The Church of Shutdown abandoned the Sacrament of Masks, at least for the vaccinated, here in Massachusetts at the end of May. The ritual is kept alive at the Apple Store, however. From the Burlington Mall, today:
Things are quieter at the Microsoft Store and Lord & Taylor (both closed):
Adjacent parking lot (Burlington, MA is 3.3 percent Black, so Black Lives Matter… mostly in other towns):
Although masks are now merely “advised” (only for the unvaccinated) rather than required by governor’s order, more than half of the folks in the mall and at a nearby supermarket were masked.
Maybe because they are “unvaccinated”. You implied in your first sentence that the change only affects vaccinated folks.
I suspect at this point there is high correlation between people who have chosen to delay vaccination and people who choose not to wear a mask when no longer forced to. The correlation becomes stronger as we move further forward in time from the date when vaccines were made available to anyone in the country (now about two months ago, I believe).
Jim: Apple Store employees and Pride-celebrating Apple customers are #DenyingScience by refusing to accept the Sacrament of Non-FDA-approved Vaccines? (vaccines have been readily available here in Maskachusetts for about two months, though the process is not as convenient as you’d expect it to be (see https://philip.greenspun.com/blog/2021/05/10/why-arent-vaccines-available-at-highway-rest-stops/ ))
Separately, it is no longer possible for the police to arrest or fine someone, regardless of vaccination status, for failure to wear a mask. Masks are “advisory” for those who reject #Science, but it is not a criminal act to go unmasked even for those who are not vaccinated.
See https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-mask-requirements (a distillation of the 69 governor’s orders linked from https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-state-of-emergency )
Phil..I not as obsessed as you about masks. I have to wear a collared shirt to get on a golf course. I don’t view it as some offense against my freedom. The masks will slowly disappear.
It’s just not worth stressing over.
Jim: The Apple Store management, with its “masks required” sign in a masks-optional state, quarantine ropes to enforce the mask rule, and two full-time employees to operate the quarantine/mask system, is not fairly characterized as “obsessed with masks.” It is the (unmasked) person who stops for 10 seconds to take a photo of the phenomenon, who can be called “obsessed with masks.”
I’d rather join the Church of No Ma’am (Karens)!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SceA_bNLch0
I wonder what Al Bundy would say during these times. Al Bundy’s enemies were usually Karens.
You’re so lucky. Calif* still requires masks in addition to water rationing.
According to https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/massachusetts (used only for the convenient maps) Watertown was 79% Biden, Burlington 61% Biden, and Manchester NH 56% Biden.
My hypothesis is that voluntary mask usage is correlated to these statistics, with a Bradley Mask Effect kicking in at very high percentages.
Perhaps it’s time to test this hypothesis by visiting the Rockingham Mall in Salem (56% Trump) to see if sales tax avoidance correlates to lower mask usage.
I’m currently in deplorable land (Indiana), and in Lowes hardware yesterday we saw zero people with a mask out of more than 50 customers. The donut shop customers were about half masked.
If you are looking for correlations, the intersection of “people who wear masks” and “people displaying Confederacy pride gear” is zero.
In my area the local McDonalds and Burger King are still practicing the Sacraments, or at least requiring their employees to do so. I’m scheduled to make a trip to the local Walmart tomorrow and I’ll see if any heresy has crept in. Where I am in Deplorable Land, well more than 1/2 the people I see in public spaces have lapsed.
Apple is making a glaring omission here: A church should not only care for the body, but first and foremost for the soul.
After the mask check people should sign a Code of Conduct before entering the store in order to ensure inclusive and modern behavior as well as conforming speech.
Yesterday, I was at my local Staples store. They had a sign saying masks are “encouraged” and everyone inside as well as the employee were masked. So I took mine off and hooked it over my arm. I got a look from one employee.
I then went to my local Home Depot store and there was no sign about masks so I asked one of the employee and he said they are required. Everyone was wearing a mask even outside at the garden center and parking lot.
Once you scare someone to death, it is harder to convince them to get out of it even if you try [1], [2].
The irony of this “Let’s Go Out” campaign is that no one seems to say much about the several restaurants and small businesses that shutdown indefinitely.
[1] https://www.mass.gov/news/massachusetts-launches-the-lets-go-out-campaign-to-support-local-restaurants-and-encourage-in-person-dining
[2] https://www.visitma.com/letsgoout
Belief in a cult is never stronger then just after the cult is shown to be a fraud. Plus four years of anti that president screeching and full on flu fear porn and many people’s minds are broken. I just hope all the broken people stay in the broken states and I can escape.
Seems that in NYC the people most tightly masked are those least at risk – the young. And masking seems to indicate membership in a tribe, like tattooing. Yesterday I entered an ethnic grocery store in an affluent young neighborhood. The store had a sign in the window, the first one I have seen of this kind, that only those who were not vaccinated needed to be masked & some store employees were unmasked — but every one of the customers, all young and likely vaccinated, were tightly masked.
Jack: I have noticed this as well. Now that masks are optional, it is the young who are most passionate about what has become a purification ritual. Folks who are 50+ seem to be more comfortable with the idea that not every fight against a virus is winnable (or maybe they doubt that a cloth mask is an effective way to fight against a dangerous aerosol).
You should probably blur plate numbers. Unless that’s your car.
Why? The owner of the car obviously wanted to make his statement public and easily linkable to his identity.
That, after all, is the essence of virtue signaling. Phil simply helps to make said signaling more effective by increasing number of people who see it.
onetwothree: Of course this isn’t my car. Especially during Pride Month, I would be ashamed to drive a car without rainbow murals on both sides (and a BLM sign on the back, of course).
What would be the rationale for blurring plate numbers?
“The Church of Shutdown abandoned the Sacrament of Masks, at least for the vaccinated, here in Massachusetts at the end of May.”
Actually, it was abandoned for everyone irrespective of vaccination status.
KC: Masks are still “advised” for the unvaccinated. Heretics and infidels who are unvaccinated and unmasked can’t be fined or imprisoned after May 29. So you are strongly encouraged to go to church, but you can’t be dragged there anymore!