Walz who said, "Mind your own business" set up snitch line during COVID

[Bradskii]

Are we just going to gloss over the fact that "social distancing" was just made up out of whole cloth?

“You know, I don’t recall. It sort of just appeared. I don’t recall, like, a discussion of whether it should be 5 or 6 or whatever."​

- Dr. Anthony Fauci​

I had a chest complaint last week, picked up a bug from somewhere So I was coughing and sputtering for a few days. When I went to the doctors I wore a mask. When I went to the chemist, I wore a mask. When family came over to pick something up they kept their distance.

I mean, good grief. This is just common sense.

 

[Occams Barber]

I had a chest complaint last week, picked up a bug from somewhere So I was coughing and sputtering for a few days. When I went to the doctors I wore a mask. When I went to the chemist, I wore a mask. When family came over to pick something up they kept their distance.

I mean, good grief. This is just common sense.

In the US you would have the right to cough and splutter over everyone and anyone, wherever and whenever you want.

It's in the Constitution.

OB

 

[probinson]

Cool. Be amazed. We disagree. That's fine.

I'm cool with disagreement. It's when that disagreement crosses into pseudoscientific nonsense that infringes on our liberty that I have issues.

 

[probinson]

We've taken the train to conspiracy-town again, so I'm really going to need you to take the train back to reality with us, because that's a trip I'm not taking. Screencaps of emails that may or may not have been sent during COVID posted on a conspiracy theorist website are not a thing I can lower myself to spend the time answering.

Ah. So you're just going to pretend like these aren't real emails obtained through an FOIA request? I suppose that acknowledging that people really were tattling on one another by the thousands is probably detrimental to your worldview that the hotline was just set up to relieve 911 of people terribly concerned about other people playing basketball in the park, so I can see why you'd not want to acknowledge that it's real.

 

[probinson]

We were talking in the context of America, which you know as you're the one who introduced the topic. Maybe you have to resort to intellectual dishonesty and word games to feel like you have a valid point, but I certainly do not.

Now THAT is amusing.

 

[Vambram]

In the US you would have the right to cough and splutter over everyone and anyone, wherever and whenever you want.

It's in the Constitution.

OB

Most of the masks commonly used by most people are either ineffective, OR, those masks are used in effectively.

 

[probinson]

I support leadership identifying that too many people are using an emergency line to report non-emergencies, then opening up a non-emergency line to handle calls related to that one topic so as to not burden the emergency infrastructure during an emergency, yes.

Yes. Unfortunately for you, that's not what happened. I mean, the email was sahviolations@state.mn.us. Want to guess what "sah" stands for?

Stay-at-home violations. That's what the line was for. To snitch on your neighbors. Which apparently thousand of Minnesotans did.

 

[Vambram]

This snitching on neighbors during the pandemic in Minnesota reminds me of Hitler's Germany when citizens were encouraged to turn in the names and addresses of Jewish Germans.

 

[Bradskii]

Most of the masks commonly used by most people are either ineffective, OR, those masks are used in effectively.

Yeah, a handkerchief is not that efficient. Neither is sneezing or coughing into your sleeve. Holding your hand to your mouth when you cough is even less efficient as is turning away from someone when you sneeze. But we do all this as a matter of course. As a matter of common courtesy to the person in front of us.

If only there had been something more efficient we could have done. You'd think that someone might have designed a kind of handkerchief that was always in place in case you were symptomatic or if the other person was.

 

[Vambram]

Yeah, a handkerchief is not that efficient. Neither is sneezing or coughing into your sleeve. Holding your hand to your mouth when you cough is even less efficient as is turning away from someone when you sneeze. But we do all this as a matter of course. As a matter of common courtesy to the person in front of us.

If only there had been something more efficient we could have done. You'd think that someone might have designed a kind of handkerchief that was always in place in case you were symptomatic or if the other person was.

The point which I was making was that the rules made by governments and businesses about the masks were mostly ineffective because of the reasons which I stated.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Ah. So you're just going to pretend like these aren't real emails obtained through an FOIA request? I suppose that acknowledging that people really were tattling on one another by the thousands is probably detrimental to your worldview that the hotline was just set up to relieve 911 of people terribly concerned about other people playing basketball in the park, so I can see why you'd not want to acknowledge that it's real.

Nothing you said refutes what I said, likely because I dealt in straight facts and you are dealing in hysteria and ignoring said facts.

Now THAT is amusing.

I have no doubt you’re super amused with yourself.

Yes. Unfortunately for you, that's not what happened. I mean, the email was sahviolations@state.mn.us. Want to guess what "sah" stands for?

Stay-at-home violations. That's what the line was for. To snitch on your neighbors. Which apparently thousand of Minnesotans did.

This would be easier if you read my posts. When you do, LMK.

 

[Bradskii]

This snitching on neighbors during the pandemic in Minnesota reminds me of Hitler's Germany when citizens were encouraged to turn in the names and addresses of Jewish Germans.

Yes, it's exactly like that! Calling in to report that some people are risking spreading a possibly fatal virus to ringing the gestapo so a whole family can be torn from their house, herded onto cattle trains, transported to a camp, women separated from their children, hair shorn, young men sent to work themselves to death and the rest of the family - women, grandparents and children gassed and burnt.

The comparisons are chillingly accurate.

 

[probinson]

I had a chest complaint last week, picked up a bug from somewhere So I was coughing and sputtering for a few days. When I went to the doctors I wore a mask. When I went to the chemist, I wore a mask. When family came over to pick something up they kept their distance.

I mean, good grief. This is just common sense.

Bad news. There's no evidence that masking helps with viral infections.

I mean, if you want to take the "it can't hurt" approach, I suppose that's your prerogative. But let's not pretend that masking is just "common sense".

Almost NO ONE, ever, anywhere wore a mask when they had a cough when pre-COVID. Want proof? Take a look at this.

'We’ve Never Had So Many Patients': Calif. Hospitals Getting Creative To Accommodate People With Flu - California Healthline

One hospital has set up a tent to handle the boon of patients, while others have adjusted their fast-track triage system to help people seeking help for the flu.

californiahealthline.org

Flu may be spread just by breathing, new study says

We knew to be wary of coughs and sneezes, but new research indicates the air around us can be infected just by a sick person’s breath.

www.mercurynews.com

https://weather.com/health/news/2018-01-17-flu-cases-widespread-states-epidemic-california

California hospitals face 'war zone' of flu patients, and are setting up tents to treat them

Ana Oktay rushed to the hospital in late December struggling to breathe, with a 102-degree fever and a cough that wouldn't let up.

medicalxpress.com

These are referencing a flu outbreak in 2018 that the media and public health coined a "war zone" because it was so bad. One hospital erected TWO tents inn their parking lot to treat patients because there was such an influx of patients that they could not handle them all. Guess what advice is missing from EVERY article on this topic pre-COVID? Masking. Go ahead and search the text. I'll wait. The word "mask" doesn't appear in any of these articles which all include practical steps to help prevent illness.

Take a look at these talking points from the California Hospital Association regarding the 2018 flu outbreak.

Every person can take several steps to help prevent getting the flu. First and foremost, everyone should get a flu vaccination. The flu vaccine protects against the various influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. Each year, the flu vaccine is made to protect against several different strains of the flu virus. Thus, even when there is a less than optimal match or lower effectiveness against one of the viruses, it is important to remember that the vaccine is designed to protect against multiple strains of the flu.​

​

Additional steps to prevent the flu that every person can take include:​

• Wash your hands regularly.
• If you need to cough or sneeze, cover your mouth or nose with a disposable tissue if possible. If a tissue is not handy, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve.
• If you are coughing regularly or have a fever, do not go to school or work — stay home.

https://calhospital.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cha_talking_points_2018_flu_season_approved.pdf

​

​

No mention of "keeping your distance", no mention of a "mask" of any kind to be found anywhere in any of this. Why? If these things are "common sense" as you allege, why wasn't anyone doing any of it before COVID?

 

[Occams Barber]

Most of the masks commonly used by most people are either ineffective, OR, those masks are used in effectively.

In other places they used a combination of mask, quarantine, more rigorous hygiene, social distancing and vaccination to minimise infection and death from Covid.

Based on the death rate these things didn't work in the US.

OB

 

[Lukaris]

When Trump announced travel restrictions during the Covid crisis the concerned leftists who support snitching on neighbors denounced travel restrictions. Denunciations abounded with the usual claptrap like this:

U.S. Senator Christopher Coons of Delaware

The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Christopher Coons of Delaware

www.coons.senate.gov

Yet socialist PM Ardern in New Zealand did the same thing ( which was sensible) but that was ok.

New Zealand government response to the COVID-19 pandemic - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Bradskii]

The point which I was making was that the rules made by governments and businesses about the masks were mostly ineffective because of the reasons which I stated.

And the other means of avoiding spreading disease are even much less effective. Yet as a courtesy to the person you are in contact with, you make use of all of them in some way. Or do you just sneeze into their face?

 

[probinson]

Or do you just sneeze into their face?

Most people do what they've done their entire lives; sneeze into a tissue or their sleeve. You know. What the US CDC recommended before they went completely off the rails and pretended like making masks out of your old Van Halen t-shirts would somehow slow the spread of COVID.

 

[Bradskii]

Almost NO ONE, ever, anywhere wore a mask when they had a cough when pre-COVID. Want proof? Take a look at this.

No, because masks weren't generally available. I've still got a couple in the glove box so I wore one last week when I got to the doctor's office. Why wouldn't I? It's more efficient than coughing into a tissue or my sleeve.

If you have a cough, then you take obvious precautions like using a handkerchief to cover your mouth. Why? Because you are concerned for the health of others. But you presumably demanded the right not to use something that was a lot more efficient. So be it.

 

[Bradskii]

​

No mention of "keeping your distance", no mention of a "mask" of any kind to be found anywhere in any of this. Why? If these things are "common sense" as you allege, why wasn't anyone doing any of it before COVID?

Well, maybe if you have the flu then you don't take any precautions. You don't avoid close contact with family and friends. You don't self isolate. You still go to the cinema or the restaurant and you don't use a handkerchief or tissues. Maybe that's the way you operate.

 

[probinson]

No, because masks weren't generally available.

That's just not true. Anyone that wanted to buy a box of surgical masks could do so at any time.

If you have a cough, then you take obvious precautions like using a handkerchief to cover your mouth. Why? Because you are concerned for the health of others. But you presumably demanded the right not to use something that was a lot more efficient. So be it.

How long do you suppose your mask is "efficient" (I think the word you're looking for here is effective) while you wear it? Do you change it at regular intervals? Is it fit-tested? Is it sealed to your face?

Take a look at this article in the Sydney Morning Herald entitled "Farce mask: It's safe for only 20 minutes". This article says that people would be penalized with a fine up to $20,000 if they made "false mask claims". Note this article was written 21 years ago during the first SARS outbreak.

​

Health authorities have warned that surgical masks may not be an effective protection against the virus.​

"Those masks are only effective so long as they are dry," said Professor Yvonne Cossart of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Sydney. ​

​

"As soon as they become saturated with the moisture in your breath they stop doing their job and pass on the droplets."​

Professor Cossart said that could take as little as 15 or 20 minutes, after which the mask would need to be changed. But those warnings haven't stopped people snapping up the masks, with retailers reporting they are having trouble keeping up with demand.​

​

Farce mask: it's safe for only 20 minutes

www.smh.com.au

​

This is why masks weren't originally recommended for COVID, because it was known they were of "marginal benefit".