Bring the restrictions back or let it rip? (San Diego, Orange: live, safe)

[ohio_peasant]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Just got back from a loop of Utah, Nevada, Arizona and here. It didn't start feeling alien, even in CA, until we hit LA city limits. No one else is taking these draconian "precautions".

This is true. Even visiting San Diego feels like going to a different country. Our "precautions" here in Los Angeles are, to say the least, extensive.

A data point: ours is a small business currently underutilizing a midsized industrial building. Maybe 4-5 people on a semi-open floor of 3000 square feet, 12' ceilings, with a big rooftop air-handling unit. Our senior fellow mandates 100% mask usage, all of the time. The ostenisble reason is that his wife is in a vulnerable condition. We are also mandated to take daily (yes, daily!) covid tests. Well, the gentleman recently reported that despite the sundry precautions, his wife is now covid-positive. Symptoms are reportedly mild. Nevertheless, the masking persists. Oh and BTW, we are nearly all vaxed and boosted.

So it goes.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by ohio_peasant

This is true. Even visiting San Diego feels like going to a different country. Our "precautions" here in Los Angeles are, to say the least, extensive.

A data point: ours is a small business currently underutilizing a midsized industrial building. Maybe 4-5 people on a semi-open floor of 3000 square feet, 12' ceilings, with a big rooftop air-handling unit. Our senior fellow mandates 100% mask usage, all of the time. The ostenisble reason is that his wife is in a vulnerable condition. We are also mandated to take daily (yes, daily!) covid tests. Well, the gentleman recently reported that despite the sundry precautions, his wife is now covid-positive. Symptoms are reportedly mild. Nevertheless, the masking persists. Oh and BTW, we are nearly all vaxed and boosted.

So it goes.

Wow!

There are so many people I personally know that have it now and not a single person got wrecked. The media is still fanning the flames saying Hospitals are packed but everyone I know that works in medical says it's mostly unrelated to covid. How long are these politicians going to try and string this out?

[ohio_peasant]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

There are so many people I personally know that have it now and not a single person got wrecked. The media is still fanning the flames saying Hospitals are packed but everyone I know that works in medical says it's mostly unrelated to covid. How long are these politicians going to try and string this out?

Can't say about media or politicians, but my anecdotal impression is that the culture of masking and distancing is deeply insinuating itself into the local consciosness... permanently.

In some cultures, a common greeting by adults, is a peck on the cheek. In others, this would be viewed as gross impropriety. In Western culture we have for generations relied on the handshake. There were variations on handshakes between men and women, vs. men and men... but that has dissipated over the past say 30-40 years. Well, I foresee the handshake going away, to be replaced by the fist-bump or similarly "distanced" surrogate.

On the plus side, open-office floorplans may come to be reconsidered, to be replaced by cubicle-type of partitions. The private offices of the mid 20th century are unlikely to return, but we may see a resurgence of the cube-farms of the 1990s.

Masks, I fear, are becoming a permanent fixture. Just as in a fancy club or restaurant it was expected for patrons to wear a suit-jacket, so too, we may find the emerging expectation is to wear a mask, at least during flu-season. Going without a mask may come to be viewed as being as risky and dissolute as bicycling without a helmet. Remember how fairly recently ago, bicycle helmets were used only by professionals or by sportsmen in competition? For a casual rider to wear a mask would be been odd or outright silly. And now? So too, masks used to be worn only by surgeons or dentists. In the new way, going unmasked would be viewed as being indecorous or outright insolent.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by ohio_peasant

Can't say about media or politicians, but my anecdotal impression is that the culture of masking and distancing is deeply insinuating itself into the local consciosness... permanently.

In some cultures, a common greeting by adults, is a peck on the cheek. In others, this would be viewed as gross impropriety. In Western culture we have for generations relied on the handshake. There were variations on handshakes between men and women, vs. men and men... but that has dissipated over the past say 30-40 years. Well, I foresee the handshake going away, to be replaced by the fist-bump or similarly "distanced" surrogate.

On the plus side, open-office floorplans may come to be reconsidered, to be replaced by cubicle-type of partitions. The private offices of the mid 20th century are unlikely to return, but we may see a resurgence of the cube-farms of the 1990s.

Masks, I fear, are becoming a permanent fixture. Just as in a fancy club or restaurant it was expected for patrons to wear a suit-jacket, so too, we may find the emerging expectation is to wear a mask, at least during flu-season. Going without a mask may come to be viewed as being as risky and dissolute as bicycling without a helmet. Remember how fairly recently ago, bicycle helmets were used only by professionals or by sportsmen in competition? For a casual rider to wear a mask would be been odd or outright silly. And now? So too, masks used to be worn only by surgeons or dentists. In the new way, going unmasked would be viewed as being indecorous or outright insolent.

Again. I've been to Jersey, Texas, the Carolinas,Colorado, Utah, Arizona, San Fran, LA and Nevada all in the last two years. The ONLY places whipping everyone into a frenzy of terror is San Fran and LA. They even sucked San Diego into the vortex of paranoia but stores aren't enforcing it if you protest wearing one by not.

Also about the helmets. I've been an avid cyclist forever. The only reason no one wore one was the original helmets were quite expensive. I'm still seeing people riding bikes or driving a car alone wearing a mask. These people are straight up terrified thanks to the media and politicians. Some of the older folks are literally living in terror and in isolation for their last few years. It's just wrong.

[goodheathen]

I've known people - not very high-risk - who have been unwell for weeks (so far) due to COVID-19. It's not a killer for many people, but it's more than a cold and something to avoid. Very hard to avoid without restrictions. Furthermore, for the nth time, it's downright stupid/slanderous to say fear is why masking in cars. Why take it off for a short ride? Take it off when it can be left off for a while.

[Dub D]

Stay home and live in a bubble if you want restrictions back.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by goodheathen

I've known people - not very high-risk - who have been unwell for weeks (so far) due to COVID-19. It's not a killer for many people, but it's more than a cold and something to avoid. Very hard to avoid without restrictions. Furthermore, for the nth time, it's downright stupid/slanderous to say fear is why masking in cars. Why take it off for a short ride? Take it off when it can be left off for a while.

Short ride? I've seen people driving on the freeway between Ramona and San Diego. That's 30 miles. I've seen people on the 8 from Yuma to Phoenix. That's 200 miles.

[ohio_peasant]

If we at least concede that masks are intensely unpleasant and uncomfortable, would it not follow, that we should remove them, at the earliest possible opportunity? I wear my mask when required, which is unfortunately only too frequently. But as soon as the opportunity presents itself, off comes the mask! Why would one voluntarily wear it, when it isn't required?

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by ohio_peasant

If we at least concede that masks are intensely unpleasant and uncomfortable, would it not follow, that we should remove them, at the earliest possible opportunity? I wear my mask when required, which is unfortunately only too frequently. But as soon as the opportunity presents itself, off comes the mask! Why would one voluntarily wear it, when it isn't required?

The masses listen to the Governor's every word and obey. That's why it's uncomfortable to navigate daily activity in a big city as you'll be seen as a dissenter. We are all in this together

Virtue signaling at it's finest. San Diego spent months without this mask crap and all of a sudden we started testing. Now they are trying to force us to mask up again because "numbers are up". Of course they are, we are now testing. Rocket surgery stuff here. Deaths weren't up for that year we weren't masking nor are they now except they want to include anyone who does WITH covid not FROM covid in the numbers. This is freakin A stupid.

[Dub D]

When are you talking about? No one I know is all about what the governor says. And that applies to when I lived in Texas and California last year. Both states have stupid AF governors in very different ways.