|
|
Post by Prometheus on Dec 17, 2020 2:59:55 GMT
People around the world have known for centuries - many, many centuries - to cover their faces when coming close to a sick person as to reduce the chances of catching whatever disease was decimating their population that time around. However, in the past 100 years or so, it has become more and more obvious that covering the face limits transmission from the infected person as well. That's a big reason as to why health care providers wear masks: don't add complications.
Yet, even with that knowledge, the wearing of masks by non-health care professionals has never caught on outside of Eastern Asia.
Why?
Culture.
As mentioned in the "Education" sub-series, children are the retirement plan. You don't want to lose your retirement plan, so you protect it, and in doing so help to protect the retirement plans of those around you. Win-win.
The elderly are revered. The elderly have knowledge and practical wisdom. The elderly have successfully raised their families. The elderly provide care for their grandchildren so mom and dad can work. Keeping them safe and healthy strengthens the nuclear family. Win-win.
People here will don their masks if they are sick (even just a common cold) to protect their family and friends. They wear masks even if they simply have a cold sore or even if there is a "bad air" day. Mostly, they just wear them during cold and flu season to keep themselves healthy and protect their friends. It's still win-win.
However - racism being racism - westerners tend to see an Asian face wearing a mask and thoughts like "If they're fucking sick, they should just stay the fuck home. Filthy <insert racist terminolgy here>." The masks act as a symbol upon which to focus hatred. It then becomes a symbol to be avoided.
Over the past year, the question from Chinese friends - and other random Chinese people I might encounter such as taxi drivers - is simply, "Why won't Americans just wear masks?"
So that I don't have to delve into the issue of racism or the fact that we don't give a fuck about our children or elderly, I usually just say, "Because they're fucking stupid."
The response is usually a sage nod followed by sad head-shake.
They really can't understand how America and other western countries, with all of their wealth, education, and power, can be so foolish.
Neither can I.
|
|
|
|
Post by ant-mac on Dec 19, 2020 22:49:13 GMT
People around the world have known for centuries - many, many centuries - to cover their faces when coming close to a sick person as to reduce the chances of catching whatever disease was decimating their population that time around. However, in the past 100 years or so, it has become more and more obvious that covering the face limits transmission from the infected person as well. That's a big reason as to why health care providers wear masks: don't add complications.
Yet, even with that knowledge, the wearing of masks by non-health care professionals has never caught on outside of Eastern Asia.
Why?
Culture.
As mentioned in the "Education" sub-series, children are the retirement plan. You don't want to lose your retirement plan, so you protect it, and in doing so help to protect the retirement plans of those around you. Win-win.
The elderly are revered. The elderly have knowledge and practical wisdom. The elderly have successfully raised their families. The elderly provide care for their grandchildren so mom and dad can work. Keeping them safe and healthy strengthens the nuclear family. Win-win.
People here will don their masks if they are sick (even just a common cold) to protect their family and friends. They wear masks even if they simply have a cold sore or even if there is a "bad air" day. Mostly, they just wear them during cold and flu season to keep themselves healthy and protect their friends. It's still win-win.
However - racism being racism - westerners tend to see an Asian face wearing a mask and thoughts like "If they're fucking sick, they should just stay the fuck home. Filthy <insert racist terminolgy here>." The masks act as a symbol upon which to focus hatred. It then becomes a symbol to be avoided.
Over the past year, the question from Chinese friends - and other random Chinese people I might encounter such as taxi drivers - is simply, "Why won't Americans just wear masks?"
So that I don't have to delve into the issue of racism or the fact that we don't give a fuck about our children or elderly, I usually just say, "Because they're fucking stupid."
The response is usually a sage nod followed by sad head-shake.
They really can't understand how America and other western countries, with all of their wealth, education, and power, can be so foolish.
Neither can I.
Nor can I. The moment it became apparent that the circumstances had changed, I was happy to comply. I don't see a problem with doing my bit to help out. Of course, I can help even more by staying home whenever possible and self-isolating. So either way, hopefully I'm not adding to the problem. |
|
|
|
Post by Prometheus on Dec 19, 2020 23:59:37 GMT
People around the world have known for centuries - many, many centuries - to cover their faces when coming close to a sick person as to reduce the chances of catching whatever disease was decimating their population that time around. However, in the past 100 years or so, it has become more and more obvious that covering the face limits transmission from the infected person as well. That's a big reason as to why health care providers wear masks: don't add complications.
Yet, even with that knowledge, the wearing of masks by non-health care professionals has never caught on outside of Eastern Asia.
Why?
Culture.
As mentioned in the "Education" sub-series, children are the retirement plan. You don't want to lose your retirement plan, so you protect it, and in doing so help to protect the retirement plans of those around you. Win-win.
The elderly are revered. The elderly have knowledge and practical wisdom. The elderly have successfully raised their families. The elderly provide care for their grandchildren so mom and dad can work. Keeping them safe and healthy strengthens the nuclear family. Win-win.
People here will don their masks if they are sick (even just a common cold) to protect their family and friends. They wear masks even if they simply have a cold sore or even if there is a "bad air" day. Mostly, they just wear them during cold and flu season to keep themselves healthy and protect their friends. It's still win-win.
However - racism being racism - westerners tend to see an Asian face wearing a mask and thoughts like "If they're fucking sick, they should just stay the fuck home. Filthy <insert racist terminolgy here>." The masks act as a symbol upon which to focus hatred. It then becomes a symbol to be avoided.
Over the past year, the question from Chinese friends - and other random Chinese people I might encounter such as taxi drivers - is simply, "Why won't Americans just wear masks?"
So that I don't have to delve into the issue of racism or the fact that we don't give a fuck about our children or elderly, I usually just say, "Because they're fucking stupid."
The response is usually a sage nod followed by sad head-shake.
They really can't understand how America and other western countries, with all of their wealth, education, and power, can be so foolish.
Neither can I.
Nor can I. The moment it became apparent that the circumstances had changed, I was happy to comply. I don't see a problem with doing my bit to help out. Of course, I can help even more by staying home whenever possible and self-isolating. So either way, hopefully I'm not adding to the problem. "I don't want to add to the problem" is a great attitude! |
|
|
|
Post by ant-mac on Dec 20, 2020 0:01:39 GMT
Nor can I. The moment it became apparent that the circumstances had changed, I was happy to comply. I don't see a problem with doing my bit to help out. Of course, I can help even more by staying home whenever possible and self-isolating. So either way, hopefully I'm not adding to the problem. "I don't want to add to the problem" is a great attitude! It seems the common sense approach to me.  If you can't fix it, don't fuck it up even worse. |
|
|
|
Post by Prometheus on Dec 20, 2020 9:12:43 GMT
"I don't want to add to the problem" is a great attitude! It seems the common sense approach to me. If you can't fix it, don't fuck it up even worse. You'll never be a politician.
We need them to have that attitude though.
|
|
|
|
Post by ant-mac on Dec 20, 2020 14:30:57 GMT
It seems the common sense approach to me. If you can't fix it, don't fuck it up even worse. You'll never be a politician.
We need them to have that attitude though.
In my youth, I was a member of the local branch of the Australian Labor Party - Mum was was an active member for many years - and I even attended one or two meetings or major events. For some reason, due to some of my views, a few of the older members seemed to think I had a promising future in that direction, should I have chosen to pursue it. However, I never felt passionate enough about the subject. The thought of engaging in all the secret wheeling and dealing, backroom meetings, backstabbing and two-faced lying sickened me. Of course, this was long before the internet became a thing. Besides, at the time, although I was young and idealistic, I also had a strong streak of realism running through me. I had no reason to believe I was any different to anyone else, which means I too could be bought... for the right price. I didn't think it was worth selling my soul to find out. |
|
|
|
Post by Prometheus on Dec 21, 2020 1:42:08 GMT
You'll never be a politician.
We need them to have that attitude though.
In my youth, I was a member of the local branch of the Australian Labor Party - Mum was was an active member for many years - and I even attended one or two meetings or major events. For some reason, due to some of my views, a few of the older members seemed to think I had a promising future in that direction, should I have chosen to pursue it. However, I never felt passionate enough about the subject. The thought of engaging in all the secret wheeling and dealing, backroom meetings, backstabbing and two-faced lying sickened me. Of course, this was long before the internet became a thing. Besides, at the time, although I was young and idealistic, I also had a strong streak of realism running through me. I had no reason to believe I was any different to anyone else, which means I too could be bought... for the right price. I didn't think it was worth selling my soul to find out. I hear ya!
The most I ever did was a 2-year stint on the school board many years ago and even that soured me on anything more.
|
|
|
|
Post by ant-mac on Dec 21, 2020 2:15:24 GMT
In my youth, I was a member of the local branch of the Australian Labor Party - Mum was was an active member for many years - and I even attended one or two meetings or major events. For some reason, due to some of my views, a few of the older members seemed to think I had a promising future in that direction, should I have chosen to pursue it. However, I never felt passionate enough about the subject. The thought of engaging in all the secret wheeling and dealing, backroom meetings, backstabbing and two-faced lying sickened me. Of course, this was long before the internet became a thing. Besides, at the time, although I was young and idealistic, I also had a strong streak of realism running through me. I had no reason to believe I was any different to anyone else, which means I too could be bought... for the right price. I didn't think it was worth selling my soul to find out. I hear ya!
The most I ever did was a 2-year stint on the school board many years ago and even that soured me on anything more.
When I was 11 or 12, my father actually attended a parent/teacher meeting at my primary school. It's a concept I still struggle to accept or believe, 40 years later. When he got home, he was just shaking his head. He said that they wanted to remove a pole from the schoolyard and spent the better part of an hour discussing when everyone could get together, who could bring a shovel, who could bring a pick, who could bring refreshments... and so on and so forth. As far as he was concerned, if they'd just pointed te pole out to him, he'd have driven his F100 around to it, eased up against it with the bull-bar, give it a little nudge and problem solved. Although he was a male nurse at the time, he was an ex drover, an ex soldier and an ex cop. If there was a problem, he didn't fuck about with committee meetings... he went and dealt with it. This is him at around 44, on his wedding day, in 1964 or 1965...  |
|
|
|
Post by Prometheus on Dec 21, 2020 2:59:49 GMT
I hear ya! The most I ever did was a 2-year stint on the school board many years ago and even that soured me on anything more.
When I was 11 or 12, my father actually attended a parent/teacher meeting at my primary school. It's a concept I still struggle to accept or believe, 40 years later. When he got home, he was just shaking his head. He said that they wanted to remove a pole from the schoolyard and spent the better part of an hour discussing when everyone could get together, who could bring a shovel, who could bring a pick, who could bring refreshments... and so on and so forth. As far as he was concerned, if they'd just pointed te pole out to him, he'd have driven his F100 around to it, eased up against it with the bull-bar, give it a little nudge and problem solved. Although he was a male nurse at the time, he was an ex drover, an ex soldier and an ex cop. If there was a problem, he didn't fuck about with committee meetings... he went and dealt with it. This is him at around 44, on his wedding day, in 1964 or 1965... He looks like a no-nonsense kinda guy... |
|
|
|
Post by ant-mac on Dec 21, 2020 3:59:45 GMT
When I was 11 or 12, my father actually attended a parent/teacher meeting at my primary school. It's a concept I still struggle to accept or believe, 40 years later. When he got home, he was just shaking his head. He said that they wanted to remove a pole from the schoolyard and spent the better part of an hour discussing when everyone could get together, who could bring a shovel, who could bring a pick, who could bring refreshments... and so on and so forth. As far as he was concerned, if they'd just pointed te pole out to him, he'd have driven his F100 around to it, eased up against it with the bull-bar, give it a little nudge and problem solved. Although he was a male nurse at the time, he was an ex drover, an ex soldier and an ex cop. If there was a problem, he didn't fuck about with committee meetings... he went and dealt with it. This is him at around 44, on his wedding day, in 1964 or 1965... He looks like a no-nonsense kinda guy... Yeah, but he always had time for a yarn and he loved a good joke. If Mum was working an early shift, but he wasn't, he'd still get up with her. While she was in the shower, he made her breakfast. While she was eating breakfast, he was outside warming the car up for her. If they were both on early shifts, when they got home in the afternoon, Mum would take a nap while he went outside to wash the car. do some gardening or so on. Unless he was working or attending some sort of social event, he was normally in bed by 2030 hours and up around first light... probably a habit he picked up from droving, being in the army and the police force. We lived in small country towns all over Australia, but no matter where we were, he normally drew the late shift on Fridays and Saturdays... to help deal with the drunks and to make sure the female nurses didn't get bothered. Also, it sees that many of the older male patients were more comfortable dealing with Dad over certain issues than with young girls. Different times... And the one time trouble did come calling, he knocked it on its arse with one uppercut. I was absolutely stunned. I didn't know Dad knew how to fight. When the guy got up and threatened to come back latter that night with his mates, Dad reached inside the caravan, brought out the .303 with the telescopic sight and explained in very plain language what would happen if he did. Wisely, the guy didn't. As you can imagine, that wasn't a day I was ever likely to forget. |
|
|
|
Post by Prometheus on Dec 21, 2020 6:29:05 GMT
He looks like a no-nonsense kinda guy... Yeah, but he always had time for a yarn and he loved a good joke. If Mum was working an early shift, but he wasn't, he'd still get up with her. While she was in the shower, he made her breakfast. While she was eating breakfast, he was outside warming the car up for her. If they were both on early shifts, when they got home in the afternoon, Mum would take a nap while he went outside to wash the car. do some gardening or so on. Unless he was working or attending some sort of social event, he was normally in bed by 2030 hours and up around first light... probably a habit he picked up from droving, being in the army and the police force. We lived in small country towns all over Australia, but no matter where we were, he normally drew the late shift on Fridays and Saturdays... to help deal with the drunks and to make sure the female nurses didn't get bothered. Also, it sees that many of the older male patients were more comfortable dealing with Dad over certain issues than with young girls. Different times... And the one time trouble did come calling, he knocked it on its arse with one uppercut. I was absolutely stunned. I didn't know Dad knew how to fight. When the guy got up and threatened to come back latter that night with his mates, Dad reached inside the caravan, brought out the .303 with the telescopic sight and explained in very plain language what would happen if he did. Wisely, the guy didn't. As you can imagine, that wasn't a day I was ever likely to forget. Good times.... |
|
|
|
Post by ant-mac on Dec 21, 2020 8:27:03 GMT
Yeah, but he always had time for a yarn and he loved a good joke. If Mum was working an early shift, but he wasn't, he'd still get up with her. While she was in the shower, he made her breakfast. While she was eating breakfast, he was outside warming the car up for her. If they were both on early shifts, when they got home in the afternoon, Mum would take a nap while he went outside to wash the car. do some gardening or so on. Unless he was working or attending some sort of social event, he was normally in bed by 2030 hours and up around first light... probably a habit he picked up from droving, being in the army and the police force. We lived in small country towns all over Australia, but no matter where we were, he normally drew the late shift on Fridays and Saturdays... to help deal with the drunks and to make sure the female nurses didn't get bothered. Also, it sees that many of the older male patients were more comfortable dealing with Dad over certain issues than with young girls. Different times... And the one time trouble did come calling, he knocked it on its arse with one uppercut. I was absolutely stunned. I didn't know Dad knew how to fight. When the guy got up and threatened to come back latter that night with his mates, Dad reached inside the caravan, brought out the .303 with the telescopic sight and explained in very plain language what would happen if he did. Wisely, the guy didn't. As you can imagine, that wasn't a day I was ever likely to forget. Good times.... And I wish I was there now... But you can't go back. |
|
|
|
Post by Prometheus on Dec 22, 2020 1:42:34 GMT
And I wish I was there now... But you can't go back. Nope. You can't. Except as a trip down memory lane.
I mentioned in one post or another that a small number of people had tested positive in the district across the bay and that the government was going to have it isolated in 24 to 48 hours. More cases popped up. The district is now under quarantine and the rest of the city is getting worried.
|
|
|
|
Post by ant-mac on Dec 22, 2020 3:26:44 GMT
And I wish I was there now... But you can't go back. Nope. You can't. Except as a trip down memory lane.
I mentioned in one post or another that a small number of people had tested positive in the district across the bay and that the government was going to have it isolated in 24 to 48 hours. More cases popped up. The district is now under quarantine and the rest of the city is getting worried.
Memory Lane is a much travelled thoroughfare... Another COVID-19 cluster has formed in the northern suburbs of Sydney, setting back progress in NSW, with new border restrictions being put back in place. The most far-flung case is a 15 year-old girl who just got back home to Melbourne in Victoria. So the fun continues... Forget 2021, I think we'll be well into 2022 before we've got a decent grip on this situation... if we're lucky. |
|
|
|
Post by Prometheus on Dec 22, 2020 3:56:50 GMT
Nope. You can't. Except as a trip down memory lane.
I mentioned in one post or another that a small number of people had tested positive in the district across the bay and that the government was going to have it isolated in 24 to 48 hours. More cases popped up. The district is now under quarantine and the rest of the city is getting worried.
Memory Lane is a much travelled thoroughfare... Another COVID-19 cluster has formed in the northern suburbs of Sydney, setting back progress in NSW, with new border restrictions being put back in place. The most far-flung case is a 15 year-old girl who just got back home to Melbourne in Victoria. So the fun continues... Forget 2021, I think we'll be well into 2022 before we've got a decent grip on this situation... if we're lucky. I just don't want to deal with another lock down. But I guess I had better get stocked up on a few things, just in case.... |
|
|
|
Post by ant-mac on Dec 22, 2020 4:29:51 GMT
Memory Lane is a much travelled thoroughfare... Another COVID-19 cluster has formed in the northern suburbs of Sydney, setting back progress in NSW, with new border restrictions being put back in place. The most far-flung case is a 15 year-old girl who just got back home to Melbourne in Victoria. So the fun continues... Forget 2021, I think we'll be well into 2022 before we've got a decent grip on this situation... if we're lucky. I just don't want to deal with another lock down. But I guess I had better get stocked up on a few things, just in case.... Hope for the best, mate, but plan for the worst. |
|
|
|
Post by Prometheus on Dec 22, 2020 8:44:28 GMT
I just don't want to deal with another lock down. But I guess I had better get stocked up on a few things, just in case.... Hope for the best, mate, but plan for the worst. Just got back from mandatory testing. The boss called around 2:30 and said, "We're all getting tested today. Be here in 45 minutes." Chinese planning.... The line wasn't too long. But it did mess with my shopping plans. Now I'll have to do it tomorrow as long as we don't get locked down before then. |
|
|
|
Post by Prometheus on Dec 23, 2020 3:07:27 GMT
The air is bad today: pm2.5 at 180. It's a day for wearing a mask.
Just out of curiosity, I typed "L.A. smog people wearing masks" into an image search and the result was mostly Asian people wearing face masks and a few old-timey pics of white people wearing gas masks.
I KNOW that people in LA were wearing face masks and bandanas and such during the heavy smog days of the 70's and 80's so I refined my search to add "1970's" and I got the same old-timey pics of people in gas masks and a bunch of recent pics of Chinese cities showing people wearing face masks. I know they are recent and from China because of the skylines and the captions.
That was on Yahoo. So I switched to Google. I got more white people in gas masks, skyline pics, and then a bunch of Asian people in face masks.
The results on Bing were almost identical to Yahoo.
I then switched to, "People wearing face masks in the USA".
The results were mostly promotional pics depicting the usual diversity of skin colors and sexes and a bunch of politicians doing photo ops. Candid shots showed mostly young people, many white... for the first few rows, then it was just a bunch of Asians wearing masks.
The "Asians wear face masks" trope runs deep.
Next I went for "Black People wearing face masks in the USA". Results? Promotional shots then a bunch of white people in blackface then pics of the recent Floyd riots and protests.
It seems that search engine algorithms are made to keep racism and bigotry alive and well.
|
|
|
|
Post by ant-mac on Dec 23, 2020 7:59:47 GMT
The air is bad today: pm2.5 at 180. It's a day for wearing a mask. Just out of curiosity, I typed "L.A. smog people wearing masks" into an image search and the result was mostly Asian people wearing face masks and a few old-timey pics of white people wearing gas masks. I KNOW that people in LA were wearing face masks and bandanas and such during the heavy smog days of the 70's and 80's so I refined my search to add "1970's" and I got the same old-timey pics of people in gas masks and a bunch of recent pics of Chinese cities showing people wearing face masks. I know they are recent and from China because of the skylines and the captions. That was on Yahoo. So I switched to Google. I got more white people in gas masks, skyline pics, and then a bunch of Asian people in face masks. The results on Bing were almost identical to Yahoo. I then switched to, "People wearing face masks in the USA". The results were mostly promotional pics depicting the usual diversity of skin colors and sexes and a bunch of politicians doing photo ops. Candid shots showed mostly young people, many white... for the first few rows, then it was just a bunch of Asians wearing masks. The "Asians wear face masks" trope runs deep. Next I went for "Black People wearing face masks in the USA". Results? Promotional shots then a bunch of white people in blackface then pics of the recent Floyd riots and protests. It seems that search engine algorithms are made to keep racism and bigotry alive and well. That certainly might be one explanation... Or perhaps your just seeing the images that are actually available? |
|
|
|
Post by Prometheus on Dec 24, 2020 1:47:32 GMT
The air is bad today: pm2.5 at 180. It's a day for wearing a mask. Just out of curiosity, I typed "L.A. smog people wearing masks" into an image search and the result was mostly Asian people wearing face masks and a few old-timey pics of white people wearing gas masks. I KNOW that people in LA were wearing face masks and bandanas and such during the heavy smog days of the 70's and 80's so I refined my search to add "1970's" and I got the same old-timey pics of people in gas masks and a bunch of recent pics of Chinese cities showing people wearing face masks. I know they are recent and from China because of the skylines and the captions. That was on Yahoo. So I switched to Google. I got more white people in gas masks, skyline pics, and then a bunch of Asian people in face masks. The results on Bing were almost identical to Yahoo. I then switched to, "People wearing face masks in the USA". The results were mostly promotional pics depicting the usual diversity of skin colors and sexes and a bunch of politicians doing photo ops. Candid shots showed mostly young people, many white... for the first few rows, then it was just a bunch of Asians wearing masks. The "Asians wear face masks" trope runs deep. Next I went for "Black People wearing face masks in the USA". Results? Promotional shots then a bunch of white people in blackface then pics of the recent Floyd riots and protests. It seems that search engine algorithms are made to keep racism and bigotry alive and well. That certainly might be one explanation... Or perhaps your just seeing the images that are actually available? How far do you scroll on a search? How many pages deep into the results do you go?
I may be wrong, but I'm guessing that you - like most others - just work from the first 2 or 3 pages and then either give up or refine your search parameters. The thing is, with an image search, you are immediately inundated with images that your brain will now start associating with the words in the search whether they are proper responses to the query or not. It's the same process that advertisers take advantage of all the time: 28 seconds of hot chicks in bikinis, 2 seconds to let you know the ad is for potato chips. ![[giveup]](//storage.proboards.com/7182076/images/FSYefibmKqtatIXMgHZg.gif) |
|
![[giveup]](http://storage.proboards.com/7182076/images/FSYefibmKqtatIXMgHZg.gif)
![[cheers]](http://storage.proboards.com/7182076/images/engyBVslEdpmpmdnBwZQ.gif)
