sbsweetpeaBy an edhat reader
The other night around 7:00 I was walking my dog at Shoreline Park. Wearing a mask and the dog was on a leash so very PC. I came across of group of approximately 20 young people, I would say they were in their 20’s. Sitting on a picnic table and standing around drinking beer etc. Not one of them had a mask on and no social distancing. They were not foreign students so language was not an issue. Should I have said something to them? I was with a friend and she discouraged me, she is elderly so maybe she feared conflict. If one doesn’t want to confront them directly should the police, health dept. etc. be called?
This behavior is blatantly disregarding public/personal safety.
You have be very careful these days about picking your battles, and for this I agree with the others. Best to leave it alone. Don’t be a Karen – or a Kevin, if you are a male.
I agree with others- best not to say anything unless it directly affects you- ie they’re encroaching on your personal space. While we can appreciate you wanting them to follow rules and stay healthy, it’s up to individuals to follow (or don’t follow) the rules or guidelines.
it would be counterproductive to force a confrontation. just take an iphone picture and send it directly to county health along with the date, time, and location.
It would be like talking to a brick wall. A drunken brick wall with lots of like-minded brick wall friends for brick wall mob mentality.
I see almost all of these comments give pass to the unmasked. What does that say about keeping society safe. I see that the infection has been increasing in the young likely with attendant life long lung and heart issues.
It is what it is…
I sometimes want to confront the people who walk around wearing their mask on their chin, or constantly fiddling with it, or wearing a bandana or neck gaiter, which are essentially useless and might actually help spread the virus. The kids hanging out–that’s their problem. No, swarfmaster, they are not going to have “life long lung and heart problems.” What scary TV news gave you that idea? Most of them wont even get sick.
What size group is too large a group gathering? Answer: depends on outdoor or indoor, and which bureaucrat in which country is making up the rule this week.
I sometimes want to confront people who are walking alone with no one around and nevertheless masked up. Completely useless, But I don’t. It is their fear and their problem, not mine. Same with people driving around with mask and gloves. Or swimming/wading in the ocean. Saw that yesterday at Hendry’s. Why on earth would someone do that. Answer: fear again. Too much TV news. Too many confusing and ever changing lies and misinformation to digest. So just fall back on fear and panic?
No. Learn the truth. The correct answer is simple: stay home if you are sick. If you are out and about and cannot be 6 ft from others, wear a properly fitted mask. Going inside into a business, wear a mask. Keep you hands clean and disinfected if you touch something that someone may have coughed, sneezed or spit upon. Keep your fingers out of your nose and mouth—-and off your mask! Stop living in fear. If you get covid and are otherwise healthy, you have about 50-80% chance of not even knowing you’ve got it and a 99.87% chance of getting well and not dying. You’re at higher risk of injury or death just trying to cross the street, even at a crosswalk. Now that is truly sad.
GINGER1 – It is now common knowledge that young people are getting sick and some ending up with permanent organ (brain, heart, kidney, lung, etc) damage, so you’re 100% wrong in you dismissal of that concern. Didn’t really read the rest of your post, but I’m 99.87% sure you’re wrong about all the other myths as well.
SWARFMASTER you see lifelong heart and lung problems from covid? You realize its only been like 8 months. How can you say its causing lifelong issues with young people? Im not dismissing the seriousness of COVID but come on.
https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/26/from-nose-to-toe-covid19-virus-attacks-like-no-other-respiratory-infection/
When you end up needing a lung transplant, or have both legs amputated because of circulatory damage, it’s generally considered to be a lifelong condition, unless you practice magical thinking.
People need to enforce social values. When I was younger I was confronted by neighbors in my new subdivision who were concerned that the real estate company had shown the model homes to black people. I could have walked away from this for “peace” but I engaged the conversation and said I was glad they were doing this. I have always looked back on that moment as a great thing in my life.
This is what we really need right now:
https://www.kxan.com/entertainment-news/youtuber-designs-gun-that-shoots-masks-onto-faces-of-those-who-refuse-to-wear-them/
https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/12/after-covid19-mental-neurological-effects-smolder/
I wouldn’t confront the unmasked group of beer drinkers, but that’s because I would fear a violent, or at least unpleasant, response. It’s a sorry state of affairs. If I were bold and fearless and wanted to engage, I might ask them if they don’t believe they are vulnerable, and if they don’t think they have a duty to their fellow man to avoid catching and spreading disease. But chances are they would just blow me off and ask me to chill. Not much to be gained by confronting them.
SBSBSB: How about this, just in from The Washington Post:———- “Anecdotal reports of these people abound. At least seven elite college athletes have developed myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that can have severe consequences, including sudden death. An Austrian doctor who treats scuba divers reported that six patients, who had only mild covid-19 infections, seem to have significant and permanent lung damage. Social media communities sprang up of people who are still suffering, months after they were infected, with everything from chronic fatigue and “brain fog” to chest pain and recurrent fevers.
Full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic
Now, data is coming in behind the anecdotes, and while it’s preliminary, it’s also “concerning,” says Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. A recent study from Germany followed up with 100 recovered patients, two-thirds of whom were never sick enough to be hospitalized. Seventy-eight showed signs of cardiac involvement, and MRIs indicated that 60 of them had ongoing cardiac inflammation, even though it had been at least two months since their diagnosis.
If these results turned out to be representative, they would utterly change the way we think about covid-19: not as a disease that kills a tiny percentage of patients, mostly the elderly or the obese, the hypertensive or diabetic, but one that attacks the heart in most of the people who get it, even if they don’t feel very sick. And maybe their lungs, kidneys or brains, too.”
SWARFMASTER. I am fully with you on this one. In my reply to SBSBSB I put the following, but am posting it again——-maybe even more people will see and read it and have a better understanding of what is going on: —- From The Washington Post: ——- “Anecdotal reports of these people abound. At least seven elite college athletes have developed myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that can have severe consequences, including sudden death. An Austrian doctor who treats scuba divers reported that six patients, who had only mild covid-19 infections, seem to have significant and permanent lung damage. Social media communities sprang up of people who are still suffering, months after they were infected, with everything from chronic fatigue and “brain fog” to chest pain and recurrent fevers.
Full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic
Now, data is coming in behind the anecdotes, and while it’s preliminary, it’s also “concerning,” says Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. A recent study from Germany followed up with 100 recovered patients, two-thirds of whom were never sick enough to be hospitalized. Seventy-eight showed signs of cardiac involvement, and MRIs indicated that 60 of them had ongoing cardiac inflammation, even though it had been at least two months since their diagnosis.
If these results turned out to be representative, they would utterly change the way we think about covid-19: not as a disease that kills a tiny percentage of patients, mostly the elderly or the obese, the hypertensive or diabetic, but one that attacks the heart in most of the people who get it, even if they don’t feel very sick. And maybe their lungs, kidneys or brains, too.”
People don’t like unsolicited advice at the best of times, and these are not the best of times. The instinct for self-preservation is not strong in young brains, which is why they are willing to go to war for us. Just give them a wide berth and settle in for hibernation until a vaccine shows up.
My advice with this situation is to leave others alone. It’s not going to do any good telling other people what they’re doing is wrong. Everyone knows what’s going on and people are choosing to handling things their own way. Many may disagree with each others decisions. But creating more conflict is just not going to make things better. People need to accept the fact that others may make different decisions for better or worse. If you feel like you have to say something, then notify authorities and let them handle it. We have enough conflict and self-entitlement in this world already. Let’s all just keep things calm and let others be.
I would say “no” – do not say anything. First – I strongly doubt they have not heard anything you are planning on saying. The have chosen to ignore what you would say. Second – You friend was right. Did you see the video of the elderly woman who asked a woman to lift up her mask and cover her nose? She was thrown to the ground and her leg was broken. What ever may happen to the woman will never compare to the suffering the elderly lady will have. Third – I would not “call anyone”. I know the health department does not have employees equip to go out and unless it is a really slow day I doubt the police will come out.
Karen alert!!
The silent enemy has provided an outlet for youthful disobedience to authority, a generation issue!
Were we not last year trying tell a certain religions group that they can’t force women to wear face coverings??
May the farce be with you!
Agree with the rest. It is uncomfortable and the concern is so much more than just ourselves so it makes it a complex issue when you see others without masks but this is a clear cut situation in regards to doing what WE can do to protect OURSELVES and our families only. Avoid what makes you uncomfortable right now and wear your mask while around others. It’s REALLY hard not to say something but it won’t do anything except bring anger on you by people who are willfully noncompliant, based on whatever reasons they think they are safe (youth, politics, ignorance, social pressure, idiocy, etc.) and with the way that people are acting right now it may be downright unsafe. It’s disgusting really but it is how it is.
It won’t change them. It’s like trying to teach a pig to sing, it will just piss you off and irritate the pig.
VVORKER–nice word salad from the mongoloid.
Sound advice.
Well said, Pitmix.
It’s not worth getting into a confrontation. I was at Ralph’s Saturday morning and two employees were wearing loose bandanas instead of the recommended protection. It was easier to just walk past them and hope for the best than stop and nanny them.
If such individuals were interested in complying with “rules” you would not have to remind them to. Furthermore, it is already illegal to consume alcoholic beverages and or smoke (anything) in public, including public parks – Shoreline Park. So you already have a group of 20 somethings who are not the slightest bit interested in obeying pesky laws that don’t let them do what they want to. In today’s social environment it is best to avoid those who are doing things you don’t like, even if you are correct, to avoid an unnecessary potentially violent confrontation. The same applies when you are driving and someone wants to pass you but you are in the fast lane going the speed limit. Do you want to provoke a “road-rage” situation just to be the self appointed speed monitor? Move over and let them go by. If you can call hands-free notify the CHP via 911 and give them the license number. People who are not inclined to follow rules won’t and you won’t change that. Take care of yourself and those close to you and avoid the rest. Good luck because there are a lot of violent people out there in today’s world. Don’t make yourself their target! If you feel you have to do something… call the police.
Wrong on so many levels.
I get it, I so want to call people out sometimes. Some just don’t get the idea of doing the right thing, being a solid citizen, and the concept of the greater good. Our neighbors have been hosting parties and gatherings with adults and young people all through the entire pandemic, as if nothing’s different. In fact even more so than usual. Not the same families all the time either. It’s pretty annoying seeing that when people are losing their businesses, jobs, wages, and lives. And those of us doing the right thing are missing out on get togethers with family members as well. All sorts of sacrifices.
But I think like most here that wouldnt be effective. How about scowl, not scold?
If I’m expected to follow the rules, then so are others.
I WILL & have, spoken out each & every time necessary..
I have those “Clint Eastwood” eyes..they mean business.