D&D and the rising pandemic

[abirdcall]

Geez. Imagine people threatening to harm or kill others because the gas station doesn't let you in bare-foot.

I mean, is it annoying to wear a mask? Sure. It isn't an infringement on my personal freedoms though. At least in my opinion. I also do see it as some sort of conspiracy to 'train' me to obey orders in the future.

You're American right?

The Pledge of Allegiance is the creepiest thing to me.

It weirds me out whenever I remember that it is a thing. Kids say it every day in school right? Do adults keep saying it?

The whole concept of it is completely offputting to me.

If we want to talk about being trained to obey...that's it.

Not doing what the doctor has told you will save the lives of those around you.

 

[Istbor]

So, some years ago, two murderous wretches set off a pair of bombs at the Boston Marathon.

In the manhunt that ensued, authorities asked Bostonians to stay indoors. And we did, in droves. The Greater Boston Area became a ghost town. Streets were more empty then than they are now.

And folks around the nation... shoveled derision and criticism on us for it. Said we were cowering in fear. Called us sheep for following orders.

Nobody outside the Boston area really got this - we were not afraid of these chuckleheads. Nobody was staying in afraid that the Tsarnaev brothers would get us. We wanted the rat bastards caught, and we realized that the best way to do that was to stay out of the way of the professionals.

Sometimes, following orders is the smart way to get what you want done.

Lol. That do was meant to be a 'don't'. I will edit.

You're American right?

The Pledge of Allegiance is the creepiest thing to me.

It weirds me out whenever I remember that it is a thing. Kids say it every day in school right? Do adults keep saying it?

The whole concept of it is completely offputting to me.

If we want to talk about being trained to obey...that's it.

Not doing what the doctor has told you will save the lives of those around you.

As above, I goofed and typed do instead of don't.

I do agree about the pledge of allegiance. While in school (at least grade school, I don't recall whether our high school had us doing it) it was just something you had to do or were supposed to do.

Getting older, if you didn't have to recite it, why both right? It also became clearer as a lite form of indoctrination. I thought it odd that while we have freedom of religion and separation of religion and state, we used a pledge that specifically invokes (or at least implies) a Christian God. I am Catholic, so it wasn't much of blip for me, but as there had been talks and attempts to remove it from everyday use, I was okay with that.

Why shovel onto others my concept of god to those who choose to believe otherwise? Do onto others and all that.

Interestingly, I imagine that same folk who threatened violence for having to wear a mask are those who also threatened to pull their children or funding from schools that wanted to leave out the daily pledge. I can at least say I know for a certainty, about those from my home town.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Sometimes, following orders is the smart way to get what you want done.

See also the POTUS’ stretched but not totally off-base metaphor about us being “at war” with the coronavirus.

Imagine how hard it would have been to win WW1, WW2 or any other major conflict if the people- ESPECIALLY the military- didn’t follow orders.

*****
A picture I WON’T post from one of the protests contains a counterprotester displaying a hilarious slogan that violates ENWorld’s ToS. The gist: if you think gov’t orders mandating the wearing of masks in public is unconstitutional, the pan so is ANY law forcing people to be clothed. Ergo, protest naked.

Man had a point.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It weirds me out whenever I remember that it is a thing. Kids say it every day in school right? Do adults keep saying it?

The whole concept of it is completely offputting to me.

If we want to talk about being trained to obey...that's it.

Its only in public- and a smattering of private (mostly military)- grade schools. Most adults rarely say it after they leave middle school.

 

[abirdcall]

Its only in public- and a smattering of private (mostly military)- grade schools. Most adults rarely say it after they leave middle school.

I was forced to say a Christian prayer every day in school but that hasn't been a thing since 1988 (well I think my school kept doing it for a couple years after that because small town).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Interestingly, I imagine that same folk who threatened violence for having to wear a mask are those who also threatened to pull their children or funding from schools that wanted to leave out the daily pledge. I can at least say I know for a certainty, about those from my home town.

Its a subset of classic conservatism, no question, but also a sentiment shared by elements the far left. The common thread: distrust of the government.

Which brings me back to a point I made in here weeks ago that some of the tools and practices used by the countries so far doing the best hobs at fighting corvids-19 probably won’t work here in the USA because they depended on trust and obedience to the government.

Every nation has those who distrust their governments, and in moderation, that’s a good thing. Especially in more oppressive regimes. But as a nation, we seem to have a larger percentage of anti-gov types on both ends of our political spectrum than is truly justified.

I mean, we have Anti-vaxxers and white supremacists supporting the same positions. Strange Bedfellows, indeed.
The Coronavirus Becomes a Battle Cry for U.S. Extremists

Antivaccination Activists Are Growing Force at Virus Protests (Published 2020)

Public health experts fear that their messaging could further harm the country’s response to the pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I was forced to say a Christian prayer every day in school but that hasn't been a thing since 1988 (well I think my school kept doing it for a couple years after that because small town).

Smalltown USA is a bit different. Many are still run by people operating 50+ years behind on constitutional law.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I remember them late 90s? Sort of a crap joke band and yet they have their juggalos.

Not a fan, myself, but they’ve arguably evolved into much less of a joke and much more of a serious band. And they have demonstrated time & time again that they love their fans.

 

[Umbran]

If we want to talk about being trained to obey...that's it.

Yeah, but it doesn't work terribly well... considering that we've been doing that for decades... and still don't follow orders. So there's that.

Be that as it may, we probably should step away from this line of discussion, because politics.

 

[abirdcall]

Its a subset of classic conservatism, no question, but also a sentiment shared by elements the far left. The common thread: distrust of the government.

Which brings me back to a point I made in here weeks ago that some of the tools and practices used by the countries so far doing the best hobs at fighting corvids-19 probably won’t work here in the USA because they depended on trust and obedience to the government.

Every nation has those who distrust their governments, and in moderation, that’s a good thing. Especially in more oppressive regimes. But as a nation, we seem to have a larger percentage of anti-gov types on both ends of our political spectrum than is truly justified.

I mean, we have Anti-vaxxers and white supremacists supporting the same positions. Strange Bedfellows, indeed.
The Coronavirus Becomes a Battle Cry for U.S. Extremists

Antivaccination Activists Are Growing Force at Virus Protests (Published 2020)

Public health experts fear that their messaging could further harm the country’s response to the pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

I think anti-science is a big part of it too.

Even our Conservative premier in Ontario is directly following what his health advisors are telling him to do and keeping politics largely out of it.

He is not doing at all what I thought he would.

I don't think it's just a matter of trusting the government, I trust the doctors. As long as the government is doing what the doctors say to do I will do it too.

I think a lot of Canadians are that way.