People were all chomping at the bit to come back to the office. We opened the office to no pre-approval required. We now must mask in shared spaces and when when traveling throughout the office. Not one additional person is coming in since opening the office for optional return. Inevitably many of the folk who are so bothered to make an occasion to commute have no respect for the masking requirements when they are bothered to be here. Humanity. This, quite frankly, is why we should take little comfort in the part of Trump having lost in 2020. There is sense of individualist entitlement that makes people experts on everything until the bad stuff happens to them.Smoove_B wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 1:43 pm Yeah, as Zaxxon pointed out, the masking issue is probably the biggest thing wrong and will likely go down as the "mission accomplished" element of this pandemic in America. Telling people that were vaccinated to remove masks made sense (scientifically), but then expecting unvaccinated folks to just continue to wear them was foolish. We've now normalized mask removal and I am having a hard time imagining going back, possibly ever again. Culturally it just doesn't work in America and that's unfortunate. But in terms of doing the bare minimum to protect those that can't be vaccinated? Indoor mask mandates should have remained in place and without a practical/realistic way to verify vaccination status and reliably trust the general public to do the right thing, that means everyone should have continued to wear masks indoors.
The problem is that we knew people were going to resist vaccinating - not hesitate, but actually resist. We also knew that people weren't going to vaccinate their kids - which of all the things, I can actually empathize with in terms of grappling with a decision to do so. Masks were the only practical/easy way to mitigate spread and yet socially/culturally they were (and are) unacceptable to so many - no just adults, but especially the idea that we'd "force" children to wear them.
I guess when pushed, the federal government (and then the states) ultimately decided that they'll just appeal to the better nature of the average American and assume they'll do the right thing. I wish I could have been there when the discussion was happening because I would have firmly been on the other side of the argument pointing out what had just happened over the last 12+ months.
And we aren't going back. The only good thing is most of the office is vaccinated. It's going to be stinker for those who aren't when MIOSHA and the auto industry (the most restrictive of the two guidance at any given time is the one we follow) ease restrictions for vaccinated people but not for non-vaccinated people as is already becoming the case. There is already talk of disgust because "what about the people who have built antibodies" aka those who went out and got infected and got better.
I dare those ... to say that in front of the guy here whose 20 year old son was hospitalized for a few months and used to be a cross country runner. I say used to because nearly year later, that's still off the table./rant
I will say, GC did make everyone wear masks and gloves including patrons not at their tables. That's more than I can say for Target, where patrons and employees seems to have totally ended the pandemic. (not going back to Target for the foreseeable future. Even it's reasonable and I am the one who is unreasonable, I was not ready and I just wanted to get out as quickly as possible.)
