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Notes -
https://archive.ph/IWYc8
A Western Mass. lesbian bar required KN-95 masks. When it changed the rules, all hell broke loose.
There's some real gems in here, and I feel bad for the one remaining owner and wish they/them the best, now that they've seen how positive, supportive, and inclusive their chosen subculture isn't.
This is also an example of the Internet showing me exactly what I want. Even when I'm browsing substack not logged in, it can somehow target me and my hobby horses.
A "Lesbian" Bar (which seems to really be a Queer Leftist establishment ridden with trannies) was until recently a Masks Required establishment; they planned to allow some days each week in which masks were optional rather than mandatory. Histrionics ensued. You'd think the article was a hit-piece from a right-wing rag, but the Boston Globe is only conservative if you're standing near the Left Pole.
I post it here at the risk of it being Boo-Outgroup, but I'm actually slightly gladdened. The neighborhood where I do most of my socializing is ridden with queer leftists who still mask, but "enforcement" is limited to the occasional DIY show or rave that's specifically targeted at maskies. However bad it is here, it's not as bad as a small town in Massachusetts.
People are still masking in the year of our Lord 2026?! I had to check the date. I had expected it to be from 2022.
About 30% of black people and 10% of white people in my town still mask, and this is the rust belt, not Massachusetts.
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I wear a mask when I’m flying. I keep having the bad luck of being seated near people who are coughing and sniffling, and before I masked I would inevitably catch a cold whenever I’d go abroad.
Seems silly to make it a political issue, you’re breathing dry recycled air, in close contact to random strangers, for several hours. I got tired of every holiday or business trip leading to me being sick for a few days. If it helps, I started before Covid after seeing Asian people do it.
For what it's worth, airliner air is not recycled. The air coming through the fresh air nozzles is coming from the pressurizing system, which typically uses bleed air from one of the jet engine compressor stages. At the same time, a relief valve lets air out to maintain the overall cabin pressure.
According to this source it’s 50/50 recycled air but since it goes through HEPA filters it could actually reduce viral transmission compared to other indoor spaces. It’s probably moreso the low pressure/dryness that causes irritation, and the risk is from sitting very close to sick people for several hours.
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I'm curious about the actual mechanism by which this may work. I guess you could say I was of the belief that making could work if you were in the area for a short amount of time, and then moved on to other air. Like, the mask would keep your personal air supply cleaner for a brief time, but eventually more air would have to come into your mask space, so for longer amounts of time, it doesn't make sense to me. This might not be how it actually works, or is purported to work at all, but it's just how I kinda envisioned it.
Is the mechanism your pointing at that there are infected droplets of water from other people's bodies in the air, and the mask helps filter them out, meaning to can have a continuously safe air supply? That model could make sense to me, but only if the air was actually moving through the mask material. For the surgical and cloth masks that were common during covid, I never felt like that was the case. It always felt like the air was just coming around the sides of the mask, not through it. Are you supposed to press your lips right up against the mask, kinda kissing it all the time, sucking the air through the cloth itself?
I wear N95/FP2 masks which have a tight seal and are made of a stiffer material than standard cloth. The air does move through it so if worn properly it should block the majority of droplets/viral particles continuously.
Cloth masks are definitely less effective, especially if there’s a gap on the sides where you’re breathing unfiltered air.
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I find it strange that there is a bar that requires masking. You would think the kind of hypochondriacs who are still scared of COVID (?) wouldn't want to go outside at all.
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I occasionally mask when I'm sick but have some sort of unavoidable social event. I also interact with people who clearly mask as a sort of fashion statement and/or to obscure their gender. (Perils of being a furry and occasionally being around YNs.) The N95 wearers are definitely hypochondriacs tho
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I live in the middle of nowhere in Trump country, and I often see 1-2 people in masks at the grocery store (flimsies or homemades, not (K)N-95 masks). I occasionally see people driving solo in their car wearing one.
I live in the Netherlands, in a progressive city, and I haven't seen a mask since the mandates were dropped. I haven't even heard of any place voluntarily keeping a mandate in place after the government stopped requiring it.
In fact I remember the relief when Putin invaded Ukraine, because everyone who was gung-ho about Covid restrictions could be gung-ho about waving Ukrainian flags instead and it all went away remarkably quickly after that.
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