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I do agree with all you guys that argue for wearing masks and being responsible. I also feel that masks have become a political symbol in the US and that it is very difficult to talk about for example when they are actually useful and necessary and when they are just worn as a political point. I feel that wearing them while skating (that is properly distanced i.e 2 yards away from another person) they are not necessary. They are very useful to prevent infection (of other people) when you are indoors, though.
Travelling to another country obviously is another question. Alot of people get infected on planes. If possible that should be avoided by skate teams. Alot of skaters have refrained from travelling I think. There were alot more locally filmed parts last year.
I am not American so my observation is mostly from a distance. I watch American news and listen to podcasts. The two opposing positions by Marc Maron and Joe Rogan are pretty telling by the way.
What pisses me off a bit in Germany, where I live and which is currently experiencing a very serious second wave, is that all the rules are geared towards reducing contacts in our free time and not reducing any contacts at work. Office workers go to the office still, construction sites continue their work... So you have to meet your boss and co-workers every day, but you cannot meet more than one friend even outside! It obviously is a question of power, who has to cut back where, so the general number of infections can go down... Thank god, there is largely a consensus in Germany that the thread is real and that you should wear am mask in public transportation and in supermarkets!
I'm totally respectful of the threat that is COVID, always wear my mask, limit my contacts, etc. but the restrictions in Germany are bullshit. If one looks even half closely, they could tell the restrictions are completely geared toward sustaining the economy with no real thought of protections for everyday people. If this government was serious about tackling COVID, there would be social programs and funds for people to actually stay home. For this reason I am getting pretty tired of things.
The rules in Germany have being getting progressively more stupid: Thinking of shutting down public transportation, requiring FFP masks, restricting the radius which people can travel, etc... Meanwhile letting people go hit the ski slopes over Christmas. The grocery stores and tons of places also require you to get a shopping cart or basked, which you can only get if you have a euro coin to put in it, so you raise the risk of contracting the virus through contaminated surfaces.
They've said they don't know how the infection rates have gotten so bad and it seems like they're grasping at straws. I'm kind of surprised because it seems like the countries getting fucked are just ignoring how other countries did it right - Taiwan, for example.
At least where I'm at, I feel like my highest risk activity is going to the grocery store. Plus, people still have their noses hanging out of their masks. So as to still skating, if I were to meet up with a friend/filmer to go skate it's pretty easy to keep our distance and also be truthful about our previous interactions.
You definitely have some personal responsibility when it comes to all this, and no one wants to be fully locked down, but if country a & country b are allowing people in - especially just regular tourists - people will still go. Even if you get tested before entering, some infected person is going to slip through the cracks.
It is also weird it seems like it's being played up in politics. Selling masks, hell even selling the tests, are on facebook ads now. In Germany, you have to get and pay for 2 separate tests now when you enter if you don't want to quarantine for 10 days.
But I digress. I'm not making the rules so shit is what it is for wherever you live I guess.