>>12109796I don't want to go political, although the name I will mention is politically charged. Rather, I want to indicate a civil exchange which took place, and which seems to me to make sense. The punchline is: wear masks, be nice, they help just a bit, but not that much.
A few weeks ago, on the Glenn Beck radio program (Beck is a known American conservative political voice), Beck sought a calm-down, just-the facts discussion on masks. He had on two doctors who both ultimately encouraged mask-wearing, although one was more critical of various types and efficacy, all of which is pretty old news for the informed at the moment, I bet. The takeaway was that masks do help, but only marginally, and in that sense aren't a "placebo" in the sense that the OP means (I accept that they have a real, marginal effect when donned en masse, let us await later studies).
"Orthogonal" to this (I am abusing a diagnostic word somewhat) is the social norm around masks which has rapidly obtained. On the same program, Beck bemoaned the inhumanity around same, e.g. businesses enforcing hard no-exception rules on masks. Now that I think of it, I've never understood why an able-bodied, middle-aged adult without obvious respiratory issues can't tolerate a mask. Yes some are defying/fibbing/non-conforming but I expect there's a real basis behind this. Someone please let me know/ Asthma? other? The irony here would be someone who has trouble breathing not wearing something which gives them trouble breathing, and then as a result they catch an infection which gives them more trouble breathing.
I work in a grocery store and I still periodically see one or two conscientous regulars with the full gas-mask apparatus, a la this:
>>12109805. I assume good faith that they have serious problems and aren't fucking around. I can still remember the mid-march panic, though I'm blogposting and long-winded at this point.
