

... you can't see me blushing beneath my mask ...

& this should really just be in the meta music thread, but to lighten the mood...

 

[julian-wolf]

In June, I found some old light green plain weave raw silk in my scrap fabrics, maybe a quarter yard, and decided the color would go nice with kakishibu; painting ensued, and this was the result as seen while hanging to dry:

 

For reference, a view into the making of the dyestuff (not the same batch—actually, the paste that I used this time was store-bought):

 

Once dry, the silk became a mask, and now, three months later, it's seen a great deal of wear and the the kakishibu has begun to darken significantly with air and light exposure:

[louisbosco]

18 hours ago, BrownMetallic said:

 

Seriously, though ... mitigation measures may not be an acceptable solution for everyone, but prevention is the only weapon we have, in the absence of a cure. The success or failure is entirely up to each & everyone of us.  Inaction is like  “the final solution” to the most vulnerable in the population.

As for the mask itself, not the wearing of it,  it does not have to be boring ... like wearing socks, each decide how they wanna rock it ... FCS, we have WAYWT & all these niche threads

 

16 hours ago, JDelage said:

I'm 100% for masks. I wear them; I encourage others to wear them.

This being said, "Inaction is like "the final solution” to the most vulnerable in the population" is a silly (to be gentle) comment on several levels.

mitigation measure may vary from place to place. i'm 100% not for masks.

 

Because i've never been/lived in a situation that requires it. it wasn't and never was a norm for us. where i live, we've almost left the pandemic world behind. even at the peak of it, we didn't have any form of recommendation/ compulsory law that forced us to wear one. we did however, have a very early and high level of lockdown and hard border measures for a month or 2 within our own state. that was our mitigation measure and now we're back to normal. even as it stands, the only thing preventing us as a state to go back to 'normal' is the reopening of state and international borders. but at least, within the state, it's business as usual, no restrictions whatsoever.

Edited October 5, 2020 by louisbosco

[Radiohead89]

Has nobody read the book 1984 by George Orwell... books that teach you  how politics and propaganda work and that power corrupts. 

Edited October 6, 2020 by Radiohead89

[DoitsuJin]

yes, I've read the book before. to be honest it's hard to give you any credibility when you act hostile towards anybody that doesn't agree with you

[Broark]

I would love for you to look someone in the face who has lost a family member or loved one to this and tell them that it's all fake.

[louisbosco]

1 hour ago, Radiohead89 said:

Has nobody read the book 1984 by George Orwell... books that teach you  how politics and propaganda work and that power corrupts. 

no but animal farm was mint. "all animals are equal but some are more equal than others"

[Radiohead89]

1 hour ago, Broark said:

I would love for you to look someone in the face who has lost a family member or loved one to this and tell them that it's all fake.

 

[Broark]

You truly are a real piece of work.

[Radiohead89]

4 minutes ago, Broark said:

You truly are a real piece of work.

Imagine wearing a mask for something with a 99.8 survival rate for people under 40 lulz 

[BrownMetallic]

19 hours ago, louisbosco said:

mitigation measure may vary from place to place. i'm 100% not for masks.

Because i've never been/lived in a situation that requires it. it wasn't and never was a norm for us. where i live, we've almost left the pandemic world behind. even at the peak of it, we didn't have any form of recommendation/ compulsory law that forced us to wear one. we did however, have a very early and high level of lockdown and hard border measures for a month or 2 within our own state. that was our mitigation measure and now we're back to normal. even as it stands, the only thing preventing us as a state to go back to 'normal' is the reopening of state and international borders. but at least, within the state, it's business as usual, no restrictions whatsoever.

I was just gonna let it slide & stop shitting up this thread, but ...

 

*Mitigation is a blunt instrument & the only way to tweak it was to apply depending on severity of the spread.  In some places like NYC where we’ve experienced a peak of 11,000+ covid19 cases in a single day,  there’s not much choice but to lockdown.

Left unchecked,  the community spread would’ve swept through the entire population like a tsunami, killing thousands more in its wake.

 

Numbers don’t lie

**As for the pandemic deniers ... it won’t sink in until it becomes a personal experience, so sadly ... but, for others,  it prolly won’t even matter ... they’ll take it w/them to the grave than admit they were wrong.
 

I promise,  that’s the last response regarding this topic.

Edited October 6, 2020 by BrownMetallic

[Dan_F]

4 minutes ago, Radiohead89 said:

Imagine wearing a mask for something with a 99.8 survival rate for people under 40 lulz 

Imagine wearing a seat belt when most of us don’t die in car crashes. Seriously, not wearing a mask doesn’t make you smart or a free thinker, it makes you selfish and ignorant. My best friend is 38, and was hospitalized with pneumonia due to Covid-19. Two members of my family were also hospitalized with it. All of them are in red states, where no one respects the severity of the pandemic and wears masks, social distances, etc.

[julian-wolf]

Besides: One doesn’t wear a mask to protect themselves; they wear a mask to protect everyone else. It’s long been known that masks don’t do much to directly protect the wearer. The survival rate for the elderly is well under your 99.8%, and not everyone I’m interacting with is under 40. (Even if they were, 1/500 really isn’t that small of a number.)

@Dan_F, you’re not wrong, but be careful bringing politics into this—even if it’s only tangential (throwing blame at red states, however deservedly), that seems like a slippery slope.

Edited October 6, 2020 by julian-wolf

[louisbosco]

6 minutes ago, BrownMetallic said:

I was just gonna let it slide & stop shitting up this thread, but ...

 

i've been fortunate enough to travel while this was in it's early stages. so i roughly know how different places responded to the situation. Take Singapore as a prime example, over 60,000 cases but less than 30 deaths in a population of 5mil. Then there's also Australia, 1 state (WA) handled it brilliantly but the rest didn't and contributed to figures overall, not to mention hitting a second wave when they were so close to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. the way i see it, total case number mean absolute fuck all. the true number we should see is the death toll, which will tell how people and a country dealt with the situation.

[Dan_F]

@julian-wolf you’re absolutely right, sorry about that. I reacted out of emotion rather than reason (also just realized that my analogy is off a bit). This was a great thread idea- hopefully certain people either take pics of their fancy masks and post here, or just stay away from this thread and let the rest of us enjoy it.