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Comment by EarthLaunch | Hacker News Reader

I was turned away from this bookstore yesterday for not masking! What a coincidence to see this here.

I always stop for a bookstore. When I step through the door, I pause to take in the atmosphere and decide where to start browsing.

Here, the person politely requested I don a mask. There were free masks available. Everyone browsing turned to look at me. I said, “oh…that’s okay, thank you” and politely went back outside.

I would mask to browse books or when someone asked me to. But I wasn’t prepared to be put on the spot like that. It’s not what I go to bookstores for. :(

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You say that you'll put on a mask to browse books. But you walked into a bookstore without one.

You say you'll put on a mask if asked. But they did ask. Politely, as you noted.

How would you have preferred that they handled that situation?

Given that anyone who wants to be is vaccinated + boosted, and also considering how many people have had Omicron and have natural immunity - why even require a mask?

Vaccinated people are getting Omicron infections. Many are asymptomatic, but can still spread it. People carry other infections too.

Masking reduces dispersion of virus-carrying aerosols. https://physics.aps.org/articles/v14/s155

That would be why.

It’s trivial to pop on a mask. I will continue to do so when around other people in less-well-ventilated spaces.

Two years on, are we still having this tedious argument?

The study I referenced sought to "quantify how masks mitigate the direct transport of drops, which was previously unquantified." It was published in November.

I still don’t understand how such a trivial thing became politicised. The people at the fringes are nuts and they have far too much influence.

How is this convo political?

I mean at this point I don't really care and I don't really mind.

Before I enter a business I look to see if they have a mask required sign on. I don't mind putting one on in that case.

If I walk in and I'm the only one not wearing one, I'll typically put one on.

I'm just not really interested in debating whether or not its needed. Surely it does slow transmission, but at this point it's more a courtesy to the business owner.

You didn't "want to be put on the spot"? What does that mean?

You entered somebody else's building. They asked that you wear a mask and offered a free mask for you.

At what moment were you "on the spot"?

Were there signs up regarding obligatory masking? "Everyone browsing turned to look at me." In every bookstore I've been in people have rarely looked up as someone enters

I like Ryan's book recs and he is clearly a very smart, well read person, but he read one book about the 1918 flu and acts like he is a virologist.

Some people are never going to let covid go, based on the content in his newsletter, he is one of them.

It feels like some people will NEVER let it go, but if you look at with a 3,000 foot perspective it was really only 3 months ago that we had a real relevant wave.

Maybe some of the people who got hit harder, or have higher anxiety will be worried for longer than we think they should, but I doubt that worry will extend a year or two past the rest of us.

i hope you're right.

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