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Augie RayPeople do not understand how to equate things with “lower” risk into their daily lives. Most are pretending that #COVID19 is so low risk, they act like it's gone. They do this, even though COVID remains a top three cause of death in the US and took 0.08% of Americans' lives last year. If 0.08% of US flights crashed and killed fliers, that would mean 36 plane crashes and 2,300 people dead EVERY SINGLE DAY. If that were the case, almost no one would get on a plane. So, why won't we #WearAMask?
B.I.L.L. the Alien@augieray This needs to be blasted across all corners of the internets. 🎆
Krister Renaud@augieray because far too many adults haven't grown past their teenage self that lives after the credo "no one is going to tell me what to do".
skua@krenaud @augieray
Yes. Recognised consequences are so good at guiding future behaviour.
And so many have been repeatedly rewarded over +40 years for "I'm making up my own mind, expressing my individuality, going with my feelings, doing what I want to do" that they'll continue to take that approach.
Until they walk into a glass door or something more serious visits.
Hoping it is just a glass door.
Graham Lea@augieray Because most people have swallowed the lie that only the elderly and “vulnerable” people get sick from it, and they’re pretty sure that’s not them. And/or they’ve had it once and “I felt fine after one bad night”. Yet they’ve missed the news that each infection puts them one step further in to the “vulnerable” category, and can start long-term debilitating disease that doesn’t “feel” like anything at first.
Araignee@augieray
People I know have gotten serious about Covid when someone close to them is affected. Our school nurse has suffered severe heart damage after a mild case over Christmas. She just got out of the hospital and must wear a defibrillator 24/7 or risk sudden death. Her career is over. Now everyone at school is masking again.
People I know have gotten serious about Covid when someone close to them is affected. Our school nurse has suffered severe heart damage after a mild case over Christmas. She just got out of the hospital and must wear a defibrillator 24/7 or risk sudden death. Her career is over. Now everyone at school is masking again.
ikuo@augieray It's distressing how much covid cases & deaths have been normalized. Lack of news coverage is certainly a factor. And I see a lot of "it's not happening to me so it's not a problem."
I think another factor is lack of mathematical understanding. People see graphs of covid cases & deaths & think numbers are "low" because they're relatively low compared to Omicron, even if they are objectively high at Delta levels. At this point, nothing is labeled "high" unless it's Omicron-level high.
Stessa Cohen@augieray I was at another gymnastic meet yesterday - 6 hours with a few hundred people I don't know. The only other person wearing a mask was one of the coaches. Meet was in a county where the infection rate is at least 12% (is reported data reliable anymore?). My guess is that the reason is not based in logic or experiences on planes or cars or understanding of the math but a) decision based on being tired of pandemic and/or b) political decision. The a) choice is understandable but a decision that can be changed. The b) choice is not as changeable. Still have a couple more meets left in the competition season....
Pamela Ehn@stessacohen @augieray part of the problem is your average American is innumerate and doesn’t understand how to interpret data. I may be one of the only people still masking because the data still says it’s dangerous out there, even though the data itself is getting less reliable. (Why did globalepidemics.org discontinue its COVID map when the pandemic is not over?)
@stessacohen @augieray yup. To hell with reproductive freedom, to hell with freedom of thought, but the right to spread and die of disease is the hill they want to die on. Also, a fresh new population of disabled people they can alternately starve and shit on adds grist to that mill.
Jeffrey Robinson@augieray Because Republicans are such schmucks they follow clowns like Ron De Santis.
Tab Combs@augieray
We use similar logic when trying to figure out why society is seemingly ok with the numbers of people killed or catastrophically injured in #TrafficCrashes every year. In the US it's in the hundreds of thousands. Yet most people, acting as either individuals or auto manufacturers or roadway designers or regulators, willingly and knowingly prioritize #speed (the very thing that causes crashes) over #safety.
The #PlaneCrash analogy doesn't work for #RoadSafety either, and it's maddening.
We use similar logic when trying to figure out why society is seemingly ok with the numbers of people killed or catastrophically injured in #TrafficCrashes every year. In the US it's in the hundreds of thousands. Yet most people, acting as either individuals or auto manufacturers or roadway designers or regulators, willingly and knowingly prioritize #speed (the very thing that causes crashes) over #safety.
The #PlaneCrash analogy doesn't work for #RoadSafety either, and it's maddening.
mmalc@augieray
I fully support your point and general perspective, however I also think that focussing on the death rate may be part of the problem.
I’m not now (vaccinated, boosted, Paxlovid etc.) concerned about dying (much lower risk than at the start of the pandemic) as much as I am about #LongCOVID. The thought of the potential ramifications of even a “mild” infection is horrifying — and the probability of long-term illness/disability is … non-trivial.
I fully support your point and general perspective, however I also think that focussing on the death rate may be part of the problem.
I’m not now (vaccinated, boosted, Paxlovid etc.) concerned about dying (much lower risk than at the start of the pandemic) as much as I am about #LongCOVID. The thought of the potential ramifications of even a “mild” infection is horrifying — and the probability of long-term illness/disability is … non-trivial.
@augieray
A couple of years ago I was ridiculed in a different forum for equating “getting COVID” with “playing Russian Roulette (once) at 20 paces”. I still stand by the statistics.
With RR you stand a 5/6 chance of *nothing at all* happening. That’s better than odds with COVID. Then gun wounds apparently have > 95% survival (and at 20 paces likelihood of opponent getting fatal shot low). Long-term prognosis for recovery also better than for COVID.
But ask someone which they’d prefer…
A couple of years ago I was ridiculed in a different forum for equating “getting COVID” with “playing Russian Roulette (once) at 20 paces”. I still stand by the statistics.
With RR you stand a 5/6 chance of *nothing at all* happening. That’s better than odds with COVID. Then gun wounds apparently have > 95% survival (and at 20 paces likelihood of opponent getting fatal shot low). Long-term prognosis for recovery also better than for COVID.
But ask someone which they’d prefer…
Daniel AJ Sokolov@augieray Humans suck at probabilities.
Christy Salmonson@augieray my work is making masks optional 2/6/23. Work in an eye clinic where my hands and face are inches from ppl mouths as they get eyes examined. Not thrilled about work on 2/6/23 and going forward. Will be ridiculed by my coworkers and patients for wearing a mask 😷
Kim Spence-Jones #FBPE@augieray Because they tell themselves “only old people die of Covid”. This despite it being one of the top causes of children’s deaths in US. #Covid #covidIsNotOver https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2023-01-31-covid-19-leading-cause-death-children-and-young-people-us
COVID-19 is a leading cause of death in children and young people in the US | University of Oxford
A new study led by researchers at the University of Oxford’s Department of Computer Science has found that, between 2021 and 2022, COVID-19 was a leading cause of death in children and young people in the United States, ranking eighth overall. The results demonstrate that pharmaceutical and public health interventions should continue to be applied to limit the spread of the
@augieray Actually, the real reason people aren’t worried about Covid is because Governments all over the world are telling them not to worry. Telling people what they want to hear, in defiance of reality, is politicians standard behaviour. Even China has had to fall into that trap.
For some reason, precautions are seen as an all-or-nothing choice. Which is ironic, because minimal precautions (ventilation, filters, masks…) would help us all to return to a more normal life.
Melinda@KimSJ @augieray
I just don't believe the UK government, I listen to scientists who are not paid by our government. So I mask, have vaccines, and meet friends outside. Life is different, my social life is mainly centred around walks or garden visits. Hard in the UK winter, but we are heading to a snowdrop garden next week, where there is an outdoor café. I am healthier, and happier. The only thing I miss is live theatre, but in summer, even that is possible outdoors!
I just don't believe the UK government, I listen to scientists who are not paid by our government. So I mask, have vaccines, and meet friends outside. Life is different, my social life is mainly centred around walks or garden visits. Hard in the UK winter, but we are heading to a snowdrop garden next week, where there is an outdoor café. I am healthier, and happier. The only thing I miss is live theatre, but in summer, even that is possible outdoors!
clarkiestar@clarkiestar @KimSJ Me, too. I mean, it should be obvious, shouldn't it?
Xipppio@augieray zealotry…
@augieray It took years to convince the public that smoking is a real risk. I am afraid it is the same with COVID.
@augieray somehow we got to a point where one is even made fun of by some doctor themselves. H have heard you need to stop wearing a mask and mingle more with people, otherwise your immune system will get weaker. I don’t dispute that, but that’s only one side of the story.
AT-AT Assault 🏳️⚧️@augieray In my analysis, it's the combination of acting like a two year old who is hyper contrarian, and acting like one is invincible.
They'd avoid getting on the plane because that would be their conclusion, and they can *see* the cause (high energy impact = death). But they *can't* see a virus, so they don't believe it's real, so their false machismo takes over and makes them think they're invincible. Then other people tell them we have to wear masks, and their emotional maturity of a two year old kicks in and says "NO, YOU WON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO."