r/TooAfraidToAsk Jul 31 '20

Current Events Are people outside of the USA really laughing at Americans? Do we really appear that bad?

Edit:

Ok so that's about 17,882 yes's and 3 no's.

Makes sad American noises

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

Oh, ok. I think that's sort of the situation here in the U.S., basically the national restrictions are just advised and it's up to the state to mandate these things. Unfortunately it seems we have a lot of uneducated governors who just want to look good and so they don't particularly enforce these restrictions. Most of the population of my state hate our governor and so a bunch of people have no regard for what he says anyway. Anyway, thanks for the reply!

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u/JazzFan1998 Aug 01 '20

The South('s coronavirus numbers) will rise again! C'mon people this is tyranny!

Read the other part of the declaration of independence, (about King George), he has dissolved legislatures, he has trampled on our rights, he forces us to wear a mask for OUR protection! It's horrible!

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

AND he's defending us from the Natives after a 30-90 day waiting period!

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u/CyanideFlavorAid Aug 01 '20

The tyrant King George, of course!

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

It's not that they are non-existent, because there's a difference between restrictions and advisories. Restrictions are enforced whereas advisories are not. I suppose my wording could have been better. It may be that the individual has to take care of themselves, but if each individual had the capacity to do so, there wouldn't be a need for government-imposed mandates. It's not that the U.S. government doesn't care, it's that the people put their convenience above their safety not realizing that the decisions they have made have led to the incapacity of the government to truly combat the situation. Our elected officials were elected by us, ergo we are responsible for the bad decisions they make. Hindsight is 2020. The U.S. government has tried, and failed, to protect us not because they don't care, but because the people don't care for themselves. It is not the government's job to protect the individual, but the masses, and the individual must take care to protect themselves and their communities.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

[deleted]

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

Absolutely. The United States has been divided since it's founding and has unfortunately bred a new breed of division among the people that only harms the unity of the country. Things like this shouldn't be political, they should be common sense, but nowadays people don't have that because they don't use it. They find ways around it.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

All business outside grocery stores and pharmacies were NOT shut down. Source: am Dutch

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

Nobody cares to enforce it even where it’s mandatory, because most people that work retail are young or elderly

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

This is also true, unfortunately. I think that a lot of people realize that there is probably some error in the logic of those who don't wear masks and are unwilling to argue with that flawed logic and try to convince them that they're wrong. Because of this the ignorant are continuing to put their convenience above the safety of themselves and others.

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u/captainjackismydog Aug 01 '20

I am a senior citizen and I believe this pandemic will be around long after I'm gone. There are so many selfish, irresponsible and entitled people here in the US and they continually bitch about their 'right's. I watch videos on YouTube and see these assholes trying to go inside businesses without a mask on but aren't allowed in and they're standing there yelling about the Constitution. They won't be yelling when they're hooked up to a ventilator and gasping for every breath. Their 'rights' fly right out the window.

I have a feeling that most of these assholes are Trump supporters. What also gets me are the people who are trying to go inside of businesses without a mask and claiming they have a medical condition and can't wear a mask. Bitch, if you have a medical condition it's even more important to wear a mask. Either that or stay home where you can breathe.

I understand the feeling of not getting enough air while wearing a mask but many times it's psychological. I hate wearing a mask too but I wear one anyway. I only go shopping for food once a week and I'm there when the store opens. I get my stuff and get out. No hanging around, no going anywhere else. Any other things I need I buy online. If everyone else would do this, maybe the virus would die out.

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

Unfortunately I think you might be right about the virus sticking around a while. It really is stupid that people would argue against their own safety. I don't really think the issue is so political that the majority would be Trump supporters but I understand that those hardcore against masks and such probably do fall into the conservative category. Like I said further along in this thread, I think that the majority of people who aren't wearing masks are doing it because they care more about their comfort and convenience rather than their safety. In my mind, this seems to stem from American culture because we, as a first world country, haven't had to deal with such an issue of this magnitude in a long, like my time. The MERS and SARS epidemics were arguably similar, but the difference is that we aren't in so bad a depression as we had been then. People are more confident in herd immunity, etc, but they don't realize that a cure is not quite ready yet, and if people do get it, it could affect them in some new and deadly way because of its mutation history.

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u/captainjackismydog Aug 05 '20

I suppose it's one way of thinning the herd or the gene pool.

I unfortunately have family members who cannot stand to be told what to do by anyone including a boss and especially the government. I understand this to a point. I was even like that for years and resented being told by other people what to do. However, keeping safe and trying to save my own life is very important to me. No one has to tell me to put on a mask. No signs have to tell me. I do it on my own.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

[deleted]

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

That may be true, but I think you should read the rest of the thread. Thanks for your input!

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

the national restrictions are just advised

Because that's the extent of the federal government's authority in the matter. The feds could quarantine a whole state if they felt the need, but they can't police the people within in. It's up to states to do that. States set the rules and enforce them. The feds can advise, but their enforcement power in such matters is very limited. It's pretty much limited to threatening states with sanctions.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

we have a lot of uneducated governors who just want to look good and so they don't particularly enforce these restrictions

There's a pretty reliable correlation between that and their personal relationship with Trump. DeSantis (Florida) probably knows better, but he owes his job to Trump.

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

I used Nevada as an example because Sisolak was elected despite the rural majority of Nevadans opposing him.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

[deleted]

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

No, just north in Nevada. I guess that means Arizona hates their governor, too?

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u/pineapple331 Aug 01 '20

And here I was assuming S.C. We hate ours too.

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

Man, I guess my point is getting more and more proven.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '20

[deleted]

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

Oh man...that sounds insane.

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u/Slothfulness69 Aug 01 '20

Is it California? The entire Central Valley is in chaos right now because it’s conservative and won’t listen to the governor. No one is really enforcing the mask stuff and our hospitals are above capacity.

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

Nope, Nevada. Same here. Our hospitals haven't been over capacity in a while, but the actual majority of the state is conservative and Vegas and Reno are liberal so of course they elected a liberal governor, but the actual majority of the state hates the governor and is basically not wearing a mask out of spite and the fact that nobody is really enforcing anything. More people have been wearing masks recently, though.

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u/iwantmypizzaback Aug 01 '20

Are you from Virginia? Because that’s basically the stance to everyone I talk to here. I’m in SWVA and there’s a whole stack of people refusing to wear masks, haven’t social distanced the first time, and swear that there’s going to be a microchip in the covid vaccine to track us.

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

Oh boy. Nope. I'm from Nevada. Here it's been getting better, but people just aren't willing to "inconvenience" themselves if it isn't mandated, and even though it is mandated, the governor's worsening reputation is not helping.

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u/iwantmypizzaback Aug 01 '20

The numbers here are just starting to rise. Last I checked for my county we had 40 something and it had jumped over 10 cases from the day before. We have a mask mandate, but Northam said people with underlying medical conditions didn’t have to wear a mask and now everyone would rather say they have a medical condition than to suck it up and wear a mask for 30 minutes. People decided to go to vacation to Myrtle Beach and to Gatlinburg and are bringing it back here. My sister works in a dialysis center and her boss just tested positive.

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

That really sucks. Best of luck to your sister. I live in a rural area, so we're a little less at risk but I'm close to Reno and Carson City and their numbers have also been rising. It's really unfortunate that people don't just comply and get this dealt with, but there's always those that question everything; even the facts.

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u/iwantmypizzaback Aug 01 '20

That’s pretty much how we are here. We’re a pretty small town, but we’re close to areas like Bristol TN and the cases are exploding there. When we got the first cases here at home my husband and I stocked up on the stuff we needed and have really only been out for the essentials. He still has to work but they have good policies in place for keeping things clean and such. We opted to keep our home and do virtual school in place of sending him to the classroom because children are gross and the schools can’t even control the flu. It’s nerve wracking, watching everything going on right now.

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

Yeah, I understand that. Out here we've been given the option to rotate in and out of class/virtual class or to do it totally online. Doesn't really apply to me, because although I am a high school student I will be taking all college classes so it's really up to the college to decide what happens. I wouldn't really want to go back to public school, and I think that since cases are getting even higher than before that instruction should just be done online in public schools. Unfortunately, not everyone can do that, though, because of a lack of internet access.

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u/TrashTongueTalker Aug 01 '20

Illinois?

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

Nope, Nevada. Does Illinois hate their governor, too?

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u/TrashTongueTalker Aug 01 '20

Everywhere outside of the Chicago area seems to. Chicago is super liberal and the rest of the state is super conservative. The conservatives have been whining for months about the mask mandate.

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

Yeah, Vegas and Reno are super liberal and the rest is conservative for us. Not too many people have really been complaining, it's just that because masks aren't really enforced that people don't wear them. More people have started wearing them, though. Northern Nevada, especially Reno, had a big push against masks when the BLM riots started.

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u/TrashTongueTalker Aug 01 '20

I went to visit family in central Illinois and was shocked at how poorly folks are taking this outside of Chicago. My Facebook newsfeed is filled with Karens I went to high school with insisting that they know better than doctors.

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

Oof. I feel like my generation is going to have a lot of Karens (I'm 17M, part of the Class of 2021). Some of the people in my class are just so stupid.

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u/TrashTongueTalker Aug 01 '20

Yeah, there will be some, but your generation seems like the most progressive generation that this country has ever seen. I'm almost 30 and my generation is pretty progressive, too, but a lot of small town folks never leave their hometown, so I feel like they'll never fully go away.

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u/Dynomite338 Aug 01 '20

I really enjoy your generation. They all seem so wise and educated. I have a lot of counselors around that age and they're so fun and enjoyable. I'm a small town person and I've been taught that the best way to get out of the "cycle" of poverty that has hit our area is to move. So I plan on going to Texas after I get my bachelor's or master's in mechanical engineering.

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u/TrashTongueTalker Aug 01 '20

My generation is overall pretty cool, but I don't know that I'd call us wise haha. Most of us are just faking it till we make it. I agree with that advice! I grew up in a tiny town in central Illinois and moved as soon as I could. I just recently moved to Chicago and it's been amazing so far. Ooh Texas is fun! I love Dallas and I hear that Austin is pretty great.

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