Covid Journal, July 22, 2020
Masks: Evoking The Nightmare of Halloween Without the Fun
I LOVE the idea of wearing masks year-round. But I’m a freak that loves Halloween.
In fact, I think they should be the new ‘thing’, as in ‘masks are the new fashion colour’.
Obviously, many other people think it’s a nightmare that some organized cabal is forcing on them.
Stealing their rights, blah blah blah.
You can’t breath having a mask on? I can’t even begin to try to unpack your white privilege with a statement like that.
As a bizarre twist of fate and karma, I used to feel that way (kind of, but not as insanely) about vaccines.
Today, I am fully aware of the value of ‘herd immunity’ and vaccinations.
The same logic should apply to masks until we have some kind of universal treatment or cure for Covid.
To top it all off, there are NONE of the potential concerns of masks when compared to vaccines: they’re cheap, they’re self-administered, they have no by products and no one is making a kazillion dollars off them in bonuses and stock options. Except for maybe GAP or Tee Public.
Here’s some background on masks, compiled via a survey from National Geographic. I’ve provided a couple of snapshots below, but there’s tonnes of interesting data there.
The results are really not that surprising: middle-aged, white, rural, less-than-college educated, Trump-supporting, Right-wing males seem to think masks aren’t important. It’s a good thing we’re going out of our way to open bars, baseball games and golf clubs for them so that they can keep Covid going strong.
What to do?
WEAR A MASK.
Portland
In the early days of Covid lockdown, I had nightmares (seriously) related to what happened in Portland a few days ago.
Unlicensed thugs would go around and gather peaceful and law-abiding citizens, toss them in vans and unmarked vehicles and make them disappear.
I am horrified and I’m not sure I want to read any more about what happened, but I can’t help feeling a little more concerned about the US slipping into complete disarray and a pre-Fascist state.
This is unacceptable.
How Trump continues to get away with this bullshit is beyond me.
More Bailout Billionaires
I keep shaking my head at the sheer stupidity of our politicians tossing OUR money around like there’s literally no tomorrow.
Of course, billionaires are the first in line, gobbling up the lion’s share of cash before the rest of us can get a lifeline.
I’m looking for more stories about Canada (above and beyond the WE controversy), so feel to share links in the comment below. In the interim, here are just a few highlights from the Billionaire Blooper reel:
- US firms get bailouts, shower execs with bonuses
- Covid lobbying-palooza reaps massive benefits for connections to Trump (and here and here)
- Covid Stimulus Watch
And so on …
I’m too tired to try to give a shit about US money being shovelled into the pockets of the top 1% in the US, but in Canada, can we at least try to put some terms to the bailouts? Like maybe no bonuses, extra dividends or instant insolvency after getting cash? And if those terms are breached, maybe those companies just become public assets to be sold to the highest bidders at a later date?