Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

People are weird.

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

He really is that stupid.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

Everybody saw this coming.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

The choice is between normal and crazy.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / Weird Flex Open Thread: Masks Just Ain’t Manly No More, Tonto

Weird Flex Open Thread: Masks Just Ain’t Manly No More, Tonto

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Heavily Armed Snowflake - Drew Sheneman

Unless, apparently, it’s a cult-branded face koozie…

Reader Interactions

169Comments

  1. 1.

    rikyrah

    I am Black with underlying conditions.
    I take living personally.
    I don’t have time for muthaphuckas ?? who don’t think that it’s manly.

    I wrote in an earlier post about the Black woman on the NYT Editorial Board who caught a ‘mild case’ of COVID-19.

    She was young, thin, an avowed health nut who ran 5 miles a day.

    Post her ‘mild case’, she can now only walk a few blocks before she gets winded.???

    If this did that to her, folks like me don’t stand a chance.

    Don’t folks understand that this shyt is real. It kills. Has no mercy.
    And, that your muthaphuckin’freedom ENDS.once it possibly endangers my life.???

  2. 2.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    RIP, Fred Willard. I can’t believe he was 86

    Actor and comedian Fred Willard, whose decades-long career included memorable roles in Best In Show, as well as the TV series Everybody Loves Raymond, has died of natural causes, his representative told to BuzzFeed News. He was 86.

    Willard’s daughter Hope said he died “very peacefully” on Friday night.

  3. 3.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    Man, if you don’t like the aesthetics of the mask, just get a little creative. This shouldn’t be hard.

  4. 4.

    Baud

    Didn’t some states make it illegal for people with AIDS to not use a condom, or something like that? This reminds me of that.

  5. 5.

    Baud

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Willard’s final role will be his posthumous appearance in Netflix’s upcoming Space Force, starring alongside Steve Carrell and created by Greg Daniels, which starts streaming on May 29.

    I wonder what inspired that flick.

  6. 6.

    Redshift

    It’s especially annoying that the people who are so willfully ignorant that they don’t know masks are to protect other people are also so insecure they can’t stand to “look weak.”

  7. 7.

    Raven

    I assume this is old news:

     

    Michigan Rep. Justin Amash has announced that he will not run for president as a third party candidate.

  11. 11.

    Baud

    It sucks that they don’t wear masks for the obvious health reasons, but otherwise this whole issue belongs in the #FuckYourFeelings folder.

  14. 14.

    James E Powell

    @Baud:

    I was thinking that this morning. Back in the day, the right-wingers pretty much wanted to put anyone with AIDS in concentration camps.

  18. 18.

    Raven

    One of my favorite lines in a movie ever was delivered by Fred Willard in BEST IN SHOW, after a naughty dog went after the judge: “He went after her like she was made of ham.” This man was so brilliant and he elevated the flicks and TV shows in which he popped up. RIP, Funny Man!

  21. 21.

    The Thin Black Duke

    I’m not gay, but during the painful years of attending junior high school, I thought ‘faggot’ was my middle name because I didn’t conform to the standards of what was considered ‘masculine’. Yeah, I hated it then, and I hate these toxic motherfuckers now.

  22. 22.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    @Geoboy: The formerly-Republican-now-Independent who was the only one on his side of the house (as far as I’m aware) to support impeachment

     

    @Baud: It sucks that they don’t wear masks for the obvious health reasons, but otherwise this whole issue belongs in the #FuckYourFeelings folder.

    No, you got it all wrong.  Fuck our feelings.  Theirs are precious and must be protected.

  24. 24.

    geg6

    @James E Powell:

    OMG, his performance in Best in Show is one of the great tour de forces in all of comedy film.  I’ve loved him in many things, but nothing beats that.  He was so good.  Maybe the best comedic supporting actor ever, tv or film.

  25. 25.

    ThresherK

    The neo-Nazis are so confused about masks now.

    Maybe the medical experts should recommend wearing needless camo so it too will go out of fetish-fashion.

  26. 26.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: If they were only endangering themselves, I’d say ‘you do you, guys’

    the people in Colorado who opened their restaurant on Mother’s Day not only spewed all the usual nonsense about “the home of the BRAVE!”, they said in a story the next day that they were “honoring god”. Who would Jeebus infect?

  27. 27.

    WaterGirl

    @rikyrah: I just had that conversation with my sister this morning. “Your mask makes you too hot” does not mean that it’s okay to not wear one.  That’s selfish and arrogant and dangerous.  Boo-hoo.  You don’t like wearing a mask and staying home. That’s a hell of a lot better than dying, or causing someone else to die because you are selfish.

  29. 29.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @geg6: I was gonna finally watch The Irishman, but now you guys have me thinking I should do a Christopher Guest marathon in memory of Fred Willard

  30. 30.

    James E Powell

    Dickhead just made a video in which he placed his own orange melon onto the body of Bill Pullman in the scene from Independence Day where he’s giving the big speech. No I’m not kidding and no I’m not linking.

    We have a juvenile a hole in the White House who is corrupt & incompetent. Every single person in the press/media – from reporters to upper management – knows this and every single day they go out, pretend it’s not true, and do their best to hide it.

    ETA – In case anyone was wondering why Bill Pullman is trending on twitter which is how I landed on that . . . that thing.

  33. 33.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    So, if Trump’s a germophobe, is it because he doesn’t want to appear weak to his base that he doesn’t wear a mask?

    I wonder if he’s privately freaking out about the outbreak in the WH as well as the Abbot tests being unreliable?

  36. 36.

    dmsilev

    Since a cloth mask is to protect others from you in case you’re asymptomatic but infectious, really what they’re saying is “I don’t care if I make you sick”.

    And if you really want to reserve the right to go Full Asshole while complying with mask regulations, there are options.

  37. 37.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): So, if Trump’s a germophobe, is it because he doesn’t want to appear weak to his base that he doesn’t wear a mask?

    Too bad it isn’t as stigmatized to appear as though one has a weak mind.

  38. 38.

    lamh36

    Goodness.  I’m able to handle this cause of what I do, but I can def see how a layman watching Contagion could make them paranoid and afraid.

     

    Wow.

  40. 40.

    Anya

    When Trump sues his grifter campaign manager (because he’s a sore loser) is going to be the second best day ever.

    These are truly the worst people in the world. No one is worse of them, not even despots because they’d mass murder us all if they’re able to get away with it.

  43. 43.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    @dmsilev: And if you really want to reserve the right to go Full Asshole while complying with mask regulations, there are options.

    I mean I’m normally loathe to encourage such behavior, but if it promotes public health, so be it.  Has the added benefit of giving us a good look at our neighbors’ outlook on society.

  46. 46.

    smintheus

    Between the ages of 10 and 17 I managed to survive two brutal attacks by various sociopaths who tried to kill me, and somehow I also walked away from a highway wreck that ought to have crushed me. My life is a precious gift to me, damned if I’m going to deliberately risk it just to impress some fucktwits.

  47. 47.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @James E Powell:

    Dickhead just made a video in which he placed his own orange melon onto the body of Bill Pullman in the scene from Independence Day where he’s giving the big speech. No I’m not kidding and no I’m not linking.

    I watched about half a minute of that, the result is freaky and weird looking even if it wasn’t trump. Even freakier is they’ve put the faces of supporters on the people in the crowd scene. I saw Ted Cruz and I think another one is Brad Parscale. I can’t believe he thinks it makes him look good, but he can’t get enough of any image of himself, I guess.

  49. 49.

    oatler.

    RIP

    Willard could be seen in “The Harrad Experiment” with members of The Ace Trucking Company improv group.

  51. 51.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Speaking of, I just think it’s so weak of these men to care so much about what other people think of them that they’ll disregard public health

    Word.  Come to think of it, most everything about the contemporary* right can be summed up as “weakness masquerading as strength.”

    *I refuse to call them modern

  54. 54.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    on the State Dept IG who was fired:

    “Reports indicate that Secretary Pompeo personally made the recommendation to fire Mr. Linick,” Engel and Menendez said, “and it is our understanding that he did so because the Inspector General had opened an investigation into wrongdoing by Secretary Pompeo himself.”[…]
    The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, confirmed the Inspector General, Steve Linick, was investigating Pompeo’s use of State Department staff to run personal errands for himself and his wife.[…]
    CNN reported last year that House Democrats were looking into allegations from a State Department whistleblower who said Pompeo was using his taxpayer-funded security staff to run errands, such as picking up the family dog from a groomer and fetching carryout food.

    When Pompeo was head of the CIA, his wife had an office IIRC on the same floor as Pompeo, and referred to herself as “First Lady of the CIA”– ETA: I should add in fairness, the office was for her work as head of a CIA families support group, which again IIRC was a volunteer position. I have no idea if that’s standard, but like the Mnuchins, it makes me think the Pompeos (which autocorrect wants to change to Pompous) think of themselves as aristocrats in an old regime court.

  56. 56.

    Omnes Omnibus

    I now have five cloth masks in various colors that my aunt made and shipped to me.  She had originally made me two, but I got her to make some more so that I can wash and air dry them.  I’ll be honest; I am still somewhat convinced that I am immortal and indestructible, but I don’t want to kill anyone who isn’t.  Ergo, masks.

  58. 58.

    RSA

    As a commenter on Twitter observes, Parscale’s mask looks less like a filtering device and more like a repurposed beer koozie. Can air pass through it at all?

  59. 59.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: “Reports indicate that Secretary Pompeo personally made the recommendation to fire Mr. Linick,” Engel and Menendez said, “and it is our understanding that he did so because the Inspector General had opened an investigation into wrongdoing by Secretary Pompeo himself.”

    Oh, good, some of that Washington insider corruption Trump promised to snuff out.  Now we get to see him at his best.  This will be the moment where Trump truly becomes president.

  60. 60.

    Cameron

    @Baud: It was the miracle of the testing!  Jesus forbade all tests, and, lo, the lepers were made clean!

  62. 62.

    Gbbalto

    I’ve been seeing ads at the top of the page for ommrons masks with special features!! One line has an exhalation valve that defeats the purpose of protecing others from you, and another line appears to add an inhalation valve that defeats the minimal protection the mask gives you.

    ETA – not blaming the blogmeister but what is this company thinking?

  63. 63.

    lamh36

    @lamh36:hmmm…the 3rd act of Contagion does seems a bit over-dramatic.

     

    But up until that point, it was def on pointe

  64. 64.

    TS (the original)

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    So, if Trump’s a germophobe, is it because he doesn’t want to appear weak to his base that he doesn’t wear a mask?

    Nah – He doesn’t like what a mask does to his makeup

  66. 66.

    Montanareddog

    I don’t have the skills, but somebody shut Photoshop Fat Bastard’s head onto Bill Pullman’s in the scene from ‘Ruthless People’ where the detectives describe him as “the stupidest person on the face of the earth”

  68. 68.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    @RSA:

    Next time he is in public, someone needs to have a coughing attack next to his mask-free face.

    Unfortunately,

    Coughing ‘attacks’ may be prosecuted as terrorism in war on coronavirus

    That makes the cost-benefit analysis more difficult, but…

  69. 69.

    JoyceH

    Something that I can’t help but wonder.  What if Trump did a 180 on masks? Appeared on camera wearing one and announcing that everyone else should wear them as their patriotic duty to whip this epidemic? Would his followers follow? Or if a thing has been tagged as sissy, does it never get untagged?

    Of course this is just idle speculation. Trump won’t do it.

  71. 71.

    Princess

    Seen on Facebook. I hate people.:

    Annie’s Campground near Gresham, Wisconsin
    Yesterday at 15:44 ·
    Here’s the line up for May 15-17: Beautiful Weather!!!!! Masks are NOT allowed in the buildings for safety sake. They are viewed as a robbery in progress and will be handled that way.

    Friday night fish fry, fisherman’s platter, shrimp, homemade pizza, pub mix, specialty drinks at bar $3 (Sanitizer and Summer’s Not a Bummer Hummers), and more appetizers.

    Saturday: 0900-noon is @Starla’s Concealed Carry class at the pavilion, no equipment needed… she is a fantastic instructor..$50 directly to her, pay online via the events page.

    Saturday and Sunday from 10-noon: Bloody Mary special $4!

    Saturday: 1-1:30 All you can eat ice cream sundae bar…make your own any way you want it! We scoop, you pick your toppings.

    Saturday: 5 p.m. HEMP 101 Class. Learn about the many commercial uses of hemp, medicinal and otherwise… Annie planted hemp for food… hemp seeds are a perfect plant-based protein, gluten free!

    Saturday at 6:30ish: Manson and his guitar playing classic hits to lift your spirits as you hang out with your friends and family.

    Thank you for your continued support as we all get through this thing called life! We have many new people on staff, please have patience as we are training and learning the next few weeks. Please message this page for anything Annie needs to tend too :)

    Have a wonderfully Blessed weekend…. back to the real normal here!

    Make your reservations online, Memorial Day weekend is about full, however, we do allow quiet generators on the 3-acre field (south side) and tent camping on the north side… $38 per night per unit. Bring your own table :)

  72. 72.

    RSA

    @Krope, the Formerly Dope

    That makes the cost-benefit analysis more difficult, but…

    Good point. I think it applies widely. BJ commenters often suggest what a White House correspondent should say when talking with the President, and you have to wonder “Career ender” or “Popular hero” as the outcome?

  73. 73.

    James E Powell

    @Montanareddog:

    I think it’s best we not respond in kind. Engaging with Trump on his low level only reinforces and validates him.

    I would, however, love to see a video of the meeting where Trump or some other dipshit proposed the idea for this and the rest of the room had to pretend it was a great idea boss, great idea!

  74. 74.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    @James E Powell: I would, however, love to see a video of the meeting where Trump or some other dipshit proposed the idea for this and the rest of the room had to pretend it was a great idea boss, great idea!

    I know this wasn’t regarding masks, but you inspired me.  We can get Trump to start promoting masks, and thereby get some percentage of the TCNJs to wear them, if we can convince him it was his idea to begin with.

    “No one ever knew that masks can help prevent germs spreading.”

  76. 76.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Princess: Have you ever been to Gresham?  Let’s just say that boycotting this campsite will not involve much of a sacrifice.

  77. 77.

    J R in WV

    Here’s some fascinating commentary from Roger Cohen in the NYT (Yeh, I know, FTFNYT!) in yesterday’s paper. First, the opening lede:

    Back in the other world, before all was stilled, a neighbor in Colorado would tell me it was time for liberals to “gun up.” The other side was armed, he argued, and would stop at nothing. What would we tell our grandchildren when Ivanka Trump took office as the 46th president of the United States in 2025 and term limits were abolished? That we tried words, all manner of them, he scoffed, but they had the rifles.

    I waved him away. American democracy was not Hungarian democracy, now dead.

    Then, at the end of lots of commentary:

     

    If you prefer, think of “gun up” as get real, get tough, get registered, get mobilized, get implacable and vote Trump out. Or you may just want to go down to the range.

    I have to admit, I never thought the NYT would allow a commenter to recommend arming ourselves and going ‘down to the range” to shoot.

  78. 78.

    lamh36

    Final review of #Contagion the first 75% was good. The 3rd act finale was a bit over-dramatic, but it was ok. Overall I’d def give the first 75% an A and the final 3rd a B.

     

  79. 79.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    Fred Willard was on Jimmy Kimmel all the time.  He was just on a few months ago.  He never acted like someone in their mid 80s.

  80. 80.

    opiejeanne

    @Redshift: My youngest works for a shipping company that supplies Alaska with food and other necessities of life, so she is considered an essential worker. Her office finally installed plexiglass around her work station because she deals with the public, but mainly with the truck drivers (apparently many of whom are idiots).  She wears a mask while she’s at work.

    Last week a truck driver came into her office, gazed at her mask for a moment, and said, “Why are you wearing that mask? That mask won’t protect you.”

    She said, “It’s to protect my husband who is at risk.”

    It shut the moron up, and yes, she knows it doesn’t work that way but she also knows that telling him that her mask was protecting HIM wouldn’t carry any weight. He’s one of the ones who, when the plexiglass first went up, would walk around it to talk to her.

  82. 82.

    HumboldtBlue

    We have also lost Phyllis George.

    And for those who may not know, George — a former Miss America — was a pioneer for women in sports broadcasting and she was also a First Lady of Kentucky which I did not know and she was also a staunch supporter of Mrs. Clinton.

  84. 84.

    Jeffro

    @rikyrah: I just read that article – thanks rikyrah!  Amazing that anyone could think they can ‘manly’ their way through this, or that viruses care.

    Mrs. Fro and the kids and I are committed to masking up anytime we go into a building that’s not our house.  For the duration.

  85. 85.

    Jeffro

    Btw – where has Pence disappeared to this week?  Did Manly Man #2 catch a lil’ ol virus or something?

    It would be irresponsible not to speculate.

  86. 86.

    J R in WV

    @Princess:

    Here’s the line up for May 15-17: Beautiful Weather!!!!! Masks are NOT allowed in the buildings for safety sake.

    Armed robbery if you’re wearing a mask for personal protection!!??!?!?!!!!????

    I have a carry permit. I don’t carry often, but I intend to wear a mask, always, going forward, as wife is vulnerable. If I decide I need to carry a gun to do so safely, I surely will do so.

    And this lakeside joint in Wisconsin… telling people masks aren’t allowed during a pandemic, that’s just plain old wrong, and if anyone who eats there gets sick, I hope they sue those asses into poverty.

  90. 90.

    Sally

    What I think we should be saying is how weak and scared it looks to be pictured making everyone around you wear a mask. Because that really is signalling, “I’m so terrified of this virus that I need to be protected from everyone around me”. And that is what we see in all these pics. The TCNJs will never understand that the mask isn’t there to protect them. They are just too stupid. They don’t see and understand the same, sane world that we live in.

  91. 91.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @James E Powell: The Village’s failure to hold Donald to any standard of adult behavior is a new reason for my nym.

    Wipe them out, from board room to C suite to “talent”.  All of them.

  94. 94.

    laura

    Man, I’ve loved Fred Willard since Fernwood Tonight second banana to Martin Mull along with Happy Kine and the Mirth Makers. It is hard to believe that he was 86 – he appeared to be so young at heart.

    I’ve got a piece of “graduation cake” chilling in the fridge ready for the Commencement and I’ve checked in with my nephew who’s graduating from high school down in Van Nuys. He’s taking the whole situation with great equanimity  and we’re all really proud of the young scholar.

  96. 96.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @SFBayAreaGal: At this end, you click on the “text” tab, above right, and paste in what you get from twitter. You can embed a tweet like that even if you’re not a front pager.

    At the twitter end, you click on the downward arrow in the upper right corner, and then select “embed tweet” or whatever you want. It will pop up a link for you to use.

  99. 99.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    His twitter bio says “I created a facemask controversy”. There’s video, if you want to watch it.

    Derek Utley @realDerekUtley
    Want to know how to trigger a Democrat? Wear a Trump 2020 mask Made in America. Let’s see how fast the mandatory mask requirements last then.

    I wonder how much he’ll make selling these things, and to what extent that’s the point? Rick Wilson says, I think only partly tongue-in-cheek, that he could have made a quick couple of million by starting the Super Eagle Patriot Trump 2020PAC and asking for the support of the type of people who will buy these masks

    Tom Nichols @RadioFreeTom
    Honestly, if this is how it gets these toddlers to wear a mask, fine. I mean, this is like teaching them to wear underwear by putting Spider-Man on it, but if it works, it works.

  100. 100.

    WaterGirl

    @SFBayAreaGal: To get the fully functional tweets, with images and everything, you have to be a front-pager.

    To add tweets that you see most of the time in comments here, you can copy the embed code, the same code that a front-pager would use, but when you paste it in – using the text tab – images are stripped.  That creates  the kinds of tweets you see here from commenters.

    Does that help?

  108. 108.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @debbie: Doug Dugan was alternative music god in C-bus.  He owned Staches and when the building it was in was condemned, he opened Little Brothers.  I spent a lot of time in both when I lived there.

  109. 109.

    ziggy

    practicing with the Judge Jeanine Pirro

    ETA–why aren’t there any hypertext links?

    Room Rater
    @ratemyskyperoom
    It all makes sense now. 2/10 @JudgeJeanine

  111. 111.

    khead

    So, this thread is exactly why I posted a while back asking if BJ could make someone famous.  I know a manly man douchebag who proudly posted on the Book of Faces that he ain’t skeered and he ain’t wearing no mask.  The problem is he’s the manager of multiple car dealerships in VA and has quite the following.  It was, by far, the stupidest thing I’ve seen during this pandemic. When I told him that he was being a fucking idiot I was, of course, cut off. I suspect he will never pay a price for his stupidity – even though I am sure other folks definitely will.

  112. 112.

    Jeffro

    Um when folks are done with the facemask non-controversy (75% of Americans thing masking up is a good thing) maybe we should talk about Impeachment II: the firing of 4 Inspectors General?

    Even Mitt blessed Romney is fired up about that one.

    Let’s do it, let’s make trumpov the only American president impeached twice!  Let’s see if they all (minus Romney) vote to acquit this time.  Let’s really run up the score in those Senate races.  Let’s make sure America knows who stands for good government and who keeps firing the people minding the hen house.

  115. 115.

    WaterGirl

    From the Obama Foundation just now:

    In just a few minutes, President Obama will join notable voices like LeBron James, Malala Yousafzai, Yara Shahidi, Lena Waithe, and Megan Rapinoe to celebrate America’s graduating high school seniors.
    Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020 is about to air on more than 30 broadcast and cable networks in the U.S., beginning at 8 pm ET/PT and 7pm CT/MT.
    And starting at 11 pm ET/10 pm CT, you can stream it right here from anywhere in the world. 
    You won’t want to miss it.
  116. 116.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Jeffro: Repurposing this from an earlier thread:  Any effort to impeach or get Trump to resign or put him on the B Ark and launch him into the sun is a distraction and diversion of effort from the election in November.  Full stop.  End of story.

  117. 117.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Obama speechwriter responds to the weird, creepy 4th Of July Independence Day video that trump tweeted out because he’s both dumb and a narcissist and somehow thinks it makes him look good or tough or cool:

    Cody Keenan @codykeenan
    When nobody invites you to give a commencement address

    it autoplayed while I was copying it… did they alter Pullman’s voice to sound a little bit like trump’s?

  119. 119.

    dexwood

    Our country is drowning in stupid and the dumbest are trying to drag the rest of us under with them. As of Thursday, we’re required to wear masks in public in New Mexico. I wish the order had been given six weeks ago. Yesterday, I needed to visit a small, local pet supply store. There were about twelve shoppers in there, only half wearing masks. I found myself in line behind a giant guy and his young son, neither wearing masks. A man came in, wearing a mask, and began pointing at the unmasked saying you need a mask and you need a mask. The giant asshole in front of me challenged the guy to a fight. Said let’s go outside and I’ll shut your mouth. The masked guy ignored him and went about his shopping. The giant asshole turned back to me, saw I was wearing a mask, staying about 10 feet back, and made a dismissive sound and hand wave. I looked him in the eye, you can do that with a mask on, and said he’s right. Then I ignored him, too.

  120. 120.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    @khead: How many dead people do you need for it to be a REAL controversy?

    For a Democrat, none.  Just the perception of risk of harm will do.

    For a Republican, one could not conceive of a number high enough to merit controversy.

  121. 121.

    WaterGirl

    @dexwood:

    I looked him in the eye, you can do that with a mask on…

    Pence didn’t get the memo.  Though I’m guessing that his “I want to look the doctors in the eye” had a silent “like a real man” on the end of the sentence.

  122. 122.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @dexwood:  The giant asshole in front of me challenged the guy to a fight. Said let’s go outside and I’ll shut your mouth

    Jesus. I guess I’m lucky, I rarely encounter people like this. I think I could count on my fingers the number of people I’ve seen without masks in the last few weeks. One guy did have what might have been a smug grin, but maybe it was an “oh shit, I left my mask in the car” grimace

  125. 125.

    Jay

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    if you are a pathetic sociopathic narsscist unable to feign basic human emotions and interactions, and pretending to be rich, the best “eccentric” Billionaire behaviour to adopt is to fake some level of germophobia.

  127. 127.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    @dexwood: I don’t want any part of Pence’s idea of what a real man is. Bet he buys Chapstick by the case.

    When a man is trying to “pass,” he’s susceptible to embrace all sorts of weird notions of what is manly.  Pretty much whatever the people around him tell him.

    ETA: Take it from a guy who spent his late adolescence deliberately training his voice into its lower range.

  129. 129.

    Jeffro

    @Omnes Omnibus: Eh, disagree that it’s a distraction, but it’s not going to move any votes either.  I just want him to have that special distinction of being so uniquely horrible, we had to impeach him twice.

    And I want Senate Rs to wear that mark forever, too.

  130. 130.

    dexwood

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:  This was the first time I’ve seen this. It really pissed me off and I didn’t say what I wanted to say to the Giant Asshole, too old to fight. Couldn’t simply say nothing, though. My mouth has gotten me into and out of trouble my whole life. My wife has said more than once, the virus won’t get you, but someone will shoot you if you’re not careful.

  132. 132.

    Mike in NC

    Is Trump’s way of fending off the virus stuffing his bloated face? In every photo lately he appears to have gained more weight.

  133. 133.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    @Mike in NC: Is Trump’s way of fending off the virus stuffing his bloated face? In every photo lately he appears to have gained more weight.

    He’s off his usual exercise regimen of getting in and out of golf carts.

  136. 136.

    Ohio Mom

    I had this idea that I was going to be the Mask Fairy — I figured a 4’11” silver-haired oldish lady might be able to get away with going up to strangers, introducing myself, as the Mask Fairy, cousin of the Tooth Fairy, and bestow upon them a mask.

    I certainly come across enough unmasked people during my limited errands, which irritates me no end. It’s all I can do not to lecture them. I thought playful humor might be a better and safer bet.

    Then I saw that masks were going for $2 each at the local CVS and realized I couldn’t afford to do any street theater.

  137. 137.

    HumboldtBlue

    Any chemistry professors hanging around? I have a niece in quite a pickle with a freshman chem lab and nu human assistance is available.

  139. 139.

    James E Powell

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Any effort to impeach or get Trump to resign or put him on the B Ark and launch him into the sun is a distraction and diversion of effort from the election in November.  Full stop.  End of story.

    Agree completely, but that B Ark into the sun project might be something to put Elon Musk to work on. Keep him busy and off twitter.

  141. 141.

    Ohio Mom

    HumboldtBlue: Maybe you could try emailing Cheryl Rofer — or try commenting on the post she just put up.

  142. 142.

    James E Powell

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I have a niece in quite a pickle with a freshman chem lab and nu human assistance is available.

    What kind of assistance can you get from a nü-human?

  146. 146.

    bjacques

     

     

    @Princess: Manson and his guitar playing classic hits? Will he do the entire White Album? And I guess  “Garbage Dump” was sort of a hit…

  149. 149.

    low-tech cyclist

    OK fine nobody can make you wear a mask but also, from a consistent American exceptional-liberty point of view, if somebody gets nervous about your unmasked breathing they can shoot you

    Makes sense to me that you should be able to ‘stand your ground’ (if SYG is the law in your state) when someone comes at you without a mask, potentially breathing a lethal virus your way.

  150. 150.

    Geoduck

    On my last masked trip out to the local fresh-produce shop I had a non-mask wearer comment from his car that I “should register,” with no further explanation. I decided not to ask for elaboration and just kept walking across the parking lot, but I’ve been wondering ever since if that’s a Slick Burn making the rounds in right-wing circles.

    Everybody in the store was wearing masks.

    And yeah, Libs should all totally start saying how much we hate the idea of people wearing MAGA 2020 masks.

  151. 151.

    low-tech cyclist

    @Omnes Omnibus:Any effort to impeach or get Trump to resign or put him on the B Ark and launch him into the sun is a distraction and diversion of effort from the election in November.  Full stop.  End of story.

    Wrong. Allowing the normalization of his nonresponse to the coronavirus is what allows voting for him to remain plausible in the minds of those who aren’t in the hardcore 40% but might be in the 46% on Election Day.

    It cannot be driven home enough that his behavior in office isn’t within the range of reasonable or even tolerable policy differences; his dereliction of duty in response to the coronavirus is off the fucking charts.

    It’s also worth stacking up against Trump’s indifference a Democratic Party that cares enough about people who may die of the virus in the next eight months that they’re going to try to remove Trump in the hopes that Pence may, at least, get behind a nationwide plan, however mediocre, in order to save some lives before January 20.

    And just as one human being to another, to me it’s the height of cynicism to write off the tens of thousands who will die of the coronavirus in the next eight months. A party that bloodless has lost its moral bearings.  (It’s still better than an actively evil party, but that ain’t sayin’ much.)

    In the words of Mother Jones, “pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living.”  I don’t care who prays and who doesn’t, but I want a party that will fight for the living, and not give up on a whole slew of them without a fight.  “Pray for the dead, abandon tens of thousands more Americans to their deaths, and focus on the next election” just plain sticks in my craw.

  152. 152.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    Just a quick note: patriots are people who love their country, and will sacrifice to ensure it’s safety.

    Anyone who refuses to wear a mask is saying they are perfectly okay if they end up becoming a mobile biological attacker to their fellow citizens. It *can not* be squared with patriotism, at all. Anyone trying to insist that it *can* be is a special snowflake demanding we change the plain meaning of language to soothe their tender fee-fees because of their own irresponsibility.

    But we should show true empathy for them. It’s *HARD*. It’s a *SACRIFICE*. It’s been *weeks*, and you can’t expect big, strong, manly patriots to suffer a tiny inconvenience for *weeks*… oh, wait, yes, you could. See above, re: plain meaning of language.

    I’m sorry – I have oodles of sympathy for people who are bitching and moaning about having to wear a mask, about not being able to get a haircut, or a mani-pedi, not able to sit down in their favorite restaurant or bar, etc. but continue to follow the guidelines needed to protect their fellow Americans. That’s patriotism, boiled down. Everyone has a right to complain; but true patriots weather the difficulties because they care. Assholes don’t; that’s what makes them absolutely non-patriotic. Nationalistic, maybe, but *not* patriotic.

  154. 154.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @Redshift: Studies suggest that masks provide a significant amount of protection against catching Covid-19.

    How Covid-19 spreads is a bit tricky. We know it moves in small droplets of spit; we know that it *can* be in aerosol form briefly, but it doesn’t seem to spread much in aerosol form – it probably can’t remain active long enough, most of the time. The mumps virus can be in aerosol form – sneeze in a hangar, and everyone else in that hangar is at risk, even if they’re on a walkway far overhead. Covid-19 doesn’t get into aerosol form like that.

    Of course, medical workers will perform procedures that make a lot more of it occur in aerosol form, and *that* is where it’s a danger. That’s why they need the N95s – cloth can’t protect against a lot of aerosolized virus, the virus can whip right through the tiny holes in the weave.

    Still: if you’re on the bus, and someone on the bus sneezes, there’s both theoretical, and statistical, evidence that masks reduce the chance of infection from that sneeze, by blocking droplets.

    There’s mixed data on surface contamination. It’s “not believed” to spread “primarily” through surface contamination – that’s why masks help. Of course, there must be something *similar* to surface contamination going on, or washing your hands wouldn’t make such a big difference. (And washing your hands does make a huge difference – I think the study I saw showed that washing your hands (12?) times a day provided more protection than most non-surgical masks.)It might be that there’s just a tiny bit of mist that we give off when talking, breathing, etc., and *that* can get on hands; but until we’re 100% sure surface contamination isn’t a problem, we can’t risk ignoring it. I still find it a bit frustrating. They haven’t see any instance of food causing the problem, and if surface contamination could cause it, it seems unlikely that *no one* has caught it from food, if only from touching the wrapper, then the burger, and taking a bite. Then again, if everyone who caught it from a burger also has another vector, we’d assume the other vector is the real cause – we’d need to find someone who leaves the house once a week to buy a hamburger who gets sick, and the only person they could reasonably have caught it from was the recently diagnosed minimum wage-slave in the kitchen at the restaurant. Anyway: far too many words to say “masks are nearly certain to help protect you (at least a bit), but you’re right: the one thing we’re 100% sure of is, they protect others.”

  155. 155.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @low-tech cyclist: No one here is is writing off anyone.  I think that every effort should be made to save lives where those efforts can make a difference.  Trying to impeach Trump will not save a single life.

  157. 157.

    Bill Arnold

    @ziggy:

    someone needs to have a coughing attack next to his mask-free face. I bet he would come unglued (based on his reaction before Covid).

    I’ve been imagining a perfume bottle filled with distilled water a potent homeopathic preparation of SARS-CoV-2. And a spritz in their general direction.
    Haven’t done it yet though.

  159. 159.

    Thor Heyerdahl

    @RSA: But couldn’t someone make it look like they were choking or had swallowed water down the wrong tube?

  161. 161.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: That a good point.  Dump hasn’t done any commencement addresses (other than the perfunctorily military ones) and I thought it was because he was lazy and a bore.   But in reality, no one asked him (other than Falwell).  HA!

  162. 162.

    Chetan Murthy

    Really long thread, so this’ll probably get lost, but …. any place anybody knows that would be good for ordering a nice and really pretty mask from?  I mean, I got some already, but really, I’m sure there are nicer than “I cut up some tshirts”, ehhhhh?

    And if I were giving money to a good cause, that’d be great, too!

  163. 163.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    66% of men in US say they sometimes/always wear a mask when going out. 29% once in a while/never.

    What’s nuance these days when someone wants a narrative to marginalize a whole category of people they hate? In Ultra Liberal San Fransisco Bay Area we aren’t required to a mask out side as long as we can maintain social distancing. That’s pretty easy to do in the suburbs.

  165. 165.

    SWMBO

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Trump is not a germophobe.  This is right up there with he’s a billionaire and he’s a good businessman. It’s another one of his bullshit lies. He’s afraid of blood. Someone was bleeding in front of him at Mar a Loco and he couldn’t get away fast enough. But a true germophobe wouldn’t raw dog porn stars and prostitutes.  He would spend most of his day getting scrupulously clean. He wouldn’t eat off an omelet bar where others could get their germs. This is another lie in the Trump bullshit series. Thank you for coming to my talk.

  167. 167.

    Ohio Mom

    Lots of handmade masks of all kinds on etsy.com. Probably many of the mask makers would do s commissioned piece if there was some special type of fabric you wanted.

  168. 168.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Ohio Mom: I’ve never shopped on etsy.  What I was hoping for, is a place like Wonkette or B-J, where I could buy a mask and be contributing a little to a good cause too.

  169. 169.

    MoCA Ace

    @Omnes Omnibus:  I used to go to Gresham regularly in my younger years when I did a lot of whitewater canoeing on the Red River.  Unfortunately people in my neck of WI read the Supreme Court ruling as a call to Jubilee,  Last night the parking lot was full at the  strip club down the road and my wife came home pissed because she found out half of her staff was bar hopping last night.  Fucking idiot Republicans should be made to own this shit but their idiot supporters will just blame Gov. Evers.

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