I just don't understand it. Went camping with family at a nearby lake for a few days.

[Arkansas Granny]

Had a great time. We haven't been together in a year. The kids have grown so much. 12 and 14 year old grandsons are both taller than Granny. 11 year old granddaughter has grown, but is very petite.

On the way home we stopped at a travel center. Big sign on the door says:

ATTENTION. Face coverings are required inside the store.

Besides the cashiers, I saw one other person wearing a mask and it was pulled down under his chin so he could talk on the phone while he wandered around.

Arkansas has a 32% vaccination rate and people are acting like Covid has disappeared. This is why I believe we will be dealing with this disease from now on.

[Rorey]

1. Yesterday

I went to Walmart to get cat food. It was around 5 p.m. I would guess that one out of 15 had on a mask, and most were employees. I feel so bad for the employees who have no choice but to put up with the inconsiderate idiots. I know it's hot, but if an employee can wear a mask for their entire shift, a customer could put one on for their short visit.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. I know it's hot, but as I recall, most stores these days have A/C.

[wnylib]

31. Yesterday I was talking to a friend's youngest son.

He works at Walmart and told me that employees don't have to wear masks if they show proof of vaccination. Also told me that most customers are not wearing masks any more.

The employees at the grocery store where I shop are still required to wear masks and their sound system still reminds people to social distance. About half of the customers wear masks.

Local CVS employees - only one wore a mask. Very few customers did. A discount store in the same strip mall requires their employees to wear masks (one of them is on chemo for cancer) and nearly all of their customers wear them.

Public transportation here still requires employees and passengers to wear masks.

I am vaccinated but still wear a mask inside enclosed spaces where I will encounter other people.

[struggle4progress]

2. Bring out your dead

[Rorey]

3. Oh, and I'm jealous of you

I wish my family liked camping.

[Arkansas Granny]

6. We have already planned more camping trips this summer.

My son has an RV, but my daughter and I slept in a tent. We cooked on the grill and had both cast iron Dutch ovens going.

Campsite was right on the water so we could swim right there. Saw all kinds of birds, including a Bald Eagles carrying a fish.

[moonscape]

36. Sounds idyllic! n/t

[RegularJam]

4. No need to think we will be.

We will be.

[malaise]

7. Everyone wears masks in stores here

or they are arrested/
Glad you had a good time

[fescuerescue]

46. Are you in China?

In the US they have pretty much given up on enforcement I think.

[malaise]

51. Jamaica

Masks are mandatory indoors except for homes

[malaise]

52. Jamaica

Masks are mandatory indoors except for homes

[UpInArms]

8. I ran errands yesterday

Since every store I needed to visit is 30+ miles away, I had 5 stops to make ...

Recycling center ... the attendant was wearing a mask (correctly)
Grocery store ... only one checker (I picked that line) was wearing a mask ... no other patrons were
Walmart ... I needed 3 things that my grocer does not carry ... the employees were the only people in masks ... an older gentleman (?) in front of me in line attempted to bully me about wearing a mask ... getting in my personal space and being very confrontational ... I told him I would happily share my cold with him if he insisted on me taking off my mask ... he then moved away ...
gas station ... was outdoors, so was not concerned about others
Lumber yard ... no one ... employee or otherwise wore a mask
Hardware store ... one employee had a chin mask ... was very uncooperative about helping me find the item I needed ... was glad when he went away ... another employee (properly masked) helped me get a suitable item ... I expressed my opinion regarding his workmate ...

Was happy to get in my car, sanitize my hands after each stop, and come back home ...

Sheesh

[Grokenstein]

16. Still considering pulling out the old Halloween makeup FX gear

Last edited Fri Jun 11, 2021, 07:21 AM - Edit history (2)

and dolling myself up beneath the mask and gaiter before trolling for covidiots. Image the scenario:

Me (perfectly fine but masked): COUGH COUGH COUGH
Covidiot: take off your mask sheeple COVID isn't real
Me: (peels mask away to reveal thick sticky layer of (fake) glistening phlegm with "blood" in it all over lower face) COUGH COUGH COUGH RETCH
Covidiot: REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[UpInArms]

24. Hahahaha

Love the visual ... and needed the laugh ... thank you

[lagomorph777]

43. Heeee!

[marble falls]

9. We in the Bible Belt are living with lemmings.

[southerncrone]

37. So true. But they are so ignorant (& brainwashed) that they think WE are lemmings!

The irony is hilarious, but nauseating.

[marble falls]

38. The trick is to not laugh yourself sick. We need to remember: these clowns are seriously armed.

[machoneman]

39. Idiot, foolish, stupid, uneducated lemmings! Hey, get it right! LOL

[marble falls]

41. You forgot, "and these idiot, foolish, stupid, uneducated lemmings are seriously armed."

[stillcool]

10. we were in New Hampshire today...

sign on the door said no mask required if vaccinated. We wore our masks, and so did everyone else! I think people in these parts somehow are more inclined to be safe than sorry? Don't know, but pleasantly surprised.

[Yonnie3]

11. This situation worries me

If the disease continues circulating in a significant portion of the population both with and without symptoms, there is opportunity for mutations. We could be steering the virus into a variant that will evade our control efforts. It may take years before we will know if this is the case.

I fear it will be like the flu, with many variants and the prediction of which variants to put in the vaccine becomes as important as life or death. We will forever be playing catch up.

When I was in Japan people often wore masks. When I asked about this I was told that perhaps they were ill or knew people who where ill. I could tell they thought I was stupid. Different culture.

[Arkansas Granny]

12. It worries me, as well. I have grandchildren and great grandchildren who are not old enough

to be vaccinated yet. I don't want them to catch or transmit the disease. I don't want to see my fellow Arkansans sicken and die from a disease when vaccine is available at no charge.

[TheFarseer]

13. On the bright side

Cases are way down. My state is about to creep over 50% with at least their first shot but you can’t argue with the results of under 50 cases statewide today. Almost no one here is wearing a mask btw.

[mwooldri]

14. Which "travel center"?

I've noticed that some Pilot & Flying J stops still have the "masks required" sign even though they changed to the CDC guidelines. The Big 3 truck stops (Pilot, Loves, TA/Petro) have all gone to CDC guidelines unless local mandates require masks.

[Arkansas Granny]

29. We stopped at a Love's location. The sign was prominently displayed on each door.

[Shrek]

15. There's a similar sign at my local supermarket

But once you get inside the voice on the loudspeaker tells you face coverings are optional if you're vaccinated.

[MissMillie]

17. Lots of folks don't seem to realize

that the best freedom is being free because the virus is under control.

[GETPLANING]

18. Some people simply do not get it.

Went to Boerne, Texas for Christmas, for a weekend on a small ranch. Got invited to a Christmas party at the owner's big house.
Not one mask. At the height of the COVID pandemic. Not one mask. We left.

A few weeks later, went to Livingston, Texas, for a weekend by Lake Livingston.
Went to a nearby convenience store, not one mask.
Went to the Livingston Walmart for some groceries.
Again, not one mask. Employees had masks around their necks. We left.

I'm convinced it is a cultural thing. Republicans, Trumpies, whatever you want to call them, they are just sure it's all a hoax, even when they start dying from it.

[certainot]

42. the largest common denominator is probably talk radio, as with trump support itself

most of the national and local hosts on those 1500 radio stations were calliing it a hoax for months in the beginning when limbaugh was, or likely get yelled at by the dittohead trumper callers for not following the line. now it's politically incorrect to wear a mask in talk radio/red states

[Marrah_Goodman]

56. I agree, not just masks but also bigotry and racism

Where RW radio is prevalent you see much more ignorance.

[BobTheSubgenius]

19. That is a disheartening conclusion, AG.

I'm very sorry to hear that. Not the great time you had, obviously. The never-ending pandemic.

[Jon King]

20. I am missing why we care?

What am I missing? Our family got vaccinated months ago and life is back to normal for us. Why are we worried about what others are doing? If a variant takes over the current vaccines are quite effective and the vaccine companies have said they can quickly get us a booster just in case.

Why on earth are we wasting the precious time we have saying the pandemic is not over? Its totally over for those of us who got the vaccine....and any of us can also toss on a mask if forced to be in a crowd and still uncomfortable.

Geez folks....time to move on with life.

[Ms. Toad]

22. Not time to move on with life until everyone is eligible to be vaccinated.

0-11 year olds cannot be vaccinated yet, so it is our obligation to protect them until they are eligible. That means caring about unvaccinated people runnnig around spreading disease.

And, from a selfish perspective -if altrusim isn't enough, there are some signs that the vaccine may be less effective against the Delta variant. The more people spreading the disease, the higher the numerical chance that (1) you will encounter it and (2) that you immunity will not protect you against it.

[liberal_mama]

26. I read an article from Australian media today that said the Delta Variant has an R0 of 5!

That's double as contagious as original Covid.

[Ms. Toad]

33. It's extremely contagious -

and there's a lot we don't know -

Is it also more deadly?
Does it hit kids harder? (of particular concern, since they are the ones who can't get vaccinated right now - and even people on DU are suggesting that's no big deal)
How effective are the vaccines against it?

Costs nothing to wear a mask - so I'll continue in most indoor situations until the vaccination rates are higher and the case count is lower, and we know more.

[fescuerescue]

47. I doubt that we will ever reach 100%

I don't think we even got that with Polio, smallpox etc.

Certainly not the flu vaccine.

[Ms. Toad]

50. You misunderstood -

I'm talking about 100% eligible to be vaccinated. Currently 0-11 year olds cannot get the vaccine even if they want to.

Until everyone has access to the vaccine, we have an obligation to protect them. That means implementing and enforcing rules designed to prevent them from being infected by the voluntarly unvaccinated:

Until then - we either need to continue mandatory masking for everyone (and you don't have to worry about discriminating against those who are unvaccinated)

OR - bite the bullet and require proof of vaccination to be indoors anywhere outside of a personal residence without a mask.

[fescuerescue]

54. Oh no I got it

We can likely get past 90%.

But that last 10% is hard. That last 1% is ridiculously hard.

I suspect that the country will lose focus on start worry about something else before then.

Heck it's already starting as we can just see in casual observation.

[Ms. Toad]

68. I wasn't making any statements at all about % vaccinated -

I was addressing the reality that 15% are prohibited from being vaccinated at this point.

[h2ebits]

59. I recommend RMPBS.org

Rocky Mountain PBS just completed a four part series called: "Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer"

I subscribe to this PBS station and can watch most stuff online. I don't know if this particular series is available to everyone or not but, if you can watch it, I highly recommend it.

Part 1 is about the eradication of smallpox plus other stuff.

[druidity33]

30. Geez Jon, i think you're wrong.

Life will actually never quite be the same. And are you really ignoring the MANY people who live with unvaccinated individuals? You know, YOUNG people and the folks who CAN'T get vaccinated for health reasons?

[VarryOn]

34. Fully vaxxed here....

And not worn a mask in just over three weeks. My office stopped requiring masks for vaxxed three weeks ago. About 3,500 employees on campus. I'd guess about 1 in 10 is wearing masks. One positive case last week. We were running 20-30 cases during peak with everyone in masks.

I'm with you, Jon.

[Marrah_Goodman]

57. It is not over. The longer it spreads the more it mutates.

[Ms. Toad]

21. Got street harassed today for wearing a mask.

I was walking into work - and, since I find it easier to wear articles of clothing than to carry them, my mask was on during the short walk from the parking deck to my building.

As I'm crossing the street I see someone staring out of their pick-up truck at me in a way that made me suspicious - and sure enough, as soon as I cleared the crosswalk they barreled around me and yelled, "Take your mask off."

Our county has about 40% vaccinated. I went shopping on the way home last night - two stores, about 20 people in each one. Grand total of two masks (other than mine, and I'm vaccinated). I guess under the new math 40% of 40 people =2, not 16.

Fed up with this crap. I hope that the warm weather will fend off a surge until the fall - but I'm not hopeful beyond that.

[liberal_mama]

27. Maybe he was a pervert and wanted to check out your face. What kind of a psycho would do something

like that? I hope you got out of there quick.

[Ms. Toad]

32. There are a lot of jerks around here about masks.

But it does trigger a bit of PTSD for me, since being raped started as street harassment.

No real danger this time - the big tough guys were too busy high tailing it out of there.

[fescuerescue]

49. Yea you don't see much outside mask wearing now

everyone once in awhile i guess.

[Ms. Toad]

53. Still no excuse for the harassment.

Personally, it's easier for me to wear items of clothing than carry them. I wear my coat indoors in the winter time when there isn't a coat rack - rather than carry it (or I just leave it in the car and make a mad dash).

I keep a clean mask in the car - and rather than carry it in, I put it on as I grab my collection of stuff to head in. One less thing to carry if I'm just wearing it.

[fescuerescue]

55. No it's not

I don't understand what someone would care, let alone go out of their way to harass someone.

It's not as if it's hurting them.

[Fla Dem]

23. Only 40% of Florida's population has been vaccinated.

But there are no statewide restrictions. Crazy DeSantis abolished all restrictions. Individual companies/stores may impose their own. However I have not been in a store where masks were required.

My doctors office still require them, but not my dentist office.

[mac2766]

25. Santa Rosa County Florida. Milton/Pace/Navarre.

The very week that the state issued a mask mandate, the people in this county filed a petition to over-ride the governors mandate. Very very few have ever worn a mask here in my part of the state.

I'm fully vaccinated. I will take whatever booster shots that become available in the future so that I don't become ill from the virus, but... I will no longer worry about the health of anyone who refuses to take the vaccine. That includes 2 sisters, a brother, 2 brothers-in-law, one sister-in-law, 2 nieces, 2 nephews, and a few great nieces and nephews.

It's time we let the cards fall where they may. Let those who choose not to take the vaccine deal with their decision.

I believe that's the position of the current government as well.

Edit: Wow. I read that and realized how harsh it sounded. I guess a years worth of frustration on this subject came out in my post.

[maxsolomon]

28. We'll be culling the herd now. Sad but that's the hard truth of it.

Stay up on your booster shot when it comes out.

[southerncrone]

35. We have become the most ignorant, selfish nation on Earth.

No wonder the rest of the world no longer trusts us!

[Tiger8]

40. William F Buckley, Reagan, Limbaugh Assholes

I honestly believe 99% of republicans are assholes. I don't want to know any of them.

Their selfishness and cruelty were encouraged by Reaganism, Limbaugh, William F Buckley....all thankfully dead, yes, but their legacy lives on in today's republican party.

Trump, Faux News, Alex Jones, Roger Stone, Steve Bannon...and just pure evil, and by all measures even worse.

[AZ8theist]

44. MASKS HAVE DISAPPEARED IN ARIZONA PUBLIC AS OF NOW.

fucking imbeciles...

[grantcart]

45. AZ 6 million vaccines

Less than 10 deaths a deaths a day

New cases about 300 a day and declining.

If you are fully vaccinated and not in a congested room CDC is showing extremely unlikely to get Covid, about 1 in 10,000 with a rare possibility of developing serious symptoms.

[StarryNite]

66. Yup

And with the Suns packing them in...yelling and screaming and few wearing masks...this will be a huge test.

[llashram]

48. spoiled and exceptional

Americans. Spoiled? Yes. Exceptional? No. Never. Cause for a lot of grief in this world. Not all the grief. But our share. Trump proved this in spades...Reagan... Bush-Cheney...Nixon-Atwater...execution-assassination of Kennedy by RW? Mafia? Castro?...and all the way back to Jamestown 1619.

[Orrex]

58. PA and OH have somewhat better vax rates...

But I still get funny looks when I wear my mask into stores, as though the pandemic never happened and isn’t still going on.

[IronLionZion]

60. It varies a lot by individual business here in DC

some are very strict about masks, or are still doing takeout only with no indoor seating. Others are fully open and unmasked.

Like the libertarians keep saying, we can't do anything to force others to do the right thing. It's up to us to what we can to protect ourselves. So I still wear a mask indoors around people. I'm vaccinated. And I would help anyone else who needs help finding a vaccine or wants some of my massive collection of masks.

Other folks will be spreading the delta variant around this summer. It's already a problem in Texas and Georgia, probably neighboring states too.

[Arkansas Granny]

62. That's pretty much where I am, too. I'm fully vaccinated and so are all the adults in my

immediate family. We have done our best to follow CDC guidelines from the start. I still mask up to go into a store and I will continue to avoid crowds as much as possible. That is about all I can do.

The vaccination rate here in Arkansas is among the 10 lowest in the nation. While we are seeing fewer cases and deaths right know, I don't know what will happen this fall in conjunction with normal cold and flu season. I will not be surprised to see the numbers start rising again. I don't know if people are really that ignorant of the way diseases are transmitted or if they just don't care.

[IronLionZion]

63. It can be bad in hot places this summer

as unvaccinated people gather indoors for air conditioning whether it's for parties, church services, or anything else.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

61. An extremely more contagious and deadly variant could theoretically wipe out

2/3 of the Republican party, and 4/5 of the Evangelicals in the US.

Darwin, just sayin'. If the QOP is looking for a shiny new conspiracy, that would be a good one to send them to the halls of vaccination pronto.

"The Democrats has all done got vaccinidated, and now they are releesing the killer strane of the virus to wipe out our lord and savior Jeebus Trumps chozen peeple!11!!!"

[IronLionZion]

65. It could have political election implications in some swing states

These people have more vaccine opportunities than anywhere else worldwide so they have no one else to blame.

[not a texan]

64. we still wear them on Big Island

Our numbers have been some of the best through this whole pandemic. We have had some serious clusters but in general have been better than the mainland. Our mask mandate is still in place for indoors and people follow it, do not even see many noses sticking out above the mask. Grocery carts are still sterilized before use at most stores, and stores requiring hand sanitizer use before entering is the norm. It works.

[Arkansas Granny]

67. And here's the latest email update that I have received on Covid-19 in the state:

What’s happening in Arkansas

The number of people hospitalized in Arkansas with covid-19 rose Wednesday by double digits for the second day in a row, a development that state health officials said could be the result of infections among unvaccinated people over Memorial Day weekend.

"Today's report shows similar case numbers compared to last week but shows an increase in hospitalizations," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet.

"While active cases are declining, this rise in hospitalizations is a reminder of caution and a reason to get vaccinated against COVID-19."

In fact, however, the number of cases in the state that were considered active rose Wednesday by three, to 1,659, as new cases outpaced recoveries.

People are acting like Covid is gone and everything is back to normal now.