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MrsS's avatar

"not having to constantly worry about the next panic driven authoritarian impulse from a capricious state intruding upon our lives and livelihoods because some epidemiologically illiterate health agency got the vapors." This is such a powerful statement for me. I wake many mornings and check to see if Biden has mandated something new. I just discovered our local science museum mandates masks (not mandated by city or state). Science has been killed. Its definitely the big things but also the little things that are bothering me now. I hate seeing people in their masks. It reminds me how dumb people are and that's depressing. I am so sick of society right now.

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

Be the smiling person going about one's business and doing what you do with joy as an example. I am trying to be. I "took over" ukulele practices and am scheduling gigs much to the Prez. of our club and other board members who are "not participating in any indoor events" - (you know because of that cold thing going around)- and THEY. HATE. ME. FOR. IT. I just asked the group if they wanted to participate in a neighborhood "battle of the bands" and the scaredy-cat (sorry!) Prez. said "Well I certainly hope this will be held outdoors"- SIT. STAY. (Dogs obey- cats do what they want to!)

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Vanda Salvini's avatar

Good for you Cheryl, I wish I played so I could join you!

I was disappointed recently when I was asked to join a prayer group...over zoom. I couldn't believe it. I didn't join the group. Thankfully, I have other opportunities to join LIVE people in prayer.

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LIB's avatar

Oh I can top that one...my graduate school had a wine tasting over zoom. They sent out an email with list of wine to buy so you can all sip it together apart over zoom. Crazy.

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Vanda Salvini's avatar

That's one way to increase wine sales! Oh boy!

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

So glad you found an in person group. It's SO important for one's mental and spiritual health!

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Mos51's avatar

Seriously terrible analogy with the dogs vs cats. Dogs literally go to war alongside us, protect us and our families, and are willing to do things we ask of them because it makes us happy. Mistaking loyalty for "obedience" is as bad as mistaking fascism for "science".

Love the rest of your post, though! 😊🐕🐈

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

I apologize...it just seemed to "fit" at the time of writing. I would love to tell the President of my group to just "sit" and "stay(home)"- but he still is weaseling into our on-line conversations cause he has lost the "control" he thought he had!. I love pooches! Consider me wrong!

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SD's avatar

You can also do to him what most people do to felines when going on holidays, leave him food and water and lock him inside where it’s “safe” 😁.

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

I don't do that to my kitties...they have a nanny who comes twice daily to feed, play and brush them! (We joke about hardly ever going anywhere anymore because of outr "babies").

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Vanda Salvini's avatar

Great comment.

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espf59's avatar

That's not nice or fair! Comparing loveable, loyal, beautiful dogs to the Slave Lemmings of the Covidopalype? Yo, respec y'all!

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

Sorry...but it kinda fit in my comment. Your dog is exempt of course. (PS I love doggies!)

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Brian Lincoln's avatar

This is an excellent example of "what can I do?". Thank you for being bold enough to take action.

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

it hasn't been without the naysayers thinking I am putting these people in danger. Yes, one board member thought we had some responsibility for "keeping people safe" so they canceled practices. I have shown up and so have 8-10 others, every week. Like we can't manage our own lives and select any possible risks for ourselves. I sure won't tell this woman that I ride my mountain bike in the dark most mornings, or swim in shark infested (Alcatraz) waters. She might try to deter my decisions! haha!

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Salty J.'s avatar

Worried about the sand sharks or the leopard sharks??? Walt Stack wouldn't have worn a mask either!

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

I love all sharks...have seen plenty when scuba diving and snorkeling. Walt Stack is my hero! :-) (Along with other bay area eccentrics- Pedro Ordenas and his friends have done the Alcatraz swim over 1000 times!- Me only 10. But didn't start until I was in my 40s!)

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Salty J.'s avatar

You go girl! Walt was always my answer to the question "Did any prisoner of Alcatraz ever swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco?"

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AnnieGetYourGun's avatar

Wonderful strategy, Cheryl !

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Aurora Bullealis's avatar

I have a vintage banjolele and a few kalas. I'm with you in spirit!

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Plum's avatar

I thought that was a wine for wine tasting for a moment 😄

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

Thank you! One woman brought her banjolele the other day! Sure sounded good in some of the songs!

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Mike Rogers's avatar

In a supermarket without a mask mandate (except for the poor vaccinated staff), there are still more masked people than not. So refreshing to round a corner to see an unmasked blonde woman with a smile - it was the smile that made the moment memorable - a normal, happy, person. If she never crosses my path again, I'll remember the smile, because so many people are not smiling, or covered altogether.

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

I smile broadly at those who are not wearing masks. There was a woman in Walmart the other morning that I kept running into- and she would veer way over to the other side of the isle- she was double mask and I would say "doublemask doublemask doublemask" every time I walked by her. I still smiled btw. If you are this scared, please call in for your groceries. I don't want to see you!

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Mike Rogers's avatar

It's more fun to smile and say nothing. I used to love to watch the fearful skitter away when I was going down a wring way shopping aisle.

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

I would just laugh out loud at them...!

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Aurora Bullealis's avatar

"I would say "doublemask doublemask doublemask" " love it

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

do it! :-)

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Genevieve's avatar

That was me!!!

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ClarabelleVonH's avatar

If you'd said "redhead", I'd have known we live in the same town, because that would have been me!

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Anne's avatar

My local acoustic meetup is the same way. They won't play inside unless it's distanced with masks. And then, only once in a while. The rest of their jams are virtual. I haven't gotten together with them since this all started. :(

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LIB's avatar

The Cleveland Orchestra wanted the audience to wear masks to the outdoor summer concerts. We didn't renew our subscription of 15+ years.

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Satan's Doorknob's avatar

Although slightly different in musical style 😁 Kid Rock is in the news saying he won't play at any dates where masks or vax passports are required. I guess he's not friends with that withered fossil, Neil Young*.

*If anyone should have seen the needle and the damage done, you'd think it would be him. I realize that song was about narcotics, but alas I suspect we will be counting the death and damage toll for many years going forward. That is, if anyone is allowed to count, which remains somewhat in doubt. 😶

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

oooh...needle and the damage done....good recall. We can't project intelligence or critical thinking skills on someone who can write a song.

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

Ugh...just ridiculous!

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Aurora Bullealis's avatar

I guess you just pretend latency is a cool reverb-like effect? SMH

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

So sorry...start your own renegade group if you can find any takers. That's what I did....you might be surprised at who shows up. Then you can quietly say "I told you so"- by action.

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Mike Rogers's avatar

A great thing for me this past week was attending a political fundraiser with 80+ people in a small winery and four comedians! There were two actual comedians, a funny intro guy, and the candidate himself was quite funny, too.

None of the attendees wore masks except for a Democrat "tracker" who hadn't bought a ticket and stood out like a sore Karen: Ejected, of course.

I'm still not sick - didn't even get the Omicold :)

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

Attended an Equine fundraiser in the fall of 2020 (Sept)- inside and outside venue. Most were not wearing masks then except a few who were clearly fearful and kept taking theirs off and putting them back on (at the lunch table and outside)- I was saddened because she was a friend of mine who has been scared out of her mind these last two years (won't come to my house....)

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LIB's avatar

Kudos to you Cheryl. It is difficult to see the masked followers in the stores & outside. So far, my mumbling hasn't reached the masked ones ears; but, I'm a runner so try & catch me. And as for dogs...my smooth fox terrier would never ever be a follower. So please exclude terriers, now the hunting dogs...that's a different story. And the musicians...shows their character & massive psychosis formation.

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

Will do (dog wise!)- yay for running and never wore my mask running/cycling/hiking. We had trail runners meet up in our area..half way up a damn mountain and they posted pictures of themselves with masks on. Do they look back and say "What was I thinking?" I wonder....

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Grandma Bear's avatar

Oh, I've progressed beyond mumblings and even ostentatious eye rolls. One thing that infuriates me is people pulling up their mask they had had under their nose or chin when they approach me on the street. Now I add to the eye roll and head shake a clearly audible, "What, are you afraid of me?" I have no idea what the effect is, since they never respond, although sometimes I get a startled look. I've made remarks about child abuse while passing people with very young children muzzled to the eyeballs, and yelled at a masked busker to take the damn thing off in the subway earlier this week. I've absolutely had it and can't figure out whether this is a sign I'm losing my mind or regaining my sanity.

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

Cough and hock a lugi as you go by. Freaks them out....

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Anne's avatar

I play the ukulele. I'll join you Cheryl! :)

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Navyo Ericsen's avatar

It's part of the game to keep us afraid and in some state of anxiety. It becomes more difficult to make clear rational decisions, which is then used to nudge us into behavioural directions without our fully realising. I'm sick of it too, yet I know I have to just stop and breathe and unplug... I hope that helps.

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MrsS's avatar

Spot on. Thanks, it does. Being reminded to live is important. I think we have become so accustomed to the insanity that we forget we once had lives that didn't revolve around government mandates.

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Georgi's avatar

stop, breathe, unplug and try to laugh - helps a lot. Even if it is not a laugh but just a grimace you still get the right chemistry going on in your body.

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Wolf J Flywheel's avatar

This was H.L. Mencken's description of the intent of government a hundred years ago:

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary"

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Satan's Doorknob's avatar

Mencken is wonderful (and free! All his stuff is public domain.) He would probably not be amused with what's become of his native Baltimore. 😐

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AnnieGetYourGun's avatar

When you see the glass as half-empty…flip it around… Be extra grateful and smile 😊 when you see people with fully- visible faces !!! Focus on THE GOOD 😊

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Cheryl Palen's avatar

Yes- always do! And I know for a fact (those who show up for singing/practice) are wanting to enjoy life to it's fullest too and it makes me SO happy!

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INGRID C DURDEN's avatar

Same feeling here. These people with masks are just ignorant. It has even been in the regular press now, that masks are useless. I think some people are now ashamed to show their faces, and that makes it barable.

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Grandma Bear's avatar

It's more than ignorance. It's mental illness. I have spoken to several people who admit that they know masks are useless in preventing infection or transmission, *and* that they are harmful because they reduce oxygen intake, increase CO2 and have numerous other harms, but they still wear it, "just to be safe" or "because I believe there is a virus." Many are people who are activists! This mask thing isn't going away even if we manage to educate everyone about the deadly jabs. And until we get the masks off people, we'll never get out of the totalitarian fascist matrix.

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Brian Lincoln's avatar

https://pdmj.org/

got this link from Margaret Anna Alice on Substack.

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INGRID C DURDEN's avatar

thanks that is a very interesting link !

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Brian Lincoln's avatar

Got the link from Margaret Anna Alice on Substack. She is AWESOME.

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Grandma Bear's avatar

Agreed!

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streaming_sooner's avatar

Completely agree with you, Martha. I live in central OK, and my job forces me to have to venture into Norman a couple of times a month. Home of OU, and enclave of insanely masked idiots.

Fortunately, here in the OKC area, there are few wearing masks, overall. And no real mask-mandated places, outside of hospitals and such.

But lucky me, had to renew the tag for my Jeep this month. Went to my local tag agency. Not one customer wearing a mask. Six ladies working behind the counter... and the ONLY ONE wearing a stupid mask, is the one I get! 🙄

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INGRID C DURDEN's avatar

Luckily where I live, they are quite the exceptions now. In the department store, only the poor cashiers wore them probably must. I think you are right, it is a psychosis, says Dr Desmet. The video is still up, where he describes what went on, and how this is a mass psychosis. I have not been afraid of the virus, I have been afraid of the jabs being pushed so hard, and then of the reaction of some of my former friends. (I did not think it would come to lynch mobs here, but in some places it looked quite close)

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UK refugee's avatar

you may have been alert to these, but the average person will now need to see several days worth of articles to change their mind..

the N95 craze is ongoing

https://news.yahoo.com/washington-county-distributing-free-kn95-195600021.html

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LIB's avatar

What will be interesting is someone wears an N95 masks & suffocates from it or some other bad thing. Will that make the news? Will people be told how you must have a tight seal for it to work & even then the virus gets through? Nope.

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Grandma Bear's avatar

I remember early on in this debacle a news report about a woman in NJ wearing an N95 mask who passed out and crashed her car into a pole. I'm sure it's not an isolated example but I doubt any other cases have been reported since.

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Grandma Bear's avatar

Have any of us, over the past two plus years, seen any evidence at all that even if we tied these people up and forced them to read or listen to every scientific article and discussion among experts, not to mention testimonies and photos of people harmed by these infernal devices, it would change their minds? A few, yes, I've had a couple of successes, but I suspect we'd do well to convince 1-2%. Not that we shouldn't keep trying, though.

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LIB's avatar

And to these dumb people I say, "Please don't vote." I don't want to have your ill informed choices affect my life.

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MrsS's avatar

That's what is so depressing. They are voting...

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Abu Maven's avatar

You are not alone. Feel the same way.

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Dr. Colleen Huber's avatar

The quote is excellent: It captures the direction of the zeitgeist, because it captures common sense and decency, and the public figures all that out sooner or later.

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