And Suckerberg is doing sweet fuck all in terms of reigning in the assholes who spread such lethal lies.

You raise a difficult question: what is it that causes people to be suicidally culpably ignorant? The short answer is that I do not know.

A longer answer includes people who do their own research but fail to distinguish hard scientific fact and alarmist claims. This includes people who regard the Center for Disease Control as a source of misinformation. Ultimately, such people have very poor models in their heads about how the natural world works and how governments and people work, and such poor understanding ends up killing them. It does not help that such people are quite incapable of reasoned thinking.

I am visiting my sister who just moved to Bellingham and found a new partner. Unfortunately, she inherited a 16 year old guy. I just found out the kid refuses to get vaccinated. Apparently he supports his mom who has a mental condition. The father doesn't want to be seen as a hard ass but is really doing his kid a disservice. I have told them how I feel and it will limit my visits in the future.

@JackPedigo Good for you for speaking up for yourself! I hope your words have some impact on the situation before somebody gets sick.

@Organist1 Lately, I have found myself speaking up a lot. This mess has really gotten under my skin. My sisters boyfriend asked if I would help him with a volunteer gig at A local Catholic Church. It's a monthly food prep for some in the homeless population (the church provides the food and non-church members prepare it and hand it out). My job was to mingle and remind those without masks to wear one. Apparently, I was not 'understanding' enough. Needless to say I was given other tasks. lol

@JackPedigo Haha...in my opinion, a cattle prod or a pitchfork might be appropriate, Lol! I get so tired of seeing people with no masks, or wearing them under their noses, or worse yet, under both.mouth and.nose! It's so inconsiderate. We're supposed to be polite to them, or worse, risk being attacked for saying something. It's a scary world.

@Organist1 I had a lot of shopping to do, Fred Meyer, the local co-op, TJ's, Home Depot and Costco. Home Depot was the worse. So many either with a mask under their nose or none at all. It's supposed to be no mask no service but we know how that works. For me, I got into the habit of taking a couple of sani-wipes and carrying them with me. After getting in the car I would wipe them over my face. I also have a solution in the car which I used constantly.

• happy days are (almost) here again* ...hear Babra's lovely voice!!