Were people masked for outdoor drop-off at your DCPS today?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just think it's irritating to live in a city where people aren't following public health guidance. But who typically say they follow science and experts.

It's not true that people "aren't following public health guidance" if they're still wearing masks. The guidance doesn't say, "don't wear masks" or "masks are harmful." It says they're no longer necessary. I'm in my office now, not wearing a mask; I wear one if someone approaches me with one on, and I wear one in more public spaces where I know less about who might be around (employees here are required to be fully vaccinated and boosted and get tested weekly, so odds of getting covid here are pretty low, especially with community transmission what it is). I'm following all the relevant public health guidance whenever I do any of that. Until you can point to something where officials are specifically advising that you should take masks off, maybe slow down on accusing people of not following science if they choose to be more cautious than they're required to be.

You've constructed a lot of strawman arguments in response to a very brief statement, by taking that statement out of context from the thread and also ascribing to it things it doesn't say.

This thread is at root about mandated indoor masking for schoolchildren, which is presently not the guidance from CDC. That many parents are fine with that is where people aren't following public health guidance.

This thread is at root about "were people masked for outdoor drop-off at your DCPS lately." The fact that people have decided that any parents who are still wearing masks outside a day after the rules changed are definitely 100 percent against changing the rules for indoor masks isn't my problem. I'd be happy for the mask rules in school to change, but I don't really think you can assess anyone's core beliefs about that by whether they do or don't throw a mask on for 3 minutes as their kids are walking into the school where the kids and staff are still required to wear one.

I should add, again, that "behavior that is more cautious than required" does not mean you're not following CDC guidance. You can always go beyond the CDC guidelines. Not following the guidance applies when you're not doing what they recommend, not when you're doing more than they are. I'm not eating in restaurants these days. CDC says it's perfectly safe for me to do that. Am I "not following" their guidance?

You are welcome to continue being hypercautious. Live in a hermetically sealed bubble for all I care. But the moment you try to impose your excessive vigilance on my child via public policy, we have a problem. Right now, the unscientific hypervigilants have their wishes enshrined in DCPS policy, which itself is in direct conflict with CDC guidance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just think it's irritating to live in a city where people aren't following public health guidance. But who typically say they follow science and experts.

It's not true that people "aren't following public health guidance" if they're still wearing masks. The guidance doesn't say, "don't wear masks" or "masks are harmful." It says they're no longer necessary. I'm in my office now, not wearing a mask; I wear one if someone approaches me with one on, and I wear one in more public spaces where I know less about who might be around (employees here are required to be fully vaccinated and boosted and get tested weekly, so odds of getting covid here are pretty low, especially with community transmission what it is). I'm following all the relevant public health guidance whenever I do any of that. Until you can point to something where officials are specifically advising that you should take masks off, maybe slow down on accusing people of not following science if they choose to be more cautious than they're required to be.

You've constructed a lot of strawman arguments in response to a very brief statement, by taking that statement out of context from the thread and also ascribing to it things it doesn't say.

This thread is at root about mandated indoor masking for schoolchildren, which is presently not the guidance from CDC. That many parents are fine with that is where people aren't following public health guidance.

This thread is at root about "were people masked for outdoor drop-off at your DCPS lately." The fact that people have decided that any parents who are still wearing masks outside a day after the rules changed are definitely 100 percent against changing the rules for indoor masks isn't my problem. I'd be happy for the mask rules in school to change, but I don't really think you can assess anyone's core beliefs about that by whether they do or don't throw a mask on for 3 minutes as their kids are walking into the school where the kids and staff are still required to wear one.

I should add, again, that "behavior that is more cautious than required" does not mean you're not following CDC guidance. You can always go beyond the CDC guidelines. Not following the guidance applies when you're not doing what they recommend, not when you're doing more than they are. I'm not eating in restaurants these days. CDC says it's perfectly safe for me to do that. Am I "not following" their guidance?

You are welcome to continue being hypercautious. Live in a hermetically sealed bubble for all I care. But the moment you try to impose your excessive vigilance on my child via public policy, we have a problem. Right now, the unscientific hypervigilants have their wishes enshrined in DCPS policy, which itself is in direct conflict with CDC guidance.

Yes, but as you may be aware, neither I nor you are the ones responsible for enshrining DCPS policy. So I don't see why "parents are wearing masks outside!" is at all an indication that DCPS will never revise its mask policies indoors. Which is what people on this thread are suggesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just think it's irritating to live in a city where people aren't following public health guidance. But who typically say they follow science and experts.

It's not true that people "aren't following public health guidance" if they're still wearing masks. The guidance doesn't say, "don't wear masks" or "masks are harmful." It says they're no longer necessary. I'm in my office now, not wearing a mask; I wear one if someone approaches me with one on, and I wear one in more public spaces where I know less about who might be around (employees here are required to be fully vaccinated and boosted and get tested weekly, so odds of getting covid here are pretty low, especially with community transmission what it is). I'm following all the relevant public health guidance whenever I do any of that. Until you can point to something where officials are specifically advising that you should take masks off, maybe slow down on accusing people of not following science if they choose to be more cautious than they're required to be.

You've constructed a lot of strawman arguments in response to a very brief statement, by taking that statement out of context from the thread and also ascribing to it things it doesn't say.

This thread is at root about mandated indoor masking for schoolchildren, which is presently not the guidance from CDC. That many parents are fine with that is where people aren't following public health guidance.

This thread is at root about "were people masked for outdoor drop-off at your DCPS lately." The fact that people have decided that any parents who are still wearing masks outside a day after the rules changed are definitely 100 percent against changing the rules for indoor masks isn't my problem. I'd be happy for the mask rules in school to change, but I don't really think you can assess anyone's core beliefs about that by whether they do or don't throw a mask on for 3 minutes as their kids are walking into the school where the kids and staff are still required to wear one.

I should add, again, that "behavior that is more cautious than required" does not mean you're not following CDC guidance. You can always go beyond the CDC guidelines. Not following the guidance applies when you're not doing what they recommend, not when you're doing more than they are. I'm not eating in restaurants these days. CDC says it's perfectly safe for me to do that. Am I "not following" their guidance?

You are welcome to continue being hypercautious. Live in a hermetically sealed bubble for all I care. But the moment you try to impose your excessive vigilance on my child via public policy, we have a problem. Right now, the unscientific hypervigilants have their wishes enshrined in DCPS policy, which itself is in direct conflict with CDC guidance.

Yes, but as you may be aware, neither I nor you are the ones responsible for enshrining DCPS policy. So I don't see why "parents are wearing masks outside!" is at all an indication that DCPS will never revise its mask policies indoors. Which is what people on this thread are suggesting.

Plus one and eye roll at “we have a problem”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just think it's irritating to live in a city where people aren't following public health guidance. But who typically say they follow science and experts.

It's not true that people "aren't following public health guidance" if they're still wearing masks. The guidance doesn't say, "don't wear masks" or "masks are harmful." It says they're no longer necessary. I'm in my office now, not wearing a mask; I wear one if someone approaches me with one on, and I wear one in more public spaces where I know less about who might be around (employees here are required to be fully vaccinated and boosted and get tested weekly, so odds of getting covid here are pretty low, especially with community transmission what it is). I'm following all the relevant public health guidance whenever I do any of that. Until you can point to something where officials are specifically advising that you should take masks off, maybe slow down on accusing people of not following science if they choose to be more cautious than they're required to be.

You've constructed a lot of strawman arguments in response to a very brief statement, by taking that statement out of context from the thread and also ascribing to it things it doesn't say.

This thread is at root about mandated indoor masking for schoolchildren, which is presently not the guidance from CDC. That many parents are fine with that is where people aren't following public health guidance.

This thread is at root about "were people masked for outdoor drop-off at your DCPS lately." The fact that people have decided that any parents who are still wearing masks outside a day after the rules changed are definitely 100 percent against changing the rules for indoor masks isn't my problem. I'd be happy for the mask rules in school to change, but I don't really think you can assess anyone's core beliefs about that by whether they do or don't throw a mask on for 3 minutes as their kids are walking into the school where the kids and staff are still required to wear one.

I should add, again, that "behavior that is more cautious than required" does not mean you're not following CDC guidance. You can always go beyond the CDC guidelines. Not following the guidance applies when you're not doing what they recommend, not when you're doing more than they are. I'm not eating in restaurants these days. CDC says it's perfectly safe for me to do that. Am I "not following" their guidance?

You are welcome to continue being hypercautious. Live in a hermetically sealed bubble for all I care. But the moment you try to impose your excessive vigilance on my child via public policy, we have a problem. Right now, the unscientific hypervigilants have their wishes enshrined in DCPS policy, which itself is in direct conflict with CDC guidance.

This thread is titled we’re people masked at outdoor pick up today. If you want to argue mask mandates inside for schoolchildren it seems like another thread would be the right place

[Anonymous]

Wanting to see the faces of students and staff outdoors during school drop-off and pick-up in March 2022, now that experts have weighed in and determined it is safe to remove masks in this environment and the school district has okayed it, is not the same as threatening to bring guns to school to protest a mask mandate.

Wanting your child to be able to attend school without a mask, based on the advice of epidemiologists, pediatricians, and child development experts who believe the harm of longterm masking far outweighs the apparently minimal benefits of masking in a school environment compared to other mitigation methods, is not violent or unreasonable.

It's okay to disagree with these things but the idea that those of us who are advocating for looser masking rules, at this stage in the pandemic, must be in league with gun-toting anti-maskers in red states, is really troubling. We are all adults here and should be able to understand nuance.

I'm pro-mask, pro-vaccine, pro-science. I think it's time to loosen mask restrictions in schools, and I do think the issue is urgent because of how long children have been masked in this environment. I think it's easy to get complacent because we've been doing it this way for a long time, but that's all the more reason to be more vocal and assertive on the issue. Mask mandates will not lift themselves and it's going to take some effort and energy to shift course. It's going to be hard for some people to accept that masks are no longer the best or most appropriate mitigation method in schools. And I do think some of us are going to have to come to terms with the fact that we have probably already masked kids, especially young kids, for much longer than we should have given the the actual risks as we now understand them. I am already working through that with regards to my preschooler, and it's hard. So I get the reluctance. But we owe it to our kids to do the right thing now, and to examine how we've gotten to a place where we fell into a masking policy that hasn't made sense for a long time and are having so much trouble getting out of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wanting to see the faces of students and staff outdoors during school drop-off and pick-up in March 2022, now that experts have weighed in and determined it is safe to remove masks in this environment and the school district has okayed it, is not the same as threatening to bring guns to school to protest a mask mandate.

Wanting your child to be able to attend school without a mask, based on the advice of epidemiologists, pediatricians, and child development experts who believe the harm of longterm masking far outweighs the apparently minimal benefits of masking in a school environment compared to other mitigation methods, is not violent or unreasonable.

It's okay to disagree with these things but the idea that those of us who are advocating for looser masking rules, at this stage in the pandemic, must be in league with gun-toting anti-maskers in red states, is really troubling. We are all adults here and should be able to understand nuance.

I'm pro-mask, pro-vaccine, pro-science. I think it's time to loosen mask restrictions in schools, and I do think the issue is urgent because of how long children have been masked in this environment. I think it's easy to get complacent because we've been doing it this way for a long time, but that's all the more reason to be more vocal and assertive on the issue. Mask mandates will not lift themselves and it's going to take some effort and energy to shift course. It's going to be hard for some people to accept that masks are no longer the best or most appropriate mitigation method in schools. And I do think some of us are going to have to come to terms with the fact that we have probably already masked kids, especially young kids, for much longer than we should have given the the actual risks as we now understand them. I am already working through that with regards to my preschooler, and it's hard. So I get the reluctance. But we owe it to our kids to do the right thing now, and to examine how we've gotten to a place where we fell into a masking policy that hasn't made sense for a long time and are having so much trouble getting out of it.

I agree with all this. And yet, I still can't imagine getting angry or bothered if any of my fellow parents continue wearing masks outside at school, which some people posting here appear to be. (Not you, PP.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wanting to see the faces of students and staff outdoors during school drop-off and pick-up in March 2022, now that experts have weighed in and determined it is safe to remove masks in this environment and the school district has okayed it, is not the same as threatening to bring guns to school to protest a mask mandate.

Wanting your child to be able to attend school without a mask, based on the advice of epidemiologists, pediatricians, and child development experts who believe the harm of longterm masking far outweighs the apparently minimal benefits of masking in a school environment compared to other mitigation methods, is not violent or unreasonable.

It's okay to disagree with these things but the idea that those of us who are advocating for looser masking rules, at this stage in the pandemic, must be in league with gun-toting anti-maskers in red states, is really troubling. We are all adults here and should be able to understand nuance.

I'm pro-mask, pro-vaccine, pro-science. I think it's time to loosen mask restrictions in schools, and I do think the issue is urgent because of how long children have been masked in this environment. I think it's easy to get complacent because we've been doing it this way for a long time, but that's all the more reason to be more vocal and assertive on the issue. Mask mandates will not lift themselves and it's going to take some effort and energy to shift course. It's going to be hard for some people to accept that masks are no longer the best or most appropriate mitigation method in schools. And I do think some of us are going to have to come to terms with the fact that we have probably already masked kids, especially young kids, for much longer than we should have given the the actual risks as we now understand them. I am already working through that with regards to my preschooler, and it's hard. So I get the reluctance. But we owe it to our kids to do the right thing now, and to examine how we've gotten to a place where we fell into a masking policy that hasn't made sense for a long time and are having so much trouble getting out of it.

I agree with all this. And yet, I still can't imagine getting angry or bothered if any of my fellow parents continue wearing masks outside at school, which some people posting here appear to be. (Not you, PP.)

NP. I don't know, but I think seeing people still masking outdoors makes some people angry because doing so is emblematic of the overly Covid-cautious attitude that has driven so many misguided policies over the past two years. People are understandably angry about those policies and may project their anger on people who they think are exemplifying the attitude that drove them.

As far as I am concerned, I'm not so much bothered as baffled, given how little sense outdoor masking has ever made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wanting to see the faces of students and staff outdoors during school drop-off and pick-up in March 2022, now that experts have weighed in and determined it is safe to remove masks in this environment and the school district has okayed it, is not the same as threatening to bring guns to school to protest a mask mandate.

Wanting your child to be able to attend school without a mask, based on the advice of epidemiologists, pediatricians, and child development experts who believe the harm of longterm masking far outweighs the apparently minimal benefits of masking in a school environment compared to other mitigation methods, is not violent or unreasonable.

It's okay to disagree with these things but the idea that those of us who are advocating for looser masking rules, at this stage in the pandemic, must be in league with gun-toting anti-maskers in red states, is really troubling. We are all adults here and should be able to understand nuance.

I'm pro-mask, pro-vaccine, pro-science. I think it's time to loosen mask restrictions in schools, and I do think the issue is urgent because of how long children have been masked in this environment. I think it's easy to get complacent because we've been doing it this way for a long time, but that's all the more reason to be more vocal and assertive on the issue. Mask mandates will not lift themselves and it's going to take some effort and energy to shift course. It's going to be hard for some people to accept that masks are no longer the best or most appropriate mitigation method in schools. And I do think some of us are going to have to come to terms with the fact that we have probably already masked kids, especially young kids, for much longer than we should have given the the actual risks as we now understand them. I am already working through that with regards to my preschooler, and it's hard. So I get the reluctance. But we owe it to our kids to do the right thing now, and to examine how we've gotten to a place where we fell into a masking policy that hasn't made sense for a long time and are having so much trouble getting out of it.

I agree with all this. And yet, I still can't imagine getting angry or bothered if any of my fellow parents continue wearing masks outside at school, which some people posting here appear to be. (Not you, PP.)

NP. I don't know, but I think seeing people still masking outdoors makes some people angry because doing so is emblematic of the overly Covid-cautious attitude that has driven so many misguided policies over the past two years. People are understandably angry about those policies and may project their anger on people who they think are exemplifying the attitude that drove them.

As far as I am concerned, I'm not so much bothered as baffled, given how little sense outdoor masking has ever made.

People that are that easily triggered shouldn't go out in public in America. Let's hope they don't own guns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wanting to see the faces of students and staff outdoors during school drop-off and pick-up in March 2022, now that experts have weighed in and determined it is safe to remove masks in this environment and the school district has okayed it, is not the same as threatening to bring guns to school to protest a mask mandate.

Wanting your child to be able to attend school without a mask, based on the advice of epidemiologists, pediatricians, and child development experts who believe the harm of longterm masking far outweighs the apparently minimal benefits of masking in a school environment compared to other mitigation methods, is not violent or unreasonable.

It's okay to disagree with these things but the idea that those of us who are advocating for looser masking rules, at this stage in the pandemic, must be in league with gun-toting anti-maskers in red states, is really troubling. We are all adults here and should be able to understand nuance.

I'm pro-mask, pro-vaccine, pro-science. I think it's time to loosen mask restrictions in schools, and I do think the issue is urgent because of how long children have been masked in this environment. I think it's easy to get complacent because we've been doing it this way for a long time, but that's all the more reason to be more vocal and assertive on the issue. Mask mandates will not lift themselves and it's going to take some effort and energy to shift course. It's going to be hard for some people to accept that masks are no longer the best or most appropriate mitigation method in schools. And I do think some of us are going to have to come to terms with the fact that we have probably already masked kids, especially young kids, for much longer than we should have given the the actual risks as we now understand them. I am already working through that with regards to my preschooler, and it's hard. So I get the reluctance. But we owe it to our kids to do the right thing now, and to examine how we've gotten to a place where we fell into a masking policy that hasn't made sense for a long time and are having so much trouble getting out of it.

I agree with all this. And yet, I still can't imagine getting angry or bothered if any of my fellow parents continue wearing masks outside at school, which some people posting here appear to be. (Not you, PP.)

NP. I don't know, but I think seeing people still masking outdoors makes some people angry because doing so is emblematic of the overly Covid-cautious attitude that has driven so many misguided policies over the past two years. People are understandably angry about those policies and may project their anger on people who they think are exemplifying the attitude that drove them.

As far as I am concerned, I'm not so much bothered as baffled, given how little sense outdoor masking has ever made.

People that are that easily triggered shouldn't go out in public in America. Let's hope they don't own guns.

Calm down, Sharon. Are you the same person from upthread who thought that people writing to their elected officials would surely take the next step of MURDERING their elected officials?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wanting to see the faces of students and staff outdoors during school drop-off and pick-up in March 2022, now that experts have weighed in and determined it is safe to remove masks in this environment and the school district has okayed it, is not the same as threatening to bring guns to school to protest a mask mandate.

Wanting your child to be able to attend school without a mask, based on the advice of epidemiologists, pediatricians, and child development experts who believe the harm of longterm masking far outweighs the apparently minimal benefits of masking in a school environment compared to other mitigation methods, is not violent or unreasonable.

It's okay to disagree with these things but the idea that those of us who are advocating for looser masking rules, at this stage in the pandemic, must be in league with gun-toting anti-maskers in red states, is really troubling. We are all adults here and should be able to understand nuance.

I'm pro-mask, pro-vaccine, pro-science. I think it's time to loosen mask restrictions in schools, and I do think the issue is urgent because of how long children have been masked in this environment. I think it's easy to get complacent because we've been doing it this way for a long time, but that's all the more reason to be more vocal and assertive on the issue. Mask mandates will not lift themselves and it's going to take some effort and energy to shift course. It's going to be hard for some people to accept that masks are no longer the best or most appropriate mitigation method in schools. And I do think some of us are going to have to come to terms with the fact that we have probably already masked kids, especially young kids, for much longer than we should have given the the actual risks as we now understand them. I am already working through that with regards to my preschooler, and it's hard. So I get the reluctance. But we owe it to our kids to do the right thing now, and to examine how we've gotten to a place where we fell into a masking policy that hasn't made sense for a long time and are having so much trouble getting out of it.

I agree with all this. And yet, I still can't imagine getting angry or bothered if any of my fellow parents continue wearing masks outside at school, which some people posting here appear to be. (Not you, PP.)

NP. I don't know, but I think seeing people still masking outdoors makes some people angry because doing so is emblematic of the overly Covid-cautious attitude that has driven so many misguided policies over the past two years. People are understandably angry about those policies and may project their anger on people who they think are exemplifying the attitude that drove them.

As far as I am concerned, I'm not so much bothered as baffled, given how little sense outdoor masking has ever made.

People that are that easily triggered shouldn't go out in public in America. Let's hope they don't own guns.

Calm down, Sharon. Are you the same person from upthread who thought that people writing to their elected officials would surely take the next step of MURDERING their elected officials?

+1 Some people can only think in extremes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wanting to see the faces of students and staff outdoors during school drop-off and pick-up in March 2022, now that experts have weighed in and determined it is safe to remove masks in this environment and the school district has okayed it, is not the same as threatening to bring guns to school to protest a mask mandate.

Wanting your child to be able to attend school without a mask, based on the advice of epidemiologists, pediatricians, and child development experts who believe the harm of longterm masking far outweighs the apparently minimal benefits of masking in a school environment compared to other mitigation methods, is not violent or unreasonable.

It's okay to disagree with these things but the idea that those of us who are advocating for looser masking rules, at this stage in the pandemic, must be in league with gun-toting anti-maskers in red states, is really troubling. We are all adults here and should be able to understand nuance.

I'm pro-mask, pro-vaccine, pro-science. I think it's time to loosen mask restrictions in schools, and I do think the issue is urgent because of how long children have been masked in this environment. I think it's easy to get complacent because we've been doing it this way for a long time, but that's all the more reason to be more vocal and assertive on the issue. Mask mandates will not lift themselves and it's going to take some effort and energy to shift course. It's going to be hard for some people to accept that masks are no longer the best or most appropriate mitigation method in schools. And I do think some of us are going to have to come to terms with the fact that we have probably already masked kids, especially young kids, for much longer than we should have given the the actual risks as we now understand them. I am already working through that with regards to my preschooler, and it's hard. So I get the reluctance. But we owe it to our kids to do the right thing now, and to examine how we've gotten to a place where we fell into a masking policy that hasn't made sense for a long time and are having so much trouble getting out of it.

I agree with all this. And yet, I still can't imagine getting angry or bothered if any of my fellow parents continue wearing masks outside at school, which some people posting here appear to be. (Not you, PP.)

NP. I don't know, but I think seeing people still masking outdoors makes some people angry because doing so is emblematic of the overly Covid-cautious attitude that has driven so many misguided policies over the past two years. People are understandably angry about those policies and may project their anger on people who they think are exemplifying the attitude that drove them.

As far as I am concerned, I'm not so much bothered as baffled, given how little sense outdoor masking has ever made.

Right there with you. Laura No Fuchs Left to Give tweeted pics of herself out canvassing today with a city council candidate, both had on masks. Considering that people like her were the ones who dumped body bags outside of DCPS HQ in the summer of 2021, seeing her tweet pics is just a sort of a big virtue signaling FU. I guess it’s just how smug people are in DC about it - I’ll respect their choices but I don’t want someone accusing me of being a serial killer if I go into Trader Joe’s unmasked. And - I want my kids to be able to do the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Curious where you all shop. I’ve been to three different grocery stores this weekend and everyone inside had their masks on. People walked in and put them on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wanting to see the faces of students and staff outdoors during school drop-off and pick-up in March 2022, now that experts have weighed in and determined it is safe to remove masks in this environment and the school district has okayed it, is not the same as threatening to bring guns to school to protest a mask mandate.

Wanting your child to be able to attend school without a mask, based on the advice of epidemiologists, pediatricians, and child development experts who believe the harm of longterm masking far outweighs the apparently minimal benefits of masking in a school environment compared to other mitigation methods, is not violent or unreasonable.

It's okay to disagree with these things but the idea that those of us who are advocating for looser masking rules, at this stage in the pandemic, must be in league with gun-toting anti-maskers in red states, is really troubling. We are all adults here and should be able to understand nuance.

I'm pro-mask, pro-vaccine, pro-science. I think it's time to loosen mask restrictions in schools, and I do think the issue is urgent because of how long children have been masked in this environment. I think it's easy to get complacent because we've been doing it this way for a long time, but that's all the more reason to be more vocal and assertive on the issue. Mask mandates will not lift themselves and it's going to take some effort and energy to shift course. It's going to be hard for some people to accept that masks are no longer the best or most appropriate mitigation method in schools. And I do think some of us are going to have to come to terms with the fact that we have probably already masked kids, especially young kids, for much longer than we should have given the the actual risks as we now understand them. I am already working through that with regards to my preschooler, and it's hard. So I get the reluctance. But we owe it to our kids to do the right thing now, and to examine how we've gotten to a place where we fell into a masking policy that hasn't made sense for a long time and are having so much trouble getting out of it.

I agree with all this. And yet, I still can't imagine getting angry or bothered if any of my fellow parents continue wearing masks outside at school, which some people posting here appear to be. (Not you, PP.)

NP. I don't know, but I think seeing people still masking outdoors makes some people angry because doing so is emblematic of the overly Covid-cautious attitude that has driven so many misguided policies over the past two years. People are understandably angry about those policies and may project their anger on people who they think are exemplifying the attitude that drove them.

As far as I am concerned, I'm not so much bothered as baffled, given how little sense outdoor masking has ever made.

This. Wearing a mask outdoors in March 2022 = virtual only school in September 2021

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wanting to see the faces of students and staff outdoors during school drop-off and pick-up in March 2022, now that experts have weighed in and determined it is safe to remove masks in this environment and the school district has okayed it, is not the same as threatening to bring guns to school to protest a mask mandate.

Wanting your child to be able to attend school without a mask, based on the advice of epidemiologists, pediatricians, and child development experts who believe the harm of longterm masking far outweighs the apparently minimal benefits of masking in a school environment compared to other mitigation methods, is not violent or unreasonable.

It's okay to disagree with these things but the idea that those of us who are advocating for looser masking rules, at this stage in the pandemic, must be in league with gun-toting anti-maskers in red states, is really troubling. We are all adults here and should be able to understand nuance.

I'm pro-mask, pro-vaccine, pro-science. I think it's time to loosen mask restrictions in schools, and I do think the issue is urgent because of how long children have been masked in this environment. I think it's easy to get complacent because we've been doing it this way for a long time, but that's all the more reason to be more vocal and assertive on the issue. Mask mandates will not lift themselves and it's going to take some effort and energy to shift course. It's going to be hard for some people to accept that masks are no longer the best or most appropriate mitigation method in schools. And I do think some of us are going to have to come to terms with the fact that we have probably already masked kids, especially young kids, for much longer than we should have given the the actual risks as we now understand them. I am already working through that with regards to my preschooler, and it's hard. So I get the reluctance. But we owe it to our kids to do the right thing now, and to examine how we've gotten to a place where we fell into a masking policy that hasn't made sense for a long time and are having so much trouble getting out of it.

I agree with all this. And yet, I still can't imagine getting angry or bothered if any of my fellow parents continue wearing masks outside at school, which some people posting here appear to be. (Not you, PP.)

NP. I don't know, but I think seeing people still masking outdoors makes some people angry because doing so is emblematic of the overly Covid-cautious attitude that has driven so many misguided policies over the past two years. People are understandably angry about those policies and may project their anger on people who they think are exemplifying the attitude that drove them.

As far as I am concerned, I'm not so much bothered as baffled, given how little sense outdoor masking has ever made.

Right there with you. Laura No Fuchs Left to Give tweeted pics of herself out canvassing today with a city council candidate, both had on masks. Considering that people like her were the ones who dumped body bags outside of DCPS HQ in the summer of 2021, seeing her tweet pics is just a sort of a big virtue signaling FU. I guess it’s just how smug people are in DC about it - I’ll respect their choices but [b]I don’t want someone accusing me of being a serial killer if I go into Trader Joe’s unmasked. And - I want my kids to be able to do the same thing.

Yes, everything about your post shows lots of respect for other peoples choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious where you all shop. I’ve been to three different grocery stores this weekend and everyone inside had their masks on. People walked in and put them on.

So?