A friend who previously lived in pandemic isolation has recently taken up international travel at the behest of their family (a complicated situation I won't detail here).
...and now they want to talk to me about the details of their trips.
I'm trying to figure out how to explain that the topic is not a good one for me, without hurting their feelings.
This was my last pandemic-safe friend who I knew before 2020.
I guess I win the tontine then.
OMG you guyz I have a remote movie date with a friend!
I really thought when the pandemic started that everyone would want to do remote watch parties (with apps like Teleparty) but I've had maybe three in over five years. (I'm aware of public watch parties -- I'm talking about watching films with people I know.)
This is like Christmas. I am so excited.
Dear #ZeroCovid #Covid avoiding people who know #CovidIsNotOver even though we are (thankfully) in a pretty remarkable lull: Paradoxically, these “good” times are some of the hardest for me. My refusal to ever get infected with this damn destructive virus (if I can help it) remains unchanged. The risk is still too high for me to entertain the idea of just walking into some public space and inhaling the air that’s recently been inside unknown strangers, who have as a whole shown little but contempt for the health of others or even themselves.
I won’t do it. It would take a lull measured in years rather than months for me to do that again.
And so the isolation and alienation is worse than ever.
I can't stress enough how ecstatic I am that this spring I can smell lilacs again. Last year they smelled of almost nothing and I felt like my brain had been cooked by SARS-CoV-2 
It may seem insignificant but to me it was extremely scary.
Can't wait to see the specialists at the #longcovid clinic after my appointment with the neurologist.
@alge_ev Wir lagen beide daneben, der Klönabend ist am Sonntag den 11.5.: https://alge-hamburg.de/termine/mai_kloenschnack/
I don't feel disappointed in capitalism because it's literally not a system made for the oppressed. I only have hope for the revolution. Disappointment is giving them control. Not a minute of my life to their miserable circus. My time is for the people.
There’s a lot of people who want to fight fascism yet won’t wear a mask
Fascism & eugenics go hand in hand. They’re coming for the disabled and chronically ill
Wearing a mask shows solidarity with disabled people, while also protecting your health so you’re better equipped for the fight
Mask up! Ideally an N95 or better.
Very happy to see Wil Wheaton out there still masking and normalizing mask-wearing!!
"It is important to remember that we all are healthy, until we aren't. The tamariki of Aotearoa New Zealand deserve the best prevention we can offer" - Dr Ed Hyde
Please sign the petition and share widely https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/clean-air-in-schools
It’s time to boycott the Kennedy Center.
Trump has taken a great American arts institution and started destroying it (like he does with everything he touches)
The Center announced an employee mask ban today, putting the lives of staff and patrons at risk.
Employees must obtain a doctor’s note if they feel their disability merits wearing a mask. They will be forced to divulge medical information to their employer.
Even if they successfully jump through all the hoops, they will be removed from a public facing role.
Everyone needs the right to protect their health. You shouldn’t need to already be disabled to be “allowed” to avoid COVID.
This is about optics and control. They want to promote the narrative that COVID is over, even though they know it’s not true.
This is an inevitable consequence of failure to normalize masks. Please if you can wear a mask, wear one now.
It won’t be long before the fascists ban them altogether.
Yesterday, a coworker asked me about my good memory. "You always know the answers, how do you remember it all?"
Thinking to myself, well I continue to try hard not to catch Covid.
Out loud because saying the "C" word at my job is considered political and I need to keep my job: "Oh I just write everything down."
Later in other meetings, two different people responded to my questions by referencing something totally different than what was asked. I had to gently tell them that I'm talking about something else. "Oh, I'm just a little foggy today," was the gist of each of their replies. "Allergies probably," they added.
Today, I went to a cancer hospital for my annual post-cancer checkup. I wore my FloMask respirator. I had a KN95 in my pocket just in case.
No one was masked. My doctor asked if she should mask for our appointment, and when I said yes she put on a poorly-fitted blue surgical.
"Are you sick now?" she asked, looking at my FloMask. When I said no, she said, "Oh, just for protection." As if it's strange for a cancer patient to want to avoid getting sick, even with something other than Covid which has been shown to potentially cause or accelerate cancer. As if dropping the mask mandate at a cancer hospital was the right thing to do.
How do I keep my brain functioning, when other people are struggling? And why would I want to work to stay healthy? It is such a mystery.
Jill Sobule's song "for those that think wearing a mask is some commie deep state conspiracy."
with all the technological advancemens humans have made in the past century, I would think that someone could make a face mask that is comfortable to wear and allows breathing without fogging up one's glasses. and afordable for everyone.
I have construction guys here working on my booth to help me sleep better, and they are struggling to do their work while wearing kn95's.
They had originally come here with surgical masks -_-
1/?
Seeking advice from other people who know & act like #CovidIsNotOver, still #MaskUp , understand the value of mass masking, & advocate for masks-required events:
There are 2 types of responses I get a LOT from ppl saying they can't mask/ shouldn't be required to mask.
1. It makes it harder for people to hear & impossible for people to lip-read what a mask-wearer is saying.
2. Masks are uncomfortable to wear & cause the wearer sensory stress (various exact phrasings - this is the jist).
@ennopark Was mich an der 2020er Version von Eugenik (auch) sehr sprachlos macht, ist die Tatsache, dass es keine konkreten Täter*innen, Tatorte, oder Zeitpunkte gibt, die Historiker*innen später mal benennen können.
Die "Auslese" findet einfach fortlaufend überall dort statt, wo keine Masken getragen werden, quasi nebenbei. Und fast alle machen mit.
Which just makes the the point all the more relevant. It was the rich who decided their margins were falling too far so we had to pretend things were back to normal, so now people are getting sick all the time, developing long covid, and probably permanent damage being done to whole generations because the rich have decided that their profit margins are more important than the health of literally the entire world.
It's scary effective. You fell for it.
If this govt is really serious about reducing absenteism, maybe they should try protecting our tamariki better from getting sick all the time!
This article is from the US; they're two years ahead of us with their level of infections. The time to act is now!
‘Long COVID’ is keeping kids out of school, Merced doctor warns:
https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/digital-enterprise/long-covid-chronic-absenteeism/amp/
Please sign our petition:
https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/clean-air-in-schools
Covid is a worker’s rights issue. Workplaces need to implement clean air standards, paid time off and provide free respirators.
We’re in a mass disabling event, and governments told people it was safe to “go back to normal” to prop up the economy.
Covid isn’t over. It’s still killing & disabling people.
This May Day, demand clean air & Covid mitigation.
Die Chance als Maskenträger*in einen neuen Job zu finden, dürfte sich gegen Null bewegen. Mit den verschärften Maßnahmen gegenüber Arbeitslosen hier in Deutschland, die die neue Regierung durchsetzen will, wird das Maskentragen, das eine Einstellung verhindert, dann wahrscheinlich als Verweigerung, eine Stelle anzunehmen, gewertet und das Arbeitslosengeld bzw. die Grundsicherung (Bürgergeld) gestrichen. Goldene Zeiten. 
(he/they) 
