[politics]

"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction) 07/07/2020 at 15:05 • Filed to: None

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So, this very much falls under “gallows humor”, and is likely in bad taste with the knowledge that fellow citizens have died, but considering that [some percentage of] supporters of our current president are following his lead and not health professionals’ evidence-based advice on wearing masks & distancing in order to protect themselves and others , and also are on board with his position on Confederate symbolism, I thought this artist’s take on this was pretty clever...

Seriously though - please wear a mask when distance can’t be maintained.

———

And when choosing sides, don’t pick the Confederacy.

#IStandWithBubba

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PatBateman > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 15:14

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Just to clarify something: The biggest anti-mask, anti-closure person that I know is a life-long far left Democrat. At the gym, I’d be shocked if all the people walking around without masks on were Republicans (I avoid them like the plague, pun intended).

I know it’s fun to point at the other side of the aisle and scream, “No, YOU’RE the problem!”, but that just isn’t what’s going on right now.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 15:15

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I find that image funny and also disturbing. Someone near me has Coronavirus and people were going over there to hang out with his family anyways. "We only went in the pool, so it's ok. He stayed in the house."

Tripper > PatBateman 07/07/2020 at 15:16

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Totally agree, all groups of humans are sending out their morons.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 07/07/2020 at 15:17

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I almost didn’t share it...

The fact that people who aren’t showing symptoms can spread this really is a game-changer.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 15:19

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That a public health issue can be considered politics is beyond sad. 

fintail > PatBateman 07/07/2020 at 15:20

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It sure isn’t that way in WA. The biggest screechers I see are not the progressives, especially from outlying areas, barely holding high school diplomas, who suddenly think they have a firm grasp on epidemiology . They are then sometimes em boldened by praetorian heroes (or deplorable politicos) who publicly announce their disdain for mask directives and lawful orders.

Maybe it’s a WA thing, or a TX thing.

DipodomysDeserti > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 15:21

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My sister is on her fourth straight twelve hour shift. Her hospital is pretty overwhelmed now. No ICU beds. Five floors just for covid. This is at the top hospital in our city. Had dinner with her last night. She broke into tears because a patient of hers died and his toddler had to say goodbye to him via iPad. Guy was forty. Her view on this has definitely shifted over the last few weeks. She’s a very cool cucumber but I can tell she knows we’re fucked. She’s a doctoral candidate and only working part time. She got all her shifts in for the month over the last week because she doesn’t want to be there when it gets really bad in the  next few weeks. She feels terrible for not wanting to go in, but she has a one and three year old at home.

She had a group of firemen in there on Saturday. They all tested positive. Her patient told her some of them went out to a bar and got the whole station sick. These are people that should know better, and are in top physical condition, but all were hospitalized with low O2. This thing seems to be getting worse.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > PatBateman 07/07/2020 at 15:23

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I don’t doubt it, but Trump saying “I’m not going to be wearing a mask” and his disciples not wanting to be seen as weak, fearful libs is definitely a thing for some...

For what it’s worth, I don’t have a side, although I do despise Trump more than Biden . I won’t vote at the top of the ticket again this year (and won’t feel at all conflicted about it in a dark-red state). Maybe Jorgenson - we’ll see. 

sony1492 > PatBateman 07/07/2020 at 15:24

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Very true, there are plenty of folks who don’t trust the government no matter what their usual political leanings are. They think the government is trying to exact control over them for its own benefit 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > DipodomysDeserti 07/07/2020 at 15:28

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Damn... I’m sorry. Hope she and her family stay safe (and you, too), and somehow it doesn’t get any worse there.

We are in this position because we, as a country, are selfish . And our current president is our narcissist-in-chief...

Hope the firemen all end up okay, but terribly sad that these men, who all have taken oaths to defend their fellow citizens, are now putting others at risk by taking up space at the hospital due to their poor decisions.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 07/07/2020 at 15:30

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Instead of using it to bring us all together to care for and protect each other, it’s been used to further divide us...

fintail > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 15:33

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Look at some of the replies to that tweet.  Twitter is a disease and/or Murka is hosed.

PatBateman > fintail 07/07/2020 at 15:34

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Must be a Texas thing. We tend to have diversity here, so not all the people who aren’t happy with the quarantine are “barely holding high school diplomas”, or conservative, or white.

Weird.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > fintail 07/07/2020 at 15:36

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No thanks.

DipodomysDeserti > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 15:37

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Lot of stupidity mixed with a lack of empathy. I have an appointment to get tested tomorrow as Inwas in an extremely high risk situation over the weekend (not by choice). I feel fine, but need to know how  long I should quarantine.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 15:38

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I wish this was confined to the Trump cult. My boss, who is not a trump supporter (though she shares some frightening similarities to his leadership style), has had some of the worst responses to this crisis. I almost lost it when she was trying to tell me that our cubicle walls would keep us safe from Covid.

fintail > PatBateman 07/07/2020 at 15:39

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There’s a difference between not being happy with something, and openly defying directives that a child can follow, just because one, emboldened by loud gormless voices, thinks there’s some kind of conspiracy. I don’t think anyone is “happy” with it, but taking a few precautions isn’t too much to expect from any reasonable adult no matter their political convictions. Sadly, it doesn’t play out like that in reality, and I’ll wager those flouting it tend to be on the spectrum of what passes for conservative in this oligocracy (race was never mentioned, nice try?).

I am not seeing many progressive voices whining about masks, but plenty of brave patriot heroes who already know it all are positively triggered by the idea of being told what to do in a store.

Weird, indeed.

phenotyp > DipodomysDeserti 07/07/2020 at 15:39

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Jesus.

Thank you for telling/ writing this. You’re in AZ, right? 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 15:41

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But seriously. Everyone near me that has the virus has had people over to their house! WHAT?!?! You don’t hang out with people who have been in close contact with a known positive. Have people gone crazy or something? It doesn’t matter what party you vote for or whether or not you think masks are bunch of hooey (they aren’t), you don’t sign up for the nearest available  contagion to infect you!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 07/07/2020 at 15:44

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That’s insane...

Thankfully deaths are still down, but that’s always been a lagging indicator. I’m very worried to see what the next few weeks will bring.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 15:45

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He’s a self-proclaimed idiot but Bill Burr had a sensible take when he was on Joe Rogan’s show a few weeks ago:

‘I don’t want to start this bulls**t. I’m not going to sit here with no medical degree, listening to you with no medical degree, with an American flag behind you, smoking a cigar, acting like we know what’s up better than the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).’

“All I do is I watch the news once every two weeks. I’m like ‘Mask or no mask? Still mask? Alright, masks.’ That’s all I give a f**k about.”

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M 07/07/2020 at 15:45

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Ugh. So, are you working from home, or in the office?

DipodomysDeserti > phenotyp 07/07/2020 at 15:47

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Yes. She’s been having a hard time convincing people to stay in the hospital as well. They don’t want to die alone.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 15:50

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Burned many a bridge to get to this point , but I have approval for now to work from home.

WilliamsSW > DipodomysDeserti 07/07/2020 at 15:50

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Dammit, that’s awful. Best wishes to you, your sister and everyone else out there.

Hope people start realizing this shit is real.  And the sick get well.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 15:53

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davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M 07/07/2020 at 16:00

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Well, that’s good. I’m in the office, but my wife is still at home. I’ve pretty much told her that if she’s not comfortable going back in a couple weeks , she should just tell them that she’s working from home. She’s valuable enough to them that there’s no way they’d do anything about it.

McMike > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 16:02

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The only people that get a pass with this whole “heritage and history of the Confederacy” are the southerners in the late 1800s who lost and still “remember the good ol days” or “wished they were like that again.” Maybe the next generation or two that followed get a pass too, because all the heritage was all still first hand accounts....

But 160 years later? You can’t tell me that some 30 year old yahoo still “remembers the good old days”

Please. The Confederacy didn’t even last as long as my hair metal band phase in the 80s, and you don’t see me walking around in acid washed jeans fist bumping to TNT anymore.

Time to move on.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 16:05

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Sucks that you have to be in the office. Does your work actually require it? Mine usually does not, but the people in charge are “uncomfortable” with the lack of face time. I’m in a similar position as your wife where it would be unwise for my company to lose me over this.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M 07/07/2020 at 16:09

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We’re a very small office, and I have my own office, and it’s pretty easy to maintain distance in our building. I’m not concerned. Also, at home I’m attempting to do my work on a laptop, which makes many things I do challenging. We’re still having meetings over the phone.

nermal > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 16:09

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Don’t forget the irony that the stere otypical Confederate flag waving anti-mask MAGA-b ro is statistically one of the least likely to die from the virus.

Regarding Bubba, he’s doing just fine. NASCAR and other professional drivers are both drivers and marketers. Despite lackluster finishes, h e’s absolutely killing it in the marketing department recently. 

facw > PatBateman 07/07/2020 at 16:12

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For something a bit less anecdotal than that here’s a Fox News poll from a couple weeks ago:

So Democrats are more favorable, but around two thirds of Republicans are as well (though with less intensity). Given the way Trump has tried to politicize this, I think that’s quite strong. It’s probably also an indication of the red/blue state leadership split, it’s easy to feel that if masks were important, your state would be requiring them, and if not they must be a silly overreaction .

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 16:19

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I think I may even have to call off my plans to visit the Lane Motor Museum because cases have spiked so much. It’s like people don’t realize they aren’t living in a video game. I suppose my perspective is much different from most people’s my age due to lifelong health problems precluding a sense of indestructibility but still, this is “uncommon” sense.

PatBateman > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 16:24

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I honestly don’t pay attention to what politicians say. Seriously. My grandmother and parents keep asking me if I saw what Trump did today, or this past weekend, or last night, and my reaction is always the same: “No, because I have more important things to do.”

Yeah, there are conservatives in my timeline bitching about wearing a mask or restaurants not being at 100%. There are also liberals running around going to bars/parties without masks on.

I’m just over here soaking all the stupid in.

PatBateman > fintail 07/07/2020 at 16:31

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My deal is talk is cheap. If someone screams on social media that masks are a horrible idea and we should all just develop herd immunity, but goes out with a mask on, then does it matter what they say on Facetwattergram? If someone reminds people that masks are important, but then walks up right next to me at the gym (which is a dangerous place to be regardless nowadays) without a mask and starts huffing and puffing on me from three feet away (true story) and gets pissy when I ask them to back up, does it matter what they say on Twitstabook?

Actions are what’s important.  I could give two craps what people say online (but that would be messy).

PatBateman > facw 07/07/2020 at 16:39

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Texas requires face masks. My area has required masks for longer.

There are still quite a few people in the gym at 5 AM with their masks in their pockets or across their necks. Fewer than there has been before (I’ve worn a mask since the gyms re- opened in May), but still plenty.  Like I said before, there’s no trend between political affiliation/beliefset and wearing masks that I’ve seen.  I’d say that graph is a perfect example of how there’s no clear delineation in those two items, as well.

facw > PatBateman 07/07/2020 at 16:41

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The requirement statewide is new though, and it wasn’t long ago that the state government was forbidding mask requirements.

PatBateman > facw 07/07/2020 at 16:49

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Local government has been allowed to mandate them for several weeks.  And they did.  

A lot of people of all political ideologies (on my social media stream) complained loudly that the beaches in the Houston area were going to be closed for the holiday weekend. Lots of complaints. Empty beaches, though.

Really, if people complain on the internet about something, but then follow the rules in real life (where things actually matter), who gives a crap what their opinions are?

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 16:52

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America has overused the word “freedom” so badly that people think a virus is capable of actually respecting our rights.

DipodomysDeserti > McMike 07/07/2020 at 16:54

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“ The only people that get a pass with this whole “heritage and history of the Confederacy” are the southerners in the late 1800s who lost and still “remember the good ol days” or “wished they were like that again.” Maybe the next generation or two that followed get a pass too, because all the heritage was all still first hand accounts....”

“Nah...”

-General Sherman

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 07/07/2020 at 17:03

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You want freedom? Fine! Use your damn freedom to protect yourself, me and your family & friends , dumb ass...

fintail > PatBateman 07/07/2020 at 17:17

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I agree. Most people aren’t twittertwats or constant fb moaners, so that can be hard to decipher.

Just saying that the “don’t tread on muh rights” contingent tends to lean a certain way.  Nothing is absolute, but if I was a betting man, etc.

kanadanmajava1 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 18:11

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In Finland, Norway and Swe den (maybe in Denmark too) the Confederate battle flag has been commonly used b y the A merican car enthusiast. The flag is often displayed together with national flags.

On e bunch of car enthusiasts are known as raggere (raggari in Finnish). This trend started in Sweden in the 50's but spread later to the neighboring countries. The ragga re themselves often wear greaser style outfits but some could be counted as stereotypical “trailer trash” in the US .

The old American cars are the most important part of th is culture but l istening to rockabilly music and drinking alcohol are the other essential parts. We have quite alcoh ol limits for the drivers but the passenger can consume alcohol as much as they can. And when raggare appear in large numbers they alcohol is consumed a lot.

A proper raggarbil (raggare car) looks like crap and quite often the passengers do too. The cars usually are in a quite good technical condition but their appearance is the opposite of this. Even though most of them are American made cars there are some exceptions too .

I don’t exactly know when raggare adop ted the flag but it’s meaning is rebellion against society’s norms not the regular slave owning and separatism parts of it. They are usually quite friendly people but in history the y did have some conflicts with punks and hippies.

The third picture is mine but the rest are random Google search pictures:

BaconSandwich is tasty. > DipodomysDeserti 07/07/2020 at 18:39

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Wow.  That’s pretty horrific.  I hope things improve for you guys. :(

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/07/2020 at 20:55

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They’d rather use their 2nd A mendments to shoot the virus dead.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > kanadanmajava1 07/07/2020 at 22:55

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I’d equate this to people using a swastika but not really understanding what it stands for ( somehow). Plenty of native peoples used this symbol, but it’s pretty well ruined by Hitler at this point.

These groups surely adopted the flag from American popular culture without understanding the history; it’s not their fault, but the connection remains, regardless. If you don’t want to be viewed as racist, don’t display this flag.

There are plenty here in the S tates who have also equated this flag just with being a “rebel”, but the connection to the Confederacy & slavery really can’t be avoided at this point, with modern understanding   (other people/cultures probably used white robes and head coverings before the KKK, too, but they pretty much ruined that for everyone).

If a fellow citizen sees “hate” or “you are less” when they see this flag, that’s a good enough reason for me to take it down.

kanadanmajava1 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/08/2020 at 05:35

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You are flying a flag because you want to send message. But y ou might have a different meaning f or your flag than how the others see it. With controversial flags this could be more apparent to the flag wavers . If my theoretical raggarbil would have had the Confederate battle flag I would probably have now removed it. But I think that the most raggere are going to keep them.

There are couple of flags still in official use that could be seen as very controversial. Here’s the Finnish air force flag ( by Savon Sanomat):

The swastika differs from the more known one slight ly. It’s standing on a flat side and not on a corner. But from this picture you cannot see this. The roots of the flag are from late 191 0's so it’s not related to the other one. So it has remained in use even after the WWII. One emblem using the swastika was actually replaced in the last week.

The Japanese navy is still using the notorious rising sun flag in a mildly modified form. And Japan hasn’t been in very good terms with their neighbors and flying this flag isn’t going to improve the relations . Exmple by Japan-forward.com:

McMike > McMike 07/08/2020 at 09:15

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In more recent history, some of us remember times when you could beat and rape your own wife. Anyone celebrating that “heritage?” If they are, who is praising it publicly?

Time to pick another cause and move, bro.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > kanadanmajava1 07/08/2020 at 09:39

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No one can judge another man’s heart. But unless a person is willfully ignorant, they understand the atrocities that have been committed under this flag, and the pain just the sight of it can inflict on the victims’ descendants. That’s reason enough to retire them (as Mississippi is finally doing with their flag, 155 years after the end of our Civil War).

gettingoldercarguy > WilliamsSW 07/13/2020 at 17:25

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Late to the party, but just saw this. Amazing how many people were cavalier early when their state opened up before it was safe saying they weren’t worried about catching it. Now when it gets real they suddenly turn into the safety advocates they never were.

BigBlock440 > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 07/14/2020 at 10:54

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A few months ago, the experts were saying that masks actually increase the spread because they’re ineffective and people don’t use them right.

BigBlock440 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/14/2020 at 11:02

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I thought the latest was that asymptomatic aren’t a large source of spread. Also, a ton of viruses are spread before the onset of symptoms. You’re most contagious with the flu the day or two before you start to show symptoms, last I read covid was only a day longer, not the 3 weeks initially rumored.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > BigBlock440 07/14/2020 at 11:08

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Source? There’s just way too much unknown.

At least with the flu everyone ends up with symptoms - if you get sick the day after a party, you can tell everyone and they can be good about not spreading it until they’re sure they’re not sick. With this virus, a good percentage of carriers are completely asymptomatic, so even if they aren’t spreading it as much as those who are, it still can spread, and it’s still very, very difficult to determine who you caught it from.

BigBlock440 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/14/2020 at 21:41

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If you still believe the WHO, here:

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/asymptomatic-coronavirus-patients-arent-spreading-new-infections-who-says.html

A few days old, but it was the last I read. It could have changed yet again in the past week.

At least with the flu everyone ends up with symptoms

Not even close to being true.

https://www.clinicaladvisor.com/home/web-exclusives/most-flu-cases-asymptomatic/

https://www.influenza.org.nz/sites/default/files/Asymptomatic%20influenza%20transmission%2020170421.pdf

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > BigBlock440 07/14/2020 at 21:44

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I remember hearing that, but thought they walked it back. I hope it’s true!

Had no idea that about the flu. 

BigBlock440 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/14/2020 at 23:16

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They may have, they don’t have the best track record with accurate information this year. I think a lot of people have misconceptions about diseases we have been living with forever, different risk calculation.  P retty interesting to see the difference in attitudes towards them from the general population, especially now that we know so much about it.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > BigBlock440 07/15/2020 at 09:30

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Right, the flu isn’t “scary” any more, because it’s known, even though plenty of people die from it each year. Granted, the ‘rona is significantly more dangerous, because of how easily it spreads, and apparently isn’t at all affected by the heat of the summer months.

BigBlock440 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/15/2020 at 12:07

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Right, it’s new, and part of the reason it spreads so easily. Unfortunately we couldn’t get rid of it in January, but nobody cared back then. It’s too embedded now IMO and going to be just one of those things we live with . Hope I’m wrong, but I don’t see it going away at this point.

Also, it is greatly affected by the summer heat and humidity, it lasts over 100 times longer on surfaces in 40 degree temperatures as it does in 100 degree temperatures . reference. Unfortunately that much less is still 6 hours . Sunlight does even better though, https://www.coronavirustoday.com/natural-sunlight-rapidly-inactivates-sars-cov-2-coronavirus-surfaces at about 7 minutes. Hard for the heat and sun to kill the virus when everybody’s sitting inside in the recirculated , conditioned air though, those conditions are ripe for spreading.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > BigBlock440 07/15/2020 at 12:32

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Our governor just announced he’s got it...

I think you’re right, it’s going to be around for a long time. Scary to hear about people catching it a second time (assumption is the antibodies don’t last very long in the body). Hopefully it doesn’t mutate as quickly as flu, so we’re always chasing a moving target like with the flu vaccine.

28 days on surfaces at 40 degrees?! Geez... wash your damn hands, folks. On the plus side, maybe it will convince more people to spend more time outside in the months and years ahead, and that does seem like one of the safest places to be these days.

BigBlock440 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/16/2020 at 07:54

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I think that’s one of the reasons it seemed to spread in the meat packing plants, it was well preserved even in the air. I just saw that about your governor.

I was talking to somebody at our corporate office, and their college age son just tested positive with 10 of his friends, they suspect he caught it at a bar they went to, but he only got tested because people he was with got tested, not because he was sick.  His roommate did not test positive, just the people he went to the bar with, so there may be something to that asymptomatic spread being rare thing, seems to be essentially only spreading in enclosed areas.