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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.
I have so many questions. People are still wearing masks year-round? From the article pictures, it seems like the bar serves drinks, as bars sometimes do. How do you drink with your mask in place? If you were so immunocompromised that your life was in danger if other patrons were not wearing their mask, would you actually gamble your life on them wearing their mask correctly? What about lesbian Muslims wearing a burka, can you trust them to wear their KN-95 correctly, and would it be racist to not trust them?
Personally, I was very much on the pro mask side during COVID, I still remember Scott's article on how nCoV-19 was likely airborne and how there were clear mechanistic reasons to believe that mask would protect both the wearer and others even in the absence of hard clinical evidence. I still see the CDC's anti-mask statements as a clear betrayal.
But when the vaccine got approved, I got vaccinated and then got on with my life. Today I might consider wearing a mask if I am in the room with someone with a respiratory illness, or am myself infected.
Still, I suppose that masks were politicized enough that they formed a stable equilibrium for some. And I guess they are really targeting an audience big on performative virtue signaling.
The way they should have sold this would have been as a measure meant to include people who for reasons of mental disability can not wear masks. I mean, what kind of monster would be against the inclusion of people with mental problems? And only exempting them specifically would call attention to their status, so the compassionate thing is clearly to allow people not to wear masks more generally.
Guess you've never seen one of these: https://sipmask.com/products/sip-airtight-drinking-valve-safely-drink-through-mask-with-straw
Also, obviously, alcohol sterilizes your mouth so you don't have to worry about Covid while you're drinking. /s
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