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by CiteXieAlAlyEtc
1021 days ago
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I appreciate that these conversations have the same futility as trying to push for condom use during the aids/hiv crisis. The next 5-20 years hold a lot of unneeded suffering that will be difficult to witness and experience. :( It doesn't have to be this way, and we can make far better choices. The rational, self-interested strategy right now is to minimize viral load, minimize exposure, and minimize infection count. well fitted, high quality masks and respirators are a component of that strategy. if empirical appeals to the literature do not motivate adopting that strategy, nor do emotional appeals to those currently suffering with long covid; that's fine. at some level i'd hoped the detailed vlogs about physics girl's suffering with pasc would have helped people stay safe, this has obviously not happened. it's perhaps Tragic, but it's certainly A Choice One Can Make. As for myself, i'm not looking to rawdog with people i'm not fluid bonded with. I'm certainly not looking to swap aerosols unprotected with people i don't know. The costs are far too high for a payoff that is far too low. solidarity and may the odds remain ever in your favor. |
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And also that nobody else uses masks there, so there is little point. But condoms are something I do always use and are commonplace in the community I frequent. HIV is a totally different matter than COVID though. It was a terminal disease for decades (and even now it's extremely difficult to deal with)
But HIV has a major difference to COVID: The effectiveness of condoms in preventing it is almost absolute, and is only really negated by unfortunate accidents. They also don't really have serious downsides like masks do (the lower sensitivity is something I in fact like). Compared to the masks which only delay infection, they are by no means a prevention method on a personal scale.
But if the lockdowns have taught me anything it's that a life without human contact is no life, and I've been making up for lost time.