Guilt Free Railing 13

[WouldBeGood]

Unlucky for some.. maybe lucky for us?

Sorry @Groovee that’s really hideous to hear, so frustrating to not have folk listen when your instincts about a situation are so strong. 💐

I'm a long term lurker and been working up the courage to post! But we are just back from a few days in England and I need to rail!!

I loved the freedom of no masks! I am dreading having to wear a mask again, what a breath of fresh air (literally) to not have to cover up in shops and restaurants! Bliss!

I'm feeling really down tonight, back to masks and just a general feeling of not much hope. Our local hospital has closed to visitors and with COP26 it's going to be a difficult few weeks.

Sigh.

I'm really sorry that happened Groovee. I think it's terrible that doctors were not doing face to face appointments and many still aren't. I remember phoning NHS24 and it was basically, 'Don't phone unless it's covid related'- I couldn't get anyone to speak to me about a different urgent issue. I ended up messaging my friend who is a nurse in a practice and she asked a doctor there. They were actually playing table tennis in the practice that day! It's just not right.

Welcome @Wafflepup.

This is the place to vent those feelings!

That’s terrible @StarryEyeSurprise. Not surprising GPs are getting pelters.

So sorry Grovee

the messaging from some Health Centres has been astonishing!
Our GPs are normally very good but for most of 2020 if you rang you got a big long "don't even think about it" and "there's a global pandemic on" recorded message

@WouldBeGood

Just stumbled over this Swiss analysis of mask studies, showing that they are pretty useless and in a lot of places, like the UK, rates went up when the mask mandate came in

Swiss study of studies

@forfucksakenett

Thanks @WouldBeGood some night time reading for me.

😊

I had a quick look and the site appeared dodgy. I had a further Google - see Wikipedia entry below.

A University of Zurich report on media in Switzerland analyzed "six of the most-discussed 'alternative media'", including SPR, that "resort to conspiracy theories." Daniel Vogler concluded that SPR appears to be a "a pseudoscientific media research project."[8]

Andrea Haefely wrote a critique of the website in the magazine Beobachter in May 2020, noting: "The website Swiss Propaganda Research assumes that the Swiss media does what SPR itself does: feed the readers with questionable information." She also suggested that the persistent use of the letter ß on the site suggests that the content creator is likely to be from outside Switzerland, as this particular letter form is not in common use within Switzerland.[7]

Christoph Neuberger, a professor at the Free University of Berlin, stated that while the SPR website attempts to present its message as objective and neutral, it is clearly political, and its content is pseudoscientific ("pseudowissenschaftlich").[2]

Stephan Russ-Mohl, professor of journalism and media management at the Università della Svizzera italiana, considers the articles on the SPRS to themselves serve as propaganda, rather than being serious research on the subject. He has noted that the anonymity of the website creates doubts over the reliability and authenticity of its research, particularly in a country such as Switzerland, which has full freedom of its press.[6]

Mask mandates
A graph produced by Swiss Policy Research plotting daily new COVID-19 cases was circulated widely with the claim that "mask mandates may have actually spread COVID-19." When reached by Reuters for comment, SPR said that the social media posts misrepresented their analysis and that they "do not claim or suggest that masks increase cases, nor do we suggest people shouldn't wear masks."[14]

Some pages on the SPR site have previously claimed that, "There is still little to no scientific evidence for the effectiveness of cloth face masks in healthy and asymptomatic individuals. Experts warn that such masks may interfere with normal breathing and may become 'germ carriers' if used repeatedly."[15] this claim appears to have been removed after it was debunked by Health Feedback.[5]

@WouldBeGood thanks for that.

Maybe we should all pound our MSPs and opposition asking why. I note the comment about skin rashes. I've said for ages they really can't help teenage skin.

I genuinely think the mask debate is just toxic. There’s no persuading people either way.

Each to their own

I've been cynical about them but they just pushed me over the edge

My colleagues are OBSESSED with masks. It drives me mad.

@Wafflepup

I'm a long term lurker and been working up the courage to post! But we are just back from a few days in England and I need to rail!!

I loved the freedom of no masks! I am dreading having to wear a mask again, what a breath of fresh air (literally) to not have to cover up in shops and restaurants! Bliss!

I'm feeling really down tonight, back to masks and just a general feeling of not much hope. Our local hospital has closed to visitors and with COP26 it's going to be a difficult few weeks.

Sigh.

Welcome @Wafflepup 🤣 great name!

Yes, it’s really difficult returning to mask life after the freedom to choose. I could be persuaded if I thought they were doing any good, but I don’t believe they are and it really is so much healthier having the right to choose when/where or if to go out at all, etc.The high school children in Scotland seem to have been forgotten- was only meant to be six weeks before a review on their masks during the school day.

@OnceUponAWhine not forgotten. The review happened and it was decided they would keep masks.

Why do people just not wear them if they don't like them. People aren't having to actually prove exemptions are they?

@forfucksakenett I think more people are too polite to argue, and remember it was sold to people as "your mask protects others" so it's probably then seen as rude to put others at risk.

@forfucksakenett it depends on the setting but unfortunately yes many exempt people are having to show proof especially for venues.

So tonight I had a rare night out landyard in jacket pocket, my accessory for the last 6 months of asthma pump and respiratory chamber in the other pocket. Within a few metres of getting towards security I was reminded to put a mask on. I stated I was exempt and they then asked if I had a landyard. To which I removed from my pocket but a sunflower landyard is actually for hidden disability/autism not meant for mask exemption.
It's very much depends on where you are going to the response you get.
Some places really don't enforce it others do very strictly and more than once I've had to explain why I'm exempt due to lung problems since having covid.

For flights you actually have to provide a Dr's letter in advance to be able to be in the airport and board the plane without a mask on. I wasn't able to get one in time and so I sipped water for the majority of the 4 hour flight and wore one of my DHs cloth masks which on me is very loose and mostly falls off!

I’ve pretty much quit mine.

*selfish granny killer

I can understand it for flights to be honest even if it's just to prevent squabbling. I think if I had to show a sunflower lanyard in a venue I'd complain. You can buy a sunflower lanyard on Amazon 🤷🏻‍♀️ it's not proof.

@forfucksakenett there isn't any official way of proof unless you carry around a Dr's letter.
Most places have come to recognise the landyard hence I have one but with friends who have autistic children I don't like using it but many places accept that rather than me producing my asthma pump and chamber!

I don't like being made to feel uncomfortable or questioned but I don't bother complaining anymore especially as last time I did complain they said staff were doing their job.

Police forces are technically the only ones who can enforce it this is dependent on area though. Thankfully my area they don't want to risk reputations damage and damage to community build up so they don't according to DH who liaises with them. I don't know on other areas such as Glasgow Station etc.

I really hate how the sunflower lanyards have been used for covid exemption and not their original purpose.
I totally agree with people being exempt from masks but surely some other type of lanyard would be better.
We do use the sunflower lanyard at times for ds who has autism and epilepsy (not mask exemption as he does wear one) but for situations where he may struggle eg airports, restaurants.
I do worry that they will have lost their original intention/purpose.

@ladylunchalot I completely agree.
Unfortunately they have become what places are used to seeing. I carry just a exemption card for a while but had problems with places accepting this so ended up with the sunflower landyard.

I do try to avoid putting it on but will if asked or if I start getting comments.

I think masks probably do help a bit. When we were in lockdown with really limited opportunities for contact with the wider public, maybe that but was enough to make a difference. But now, there’s so much covid around and so many opportunities for it to spread all through the community.

When you can go round to your friends house, go and hug your mum, take the kids to soft play, then go out on a pub crawl and end up in a club dancing on a packed dance floor - but you have to put on a mask for the the walk from your table to the toilets, and that’s meant to keep national cases down? Really?

I put up with them short term when they might have been helping, but I’m getting increasingly fed up with being expected to adopt them as a long-term lifestyle when they’re clearly not.

Well at least we aren't the only country with mask idiosyncrasies.

We're in Tenerife and yesterday at the water park, had the ridiculous situation where you wore your mask when walking around ( outside obviously) and then took it off on the rides, except of course it got soaking wet when you were on the rides, so of naff all use altogether. There was an officious member of staff using it as an excuse to shout at British people.

We also have to do the stand up for toilet at dinner, remember mask dance. Hey ho - it's better in the sun.