General Politics Discussion VIII [ARCHIVED] • Page 1625

I also think online/mobile ordering will still be super popular after all this is over because it's so convenient

I think "going back to normal" after what will eventually be a year and half-two years of PTSD from a deadly virus is going to be impossible for a lot of people, some people will be fine fuck them

 

Yeah I would love for outdoor dining options to remain a normal thing for restaurants. And it is more beneficial to them anyway because it gives them more tables to seat.

 

I can’t believe when I worked at the movie theater I still had to go in, maskless, with bronchitis

 

Warren had previously said she was going to vote against, I believe. Disappointed that none of the Dems put up resistance to this pick considering he's so recently out of the military and on the board of the defense contractor selling weapons for Saudi Arabia to be used to slaughter Yemeni civilians

 

Just thinking about the panic attack I'm most definitely going to have the first time I do something "normal" again

 

Just my two cents: this is always a personal balance where you decide for yourself what works for you, but some amount of mask wearing and physical distancing during flu season just seems like a no brainer to me. Why just accept that X-number of older people and little kids and immunocompromised people and just plain unlucky people have to die every year because its that time of year again...???

The hopeful side of me feels like it may be one tiny positive takeaway from this awful mess.

I have been really working hard lately with my kids who are 4 and 5 on their mental health because I am absolutely seeing the negative effects of having to basically hide in our trailer for almost a year now, wash hands constantly, wear masks, stay away from people, etc. My first concern has always been and still is keeping them alive and healthy, but this has gone on so fucking long at such a crucial point in their developments.

 

Yeah Duckworth, Warren, Blumenthal, and Gillibrand all said they wouldn't support the waiver. Shame they voted to confirm him anyway.

 

We'll see how it plays out. There's a brewery I went to at one point that had roughly 50 tables set-up outdoors that was almost double the capacity of the indoor set-up they used to have. And they just did it in the parking lot. For some places, those parking lots might be filled during a "normal" summer so it might not be possible. But I'd like to see it stick around.

 

just a heads up this isn’t confirmed yet, it’s just how we have to live/assume for now because we don’t have data yet. From what I’ve gathered, most of the nerds are saying that they’d find it very surprising if you could still carry/give the virus to someone if you’re one of the 95% that it’s effective for. If you’re in that 5%, who knows...

 

Reading all of your stories continue to put everything into perspective and makes me know that we’re not alone. This year has been full of suffering, death, and grief for our family as well.

I’m really proud of everyone who told Brent he’s a fucking idiot.

 

*taps bottle of Xanax in pocket* ooooh yeah

 

Here’s the issue I have with this personally: I don’t have a problem with people seeing family, friends in a safe setting. But from what I’ve seen, from myself in this and my friends, seeing friends and family “safely” usually means people wearing masks and trying to distance, then someone lowering their mask a half hour in and everyone slowly doing the same. I’m not saying everyone does it, but that is what I’ve seen again and again. If other people can resist that and be safe, by all means.

The other thing I hate is the wording of “being locked inside” or, as Brent, being stuck “doing nothing.” Neither of these things are true and obviously no one wants people to be secluded forever. There are certainly options to get of the house and/or gather safely. I just personally don’t think a lot of people want to do it in a way that isn’t a bunch of people indoors with their masks off.

This is more for the brent types, but in an age of endless media, video calls, etc., not to mention you still being able to go outside, do outdoor activities, there’s no reason to feel like you have “nothing to do” that you feel you can rightfully fuck off to Disney Land.

 

Ok so since we don't know for sure then it's still irresponsible and selfish to travel to Disney World in the middle of a pandemic, got it

 

It's gonna take a long time to "unlearn" this stuff considering my brain has a split second freak out when I'm watching an old TV show and they have a group of 10+ people in one room

 

The World Through Social Media Algorithms

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when we lost control of what we see, read — and even think — to the biggest social-media companies.

I put it right around 2016. That was the year Twitter and Instagram joined Facebook and YouTube in the algorithmic future. Ruled by robots programmed to keep our attention as long as possible, they promoted stuff we’d most likely tap, share or heart — and buried everything else.

[…]

If it were just about us and our friends and family, that would be one thing, but for years social media hasn’t been just about keeping up with Auntie Sue. It’s the funnel through which many now see and form their views of the world.

Some good stuff in here.

 

Oh my god, i do this all the time. Like, watching shows from 2004 still where they're all hugging and sharing food and I'm breathing into a brown paper bag.

 

I just wanted to say it because I do think it’s important we don’t downplay how “normalized” a mostly vaccinated population can be. I think they said we’d be getting some data on this in the next month or two

 

Brave browser takes step toward enabling a decentralized web - The Verge

 

I am having multiple dreams a week about being stuck somewhere, indoors, with people who aren’t masked up, or my mask won’t stay on, etc.
Just had another one last night

 

no one on Friends wears masks and they spend a lot of time just hanging at Central Perk what gives

 

My Disney World is doing outside dining in Chicago, in January. Even that seems like too much of a risk right now. It probably doesn’t even matter though since I come in contact with 500+ people every day at work.

 

I can't even fathom how hard it must be with kids. I was relatively stable for the most part of 2020, even though I was pissed as fuck that I didn't get the celebrate my PhD - I handed in the dissertation 1 day before the first lockdown in March. But I am blessed: healthy and so is my family. That is the most important thing.

But my girlfriend recently moved 600km away for a cool job opportunity. We are still together and happy with each other, planning havin kids etc. But for now I am sitting alone in our appartment that has been our first appartment together. And since then, as corny as it sounds, I am becoming a mess. It's not just that I am alone, which I can deal with, but I am losing any sense of duration: Covid seems forever. I know it's not, but I just can't grasp anything changing anymore. I smoke too much and I drink too much. I don't wanna sound whiny, but the long term mental health issues will be, at best, interesting.

 

I honestly love wearing a mask. I get to hide my ugly face and it’s saved me from so many unwanted conversations because nobody recognizes me. Will probably continue to wear one as long as possible