Masks in the Breakfast Room!
May. 20th, 2021 11:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerInland Empire Travelog #13
Spokane, Washington - Sun, 16 May 2021. 8:30am.
I wish I could say we slept in after an adventurous day yesterday— 5 hikes taken or attempted, plus dealing with a flat tire miles out in the wilderness— but alas we did not. Despite staying up until after midnight watching a movie we'd already seen before (possibly 3 times already for Hawk) we woke up early. Blame the early morning sun pounding through our south facing balcony doors even with the heavy curtains closed.
We took advantage of being up early to check out the breakfast spread downstairs instead of noshing on protein bars, nuts, and fruit in the room. Downstairs we grabbed bagels, turkey sausage, and egg omelet-like things. I'm not sure any of that is better (health wise) than protein bars, nuts, and fruit, but at least it's different from what we've had for breakfast the past few days.
Another thing that's different here is people wearing masks. People obviously aren't wearing masks while they're eating, but everyone was wearing masks both before and after eating. Everyone. Compare that to the past two mornings when pretty much nobody was wearing masks.
What's the difference? Frankly, it's Red vs. Blue. The past two mornings we were in "Red America", areas that voted for Trump in 2020. Campaign signs and banners for Trump were still all over the place even though he lost over 6 months ago. Today we're in Blue America.
In Red America, the recent guidance from the CDC on wearing masks is widely misinterpreted as, "Nobody has to wear a mask anymore." In fact the past two days I heard lots of people in stores and restaurants discussing it that way. "We're done with masks now."
Here in Blue America, people grasp that what the CDC actually said was that people who've been fully vaccinated can stop wearing masks indoors in many circumstances. Considering that only about one-third of the US adult population overall has been fully vaccinated, that means most people still need to be wearing masks indoors. And in some areas, like where we stayed Thursday night, the vaccination rate is even lower. The people who believe the political hoax that Coronavirus is an overhyped political hoax also believe the political hoax that the vaccine is a political hoax. I itched to tell the knuckle-draggers Friday morning, "Three-quarters of y'all need to put your masks back on!"
Spokane, Washington - Sun, 16 May 2021. 8:30am.
I wish I could say we slept in after an adventurous day yesterday— 5 hikes taken or attempted, plus dealing with a flat tire miles out in the wilderness— but alas we did not. Despite staying up until after midnight watching a movie we'd already seen before (possibly 3 times already for Hawk) we woke up early. Blame the early morning sun pounding through our south facing balcony doors even with the heavy curtains closed.
We took advantage of being up early to check out the breakfast spread downstairs instead of noshing on protein bars, nuts, and fruit in the room. Downstairs we grabbed bagels, turkey sausage, and egg omelet-like things. I'm not sure any of that is better (health wise) than protein bars, nuts, and fruit, but at least it's different from what we've had for breakfast the past few days.
Another thing that's different here is people wearing masks. People obviously aren't wearing masks while they're eating, but everyone was wearing masks both before and after eating. Everyone. Compare that to the past two mornings when pretty much nobody was wearing masks.
What's the difference? Frankly, it's Red vs. Blue. The past two mornings we were in "Red America", areas that voted for Trump in 2020. Campaign signs and banners for Trump were still all over the place even though he lost over 6 months ago. Today we're in Blue America.
In Red America, the recent guidance from the CDC on wearing masks is widely misinterpreted as, "Nobody has to wear a mask anymore." In fact the past two days I heard lots of people in stores and restaurants discussing it that way. "We're done with masks now."
Here in Blue America, people grasp that what the CDC actually said was that people who've been fully vaccinated can stop wearing masks indoors in many circumstances. Considering that only about one-third of the US adult population overall has been fully vaccinated, that means most people still need to be wearing masks indoors. And in some areas, like where we stayed Thursday night, the vaccination rate is even lower. The people who believe the political hoax that Coronavirus is an overhyped political hoax also believe the political hoax that the vaccine is a political hoax. I itched to tell the knuckle-draggers Friday morning, "Three-quarters of y'all need to put your masks back on!"
no subject
Date: 2021-05-21 06:54 am (UTC)