I'm (hopefully) entering a new org soon. Only a few comrades there mask. At my workplace, or anywhere else really, nobody masks. The only people I see mask are like goldfish, and I only see them occasionally in public transit. It's disheartening by the day to see Covid trivialized, and AES like even China not care anymore, in spite of their good policies beforehand.
Just makes me feel like I cannot relate to people anymore, they all look at me like I'm supremely weird for masking, so it's even harder to convince people of anything politically, especially when I'm discriminated all the time and receive verbal abuse for masking. I really dont get how to talk to people when they wont understand the concept of masking to protect themselves/others and it makes me feel stuck politically, to the point I feel I have a one sided view of many social issues, through the POV of Covid consciousness and masking, and I dont see how a movement can be built if no one acknowledges this. I feel like I've become more disconnected from everyone, including comrades, especially them, because they wont listen or want to mask in the first place, and I dont know what to do. I use an N95 every day when going outside, and so does my partner. We dont eat out, etc. I get the fact many wont do this choice to sacrifice their lifestyle or whatever.. but :(
I remember before masking I was taken seriously, now it's impeding me in all my life's aspects just cause we live in an extremely ableist society. It's hard and alienating from others, and no one irl seemingly understands. It's very hard to see how to build a mass movement in these conditions, or to even socialize with others (and I'm very sociable!) when you're instantly labeled as weird. I'm so dissapointed in people sometimes I give up on interacting because of this.
Even among comrades, the moment I mention masking, everyone is suddenly awkward and tries to move on. I'm tired to act like it's a secret or such
I wish things were different. I wish I could connect with people again. And that comrades would take this seriously, because I feel alienated even from those I share the most with, and its painful. I dont want to create a struggle session or whatever, just wanted to feel heard, I hope most people here mask anyways. It's bad enough for my mental healtg to give up on all social stuff cause of masking, and other activities like swimming, it's just tough. Thanks for reading
The effects of reduced viral loads are the slightly less severe covid and slightly lowered chances of long covid that i mentioned. Why are you framing an explanation of the science behind what i've already said as a correction?
You focus on these voluntary measures and put the actual important ones in the etc bc your analysis frames state-capitals coercion as having stopped people from masking. In reality the reverse is true: the majority of liberal subjects (many leftists included) trust liberal propaganda implicitly and value their ability to eat brunch in comfort over disabled lives. State coercion was in fact the only thing that forced them to do otherwise.
I live in an area where, at the height of the lockdown, truckers launched a massive sustained protest campaign and forced the government to end the mask mandate; those jackasses werent wearing their masks at all never mind covering their noses.
I'm glad you're able to be so zen about it, but i cant forgive these antimaskers (and all whove jumped on their bandwagon). Systemic factors explain, not justify. Coming into a venting thread to chastise people for not turning the other cheek to people who have harmed them and make excuses for their behaviour is shitty behaviour.
I cant forget my mother coming home with a massive head injury, coming home crying every day for weeks after being screamed at by truckers twice her size, or my brother sobbing for weeks bc his only friend stopped being his friend bc he wouldnt stop masking. I understand the pressures antimaskers face: i just think theyre lazy cowards for caving to those pressure and actively ableist when they promote the same behaviours in others. Glad youre able to forgive and forget, but unfortunately best i can do is act civil for organising work