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Re:The Plague Year by cartoonfoxes on Saturday January 02, 2021 @07:07PM (#25617969)
I agree that it's a simple and plausible intervention. What do you think about gloves, goggles, and tyvek suits?
Re:The Plague Year by doliveira on Saturday January 02, 2021 @07:37PM (#25618174)
I'd suggest you to physically make a chart of convenience, likely protection, availability, plausibility, ease of implementation and a few other dimensions for masks and the other instruments you've mentioned. It might help you to see the absurdness of these comparisons.
Re:The Plague Year by cartoonfoxes on Saturday January 02, 2021 @07:52PM (#25618270)
Those were simple and plausible suggestions, and yet (intentionally) absurd. You invoked costs, benefits, and tradeoffs to make that fact clear. And for what it's worth, gloves still meet the criteria - simple plausible low-cost is not the same as evidence-based. Health authorities (in Canada) most certainly were suggesting we mitigate indirect-contact transmission, with regular sterilization of surfaces using bleach being widely advocated. Gloves are widely available both in their medical and reusable cloth versions, and carry even fewer risks to social disruption than do masks.

I'm totally fine with the structure of the argument with respect to mask mandates as it's typically made. Assuming no costs and at least some benefits, sure, I don't see a problem - this is within basic morality territory so far. But if the parameters are in question? My datapoint: mask mandates have effectively destroyed a familiar relationship, because it put me in the position of asking a good-faith question to a zealot. I judge the costs to me to be extremely, life-changingly high while the benefits remain uncertain.

Re:The Plague Year by u801e on Saturday January 02, 2021 @10:18PM (#25619056)
There's a reason why passenger vehicles don't come equipped with roll cages, 5 point harnesses, and why there's no law mandating that motorists and their passengers wear crash helmets.

Simply put, a 3 point restraint that's much easier to put on provides a decent amount of protection in the event of a crash. On the other hand, if one is engaged in motor sports, racing, etc., then the other safety measures are necessary. Just like one would use additional safety measures when working in a healthcare setting.

Re:The Plague Year by palestine-tree on Saturday January 02, 2021 @07:43PM (#25618204)
If those things are free - if there's a chance I'm saving someone's life by wearing them - then I'd be a monster to refuse because it's inconvenient to me.

I'm guessing you have an equally ridiculous slippery-slope follow-up as well?