I’ve been holding back this post for a while, a lot to say let’s begin:
- Mask or no mask?
For research that will show you one should not wear a mask, one can find research saying that one should wear a mask, and vice versa.
The question of whether one should wear a mask, or should not wear a mask should be based on certain factors. Are you going to go exercise? I don’t think wearing a mask in that situation is really the best of ideas. Do you need to be understood in your work? Again, not advisable to wear a mask in my opinion. Are you sick? I’d definitely recommend wearing one. In the medical field? Yep, definitely wear a mask. Are you going to be spitting on people and not following proper social etiquette? Definitely, most definitely wear a mask. In a place with dangerous chemicals? Wear a mask!
It's probably a bit much to compare the sterilised environment of a hospital to the non sterilised, non controlled environment of everywhere else. That is to say; the hospital environment is designed so people can wear masks all day to minimal effect. Our everyday surroundings, not so much. In addition every person's biochemistry is different, and people will be impacted differently. Some people can wear masks without a problem, others have major issues while wearing them, one size does not fit all peoples.
The idea that there must be.a one size fits all solution into how to take care of one’s self during a virus seems a bit ridiculous to me. There are many ways to keep oneself from getting sick. Wearing a mask isn’t the only way to accomplish this goal. Washing ones’ hands with soap and water a good thing to do as well. It seems to me, having as many strategies as possible to solve a problem seems to me a good thing. The equivalent would be having tons of tools in the tool box to build something, but being only allowed to use one tool. It’s not that it could’t be done, it more than likely could be, would it be as efficient? Absolutely not!
I’m not going to be a dictator and tell you to wear a mask. My assumption is that every person is making risk calculations and knows what they are doing. If you choose to wear one, let no one stop you. If one does not choose to wear one, let no one stop you. The assumption that it is selfish to not wear a mask I think is a bit much, I do not prescribe intention when I do not know the heart of a person….
b. Pausing life because of a virus that its in the same family as the flu and the cold?
Society has had millions of viruses since the dawn of time, and this one is the one that gets society to pause? It’s in the same family as the flu and the cold. (Obviously different in how they infect people and such, but the base is the same) That seems quite a bit suspicious to me. Even during the Spanish flu, society didn’t stop functioning, and the idea that everyone is sick until proven otherwise wasn’t a thing. This is the virus that has transformed everyone into germaphobes? Brings me back to that episode in Recess that is called germ warfare, Gretchen gets sick with a cold. Gus overreacts and seeks everything to be disinfected, and Mikey wants to be friends with every germ. Gus even goes all out and gets a hazmat suit. There is propaganda printed, and as usual everyone freaks out, and starts super cleaning in masks. Leading to the mass disinfection…The friends Mikey and Gus get into a huge fight…At the end Gretchen says “You’re both behaving ridiculously…Germs are everywhere, and you have to learn to live with them.” I tend to think there is wisdom. We have to learn to live with in this case Wuhan 19. Stopping society was the wrong decision in my opinion. Although deep cleaning of stores and other places is a good thing…The contactless things can stay. That’s how things should be done.
Keeping lockdown is living from the virus rather than with it. Safety has always been to a degree an illusion. That is to say, viruses are everywhere, there’s literally nothing is one can do about that. We have all have to learn to just live In the moment, take precautions as need be…No need to get all freaked out over something that isn’t under our control….
c. Black Lives Matter?
I’m asking this as a sincere question…what do any of the following things have e to do with police brutality?
(Quoted from the black lives matter website)
- We are guided by the fact that all Black lives matter, regardless of actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration status, or location.
2. We make space for transgender brothers and sisters to participate and lead.
3. We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence.
4. We build a space that affirms Black women and is free from sexism, misogyny, and environments in which men are centered.
5. We practice empathy. We engage comrades with the intent to learn about and connect with their contexts.
6. We make our spaces family-friendly and enable parents to fully participate with their children. We dismantle the patriarchal practice that requires mothers to work “double shifts” so that they can mother in private even as they participate in public justice work.
7. We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.
8. We foster a queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise).
9. We cultivate an intergenerational and communal network free from ageism. We believe that all people, regardless of age, show up with the capacity to lead and learn.
10. We embody and practice justice, liberation, and peace in our engagements with one another.
11. We work vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension, all people
12. We intentionally build and nurture a beloved community that is bonded together through a beautiful struggle that is restorative, not depleting
13. We are unapologetically Black in our positioning. In affirming that Black Lives Matter, we need not qualify our position. To love and desire freedom and justice for ourselves is a prerequisite for wanting the same for others
14. We see ourselves as part of the global Black family, and we are aware of the different ways we are impacted or privileged as Black people who exist in different parts of the world.
15. Every day, we recommit to healing ourselves and each other, and to co-creating alongside comrades, allies, and family a culture where each person feels seen, heard, and supported.
Does anyone have a clue on what these things have to do with police brutality? I really want to know what’s going on with that…
I don’t see here anything relating to the topic of police brutality. They’ve taken a phrase which I think everyone can affirm. Black lives DO matter! But they have put an agenda behind this phrase which I can’t support.
Comrades? Who recognises this word? Sounds like the words of the Bolsheviks…Communism, Socialism…Those of you familiar with history know that it did not end well under the Bolshevik revolution.
Disruption of the Western prescribed nuclear family? Apparently Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East don’t count…Those also have the same family structure, arguably even more so, in particular how they treat the elder generation. All of you, my friends who are married or in relationship, they don’t want that.
Queer affirmative network? I’ll say this, if being queer was normal, one would not have to have it blasted everywhere and on various media platforms. Things that are normal don’t need programming or exposure to be made normal.
Cisgender privilege? What in the world is this? Seriously…Something to say, whatever name one wishes to be referred to, I’m happy to do so, I however will not conform to something that doesn’t exist. One may feel a certain way, but that doesn’t imply that those feelings are always connected to reality. In the human species, men do not get pregnant, women do. That is that.
Presuming that there’s a monolithic voice for blacks, and that this speaks for me, it’s very patronising. This movement does not speak for me, or the issues that I stand for.
Maybe there is something that I am missing, but none of these issues as far as I can see connect to police brutality.
d. Actually addressing police brutality
A lot of incidents have been quite troubling, but I’m going to start with the obvious thing…Real reform begins by not placing oneself in a situation where it might be suspicious. By no means am I saying that this will solve everything, or prevent officers having a bad day taking things out….But chances are things will run smoother if one doesn’t shoot at the cops, one doesn’t resist arrest, etc. It is better to be tried by 12, then carried by 6. If nothing wrong has been done on your part, show that in court, and never presume intention when you don’t know the heart of a person.
We can reform tactics all we wish, but at any situation things can change. What happens if a social worker is sent into a situation, and it escalates unto violence, and they don’t have the training for that? It seems to me that things will return to that way of thinking soon enough.
Situations are never quite black and white, flexibility must be allowed to be able to handle all situations in due prudence.
f. Trump's fault? Time to fire Newsom
While Trump is not a saint by any means, the media bias against him, is so blatant, it gets to a point where you almost feel bad for him. Trump didn't call a lockdown. The media calls him a failure. Trump does call a lockdown, they'd (rightly) call him a dictator. I certainly think he can phrase things better, but a lot of what he says, the substance of what he's getting at is on point, even if a few details are off. I do not like when people assign him blame, when it's not his fault. I admit, him thinking that China would be honest about Wuhan 19 was a failure. But he did not call for lockdowns of the economy. That is on local governance. In the spirit of doing something about this, I have signed the Recall Gavin 2020 petition. It's about time people who are sick of how things are being run, institute a recall. Get organised, and do something, enough is enough.
