[oregontechninja]

I pushed my wedding back to 2021 already, at this point we're probably just going to cut our losses and invest in a house or something. The fact that so many Americans are willing to pick up a gun and lay down their life for this country, but wouldn't wear a simple mask for that very same country is shameful.

[SEJeff]

I'm a veteran (US Army OIF II ~2003-2004) and wear a mask to protect you as much as to protect myself + my family. There are plenty of stupid people in the world, being a willing to serve in the military doesn't mean you're one of them.

[7thaccount]

The parent commenter may not have been referring to those in the military.

There are many non-military citizens that love guns (that by itself isn't a problem), but do have a sick fascination/desire of being in a firefight and who frequently talk about being willing to lay down their life for America....all while being incapable of wearing a mask. They may be referring to that hypocrisy.

[scrooched_moose]

We opted to slash&burn our guest list (~150>20) and do a very small ceremony in September for this reason. We didn't want the stress of dragging out, and as cases were spiking in August we didn't feel confident 2021 was even going to be an option.

Some friends of ours lost massive deposits on theirs in 2020, then rescheduled for 2021, and are starting to panic again.

It turned out to be a great excuse to uninvite a large swath of extended family we didn't really want to include anyway, and the small ceremony with only our closest friends & family was wonderful.

[adkadskhj]

> The fact that so many Americans are willing to pick up a gun and lay down their life for this country

I don't think they are. The motivations behind those who go to war are not clear cut. Some are noble honest giving people; others less so. For some that's simply the "best" choice for career/etc.

Those that go to war purely from the kindness of their heart is smaller than implied - imo - and wearing a mask most aligns with a simple kind ask, perhaps a much smaller percentage of the gun supporters.

[matwood]

I will say that for my wife it was mixture. She's patriotic, and it was also the best choice to get her life started after high school. I imagine it's probably some combination for most people.

Side note, she's furious every time she catches a Trump rally on TV and sees blue-lives matter desecrated American flag.

[apozem]

My wife and I just went down to the courthouse with my parents and got married this September. God knows when this will all be over, we’ll have some kind of ceremony then.

[okiedokiepokie1]

How do you explain other countries who are very pro-mask and always have been (ie. Japan) with their cases not going away?

[fomine3]

Mask is necessary but not sufficient

[InitialLastName]

I delayed my wedding from July to a much smaller wedding in February 21, to a courthouse ceremony sometime this winter followed by a big first or second anniversary party (whenever the coast is clear).

This year has truly been a wild adventure. :\

[mcgoo]

If you want to avoid crowds, the two busiest days for the courthouse we got married in are Thanksgiving Friday and the last Friday in December. There were six judges on the day we went - typically it’s handled by one judge. (That was 2018, who knows how it’s going to be this year. Might even get shut down in some places.)

[criddell]

I have a feeling those are two different groups of people.

[gameswithgo]

Well we had the very visible example of the Navy Seal who allegedly killed Osama doing just this. Not only refusing to wear a mask but suggesting that those of us who do are "pussies".

But outside of the military we have the people buying up guns to protect america from a mostly imagined antifa threat, who will not wear masks to protect against a very real viral one.

People have never been good at thinking though, similar stuff happened in 1918. oh well.

[gfitz]

Why blame the people when the leadership has been so shoddy? Here is the same Dr. Fauci on masks as the pandemic was first spreading throughout US: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=PRa6t_e7dgI

[jeffbee]

Seems pretty reasonable to me. At that time there really was a shortage of masks. Perhaps he should have advised people to improvise a mask?

[ars]

> but wouldn't wear a simple mask for that very same country is shameful.

There aren't as many of those as you think. The media likes to find all cases of people doing that and reporting on them.

Instead the media should do some polling and get statistics on mask wearing. But they won't, because in general most people are wearing masks, and that goes against the narrative.

[sigmaprimus]

I wear masks and have been wearing one since the "experts" were claiming they were not needed. It just seemed so odd to hear them say that when at the same time the doctors and nurses were screaming that they didn't have enough.

There have been so many mixed and misleading messages I understand why some people doubt the efficacy of masks.

Remember "Don't touch your face"? What happened to that?

I think if the communication people had just come clean and admitted they mislead the public in order to secure the PPE the healthcare system needed and prevent hoarding (Like what happened with TP), there would be far less anti-mask rhetoric.

Unfortunately these politicians doubled down and tried to differentiate between medical and non medical masks. Totally a CMA attitude that understandably has been met with a degree of mistrust.

[diebeforei485]

There was a big screw-up on masks that the public health establishment has not come out and apologized for. And they wonder why people don't trust them...

[jliptzin]

What about "don't touch your face?" Who is advocating to start touching your face? If you don't have to touch your face, don't do it. I've heard that advice well before covid and all throughout the pandemic.

[diplomatpuppy]

It also frustrating that the same “experts” are sowing FUD on the vaccine effort. Of course they’ll eventually chastise people who now have their fears confirmed and become suspicious.

[anonunivgrad]

If you don’t want to get sick or get someone you must see (eg elderly parents) sick, then wear a mask and/or hide inside. Let the rest of us do what we want. People my age have a 99.9% survival rate. My parents’ age, 99.x%. There is no evidence that the long term effects are actually any more severe or prevalent than with, e.g. particularly nasty flu years. We choose to get on with life.

I’m definitely not letting the government tell me whether I can have a family party or not. If you’re scared of the virus, stay home.

This pandemic will end like almost every other pandemic in the history of the human race: enough people get sick and acquire permanent/temporary immunity and the virus stops spreading. The question is whether in the process, we freak out to the point of skyrocketing suicides, economic stagnation, and becoming joyless.

Edit: not bothered by the downvotes but I am amused by the petty people who went and downvoted my other posts too. lol!

[californical]

The problem is that you don’t know what someone else’s needs are. Wearing a mask doesn’t protect you, it protects the people around you.

You choosing not to wear one puts everyone else at risk, even if they’re wearing one. And if someone is a caretaker/family of a person with elevated risk, they still have to go outside sometimes (groceries, pharmacy, etc). If you’re a carrier of covid and are unaware of it, and you choose not to wear a mask, that person is helpless to your spit droplets that you’re spraying everywhere.

[matwood]

If your family is all being smart and doing the right things, you may be able to have small family gatherings (easy access to fast, accurate testing would make this even safer). The problem is that this virus is very contagious, so while your age group may be fine, it's easy for you to pass it onto to someone who will not be fine.

I'm also so tired of this fake dichotomy of either live your life like there is no pandemic or hide inside. There is a huge gradient between the two with varying levels of risk.

> I’m definitely not letting the government tell me whether I can have a family party or not.

It's sad that so many people have forgotten what it means to be a good neighbor or citizen. Instead it's all about 'me', and screw everyone else.

[stdclass]

I dont know why you are getting downvoted, the mortality rates are on the WHO / CDC website etc. FOR EVERYONE TO READ!