Can we STOP exploiting our small towns for politics?

[Samantha Rinne]

I live in a small town, and unlike many people, I have no desire to move to a big city. During the fall, our town makes money on farmer's markets, we have fish fry days, and we have a big event called the strawberry festival (nevermind that I'm not sure we even still grow strawberries around here, this is an event that attracts pwople from miles around). During weeks where there is a BBQ, a metallic pig (it's a repurposed stove) gets rolled out from somewhere. It has a blacksmith. It has weavers. It has a lively folk art movement. It's a cute and quiet town with a wooden cutout statue of what I assume is George Washington and his wife (probably not).

You ever played the game Mother 3? Probably not, because it wasn't officially translated. It revolves around the plot of this town slowly getting subverted. At the start, they don't even use money, then after a major crisis, we see barter. Then some trader comes in with a "happy box" and we see the emergence of an economy. Gradually things get darker and darker until the town is abandoned and the remaining people have their doors all locked. Everyone moved to the city and it's just kinda gloomy and depressing.

During COVID time, some unelected goons probably from the state have taken to masking historic figures. They're also vandalizing and tearing down statues. In bigger cities, they may have posters of Adams or Lincoln wearing a mask (which already annoys me because it is completely unfactual) but here in our small town, you walk down the main street and there are cute little wooden cutouts (under normal circumstances) who are now forced to obey state edicts that didn't exist during their time (they had enough to deal with paying taxes for playing cards, tea, and other things). Awhile back I also plopped grass in Martha's mask (the idea being that she was breathing in stale moldy air but not only was it never noticed but it actually made her look like she was breathing), but after a vacation that kinda barely was (couldn't go inside shops, mainly just walked around outside except for one concert in a park), I'd had enough, and on the way back from the post office, I took off George's mask.

So here it is below. If you all wanna call the police on me for vandalism, I'm the one officer. But is it vandalism? When a statue gets BLM graffiti on it, is the person who undoes it a vandal? Probably not. Not unless our laws are now screwed up. But the making Martha breathe in moldy air, yeah that kinda was (it's not noticeable though).
I don't think this double standard of freely allowing some oafs from the state department to put a mask on something that someone else painted is okay, yet getting rid of it is not. But that's why I'm making a poll.

The thing is, I'm not sure whether I want our small town in the middle of nowhere (aside from being county seat and part ofa road to other small towns) to be a mouthpiece of policies that it doesn't necessarily agree with. This whole masking historical (or at least colonial, if they aren't in fact George and Martha Washington) figures smacks of heavy propaganda. This is a small town, but more importantly, this is OUR small town, and it's getting propagandized by its own cute wooden cutouts.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

200,000 US deaths and you rail against the mask.

 

[ChristineM]

So apparently someone voted that it's not vandalism to put something on a statue (graffiti for example), but to return it to its original state is vandalism.

Okay. I am now officially depressed at the state of our country.

I do not think @Jayhawker Soule was talking about vandalism but what appears to be your lack of concern for reality

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I do not think @Jayhawker Soule was talking about vandalism but what appears to be your lack of concern for reality

Just to be clear, I have not voted.

 

[BSM1]

200,000 US deaths and you rail against the mask.

Do you wear a mask every time you venture out?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Do you wear a mask every time you venture out?

Yes, as does my wife. Why do you ask?

 

[HonestJoe]

During COVID time, some unelected goons probably from the state have taken to masking historic figures.

Why did you assume that's who put the masks on the figures? why couldn't it have been the people who put them up or some random person trying to make the same kind of "point" you are. You certainly seem to be reading a whole load more in to it that could have ever been intended.

Regardless of who did it though, you don't own the figures or the masks so have no right to remove them. None of this is vandalism though, since no damage is being done either way.

You seem to be getting far too worked up about something extremely insignificant. Maybe it'd be healthier to focus on what is actually bothering you rather than the minutia of life?

 

[Heyo]

Reminds me of this:

"Modesty" for ancient Greek statue.
Vandalism? Vandalism to remove the dress?
Depends on who owns the statue.

 

[Altfish]

Do you wear a mask every time you venture out?

Yes, I wear a mask whenever there is a chance of contact with another non-family member. So, walking down a busy street, in a shop, on public transport, etc.

If there is just a 5% chance of me reducing my chances of infecting someone else, I'll do it.
and, There are some quite 'trendy' masks out there now.

 

[Howard Is]

Okay. I am now officially depressed at the state of our country.

Welcome aboard.
I’m depressed about it and I’m Australian.

Which is quite reasonable, given that an Australian Prime Minister was sacked by the CIA in 1975 because he wanted to renegotiate the deal on Pine Gap. Pine Gap is a major intelligence installation, crucial to the US because it can access geostationary satellites in the Southern Hemisphere.
We were told the Prime Minister was sacked by the Governor, Sir John Kerr, over financial mismanagement.

That is a total lie.
I know it is a lie.
If I say too much I will be arrested.
Possibly sent to fifteen years solitary like Christopher John Boyce, who mentioned it ...

So, unfortunately it matters to Australia what happens in the USA, because you have lots of (secret) bases here. (Sshhh !!!) Some of them underground near the SA NT border (Shut up !), and a huge secret underground facility in Queensland (Seriously man, STFU !)

And now you have heavy firepower here too.

Although we did just sell a port in Darwin to the Chinese, and another port in northwest Western Australia, oh ! And rights to build an airstrip long enough for military jets inland from that port...for $1 !
True !

So I am worried too.

Will they come and arrest me now ? Probably.

 

[ImmortalFlame]

Prove that figure btw. I can write on a sheet of paper that 500,000 died in the Columbine massacre. It doesn't make it true because I wrote it and drew a pretty graph.

Here are multiple sources:
Provisional Death Counts for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
COVID-19 Map - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
Covid in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count

Meanwhile, if nobody in my family can enter a store, there is a very REAL chance of death.

Wow. Are you serious? There are no stores near you that allow you to shop there AT ALL? You can't order groceries online?

Btw, I've read articles where they admit that many of these "COVID deaths" are actually deaths from people who may have COVID. Let's give you a distiction.

If I die from not being granted entry to grocery on account of lacking a mask, is it a COVID death? Or starvation?

Again, are you serious? You think "dying of starvation because you can't enter a store" is a serious concern?

What about if I become depressed, and suicide myself? It happened during COVID, and may have happened as a result of how bad things are. Is it a COVID death? What about if someone has COVID, and their bike hits a patch of mud and skids into a truck.

All of these are COUNTED as COVID-19 deaths.

Actually, no they aren't. They only could potentially be added to the death toll if you ALSO had a confirmed positive diagnosis of Covid.

Now forgive me if I'm skeptical.

The US is Dramatically Overcounting Coronavirus Deaths

That article is MONTHS old, and actually contradicts what you say above.

Nevertheless, it's very difficult to determine an exact death rate related to Covid, because it is largely co-morbid. Meaning it's less likely to kill you on its own than it is to kill you IN COMBINATION with other health conditions or diseases.

But the facts clearly demonstrate that Covid is responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of people who otherwise would not have died without Covid. How can we know? Because there has been a DRAMATIC increase in overall mortality in 2020 (SOURCE: Excess mortality during the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19)).

If you don't believe Covid is that deadly, then the onus is on you to explain exactly why the USA has had an increase this year of around 200,000 more deaths than their yearly average.

There are NOT 200,000 deaths. In fact, if I were to knock on doors, I would likely find that most people are still here.

I should not have to point out what's wrong with this sentence.

Meanwhile, my aunt is on a respirator as a result of wearing (and reusing) dirty masks.

Firstly, if your aunt has any medical condition that makes wearing a mask harmful to them, they can get a medical exemption.

Secondly, why were they wearing a dirty mask? Why are you blaming the practice of wearing masks for the fact that your aunt continued wearing a dirty one despite health advice?

 

[shunyadragon]

I live in a small town, and unlike many people, I have no desire to move to a big city. During the fall, our town makes money on farmer's markets, we have fish fry days, and we have a big event called the strawberry festival (nevermind that I'm not sure we even still grow strawberries around here, this is an event that attracts pwople from miles around). During weeks where there is a BBQ, a metallic pig (it's a repurposed stove) gets rolled out from somewhere. It has a blacksmith. It has weavers. It has a lively folk art movement. It's a cute and quiet town with a wooden cutout statue of what I assume is George Washington and his wife (probably not).

You ever played the game Mother 3? Probably not, because it wasn't officially translated. It revolves around the plot of this town slowly getting subverted. At the start, they don't even use money, then after a major crisis, we see barter. Then some trader comes in with a "happy box" and we see the emergence of an economy. Gradually things get darker and darker until the town is abandoned and the remaining people have their doors all locked. Everyone moved to the city and it's just kinda gloomy and depressing.

During COVID time, some unelected goons probably from the state have taken to masking historic figures. They're also vandalizing and tearing down statues. In bigger cities, they may have posters of Adams or Lincoln wearing a mask (which already annoys me because it is completely unfactual) but here in our small town, you walk down the main street and there are cute little wooden cutouts (under normal circumstances) who are now forced to obey state edicts that didn't exist during their time (they had enough to deal with paying taxes for playing cards, tea, and other things). Awhile back I also plopped grass in Martha's mask (the idea being that she was breathing in stale moldy air but not only was it never noticed but it actually made her look like she was breathing), but after a vacation that kinda barely was (couldn't go inside shops, mainly just walked around outside except for one concert in a park), I'd had enough, and on the way back from the post office, I took off George's mask.

So here it is below. If you all wanna call the police on me for vandalism, I'm the one officer. But is it vandalism? When a statue gets BLM graffiti on it, is the person who undoes it a vandal? Probably not. Not unless our laws are now screwed up. But the making Martha breathe in moldy air, yeah that kinda was (it's not noticeable though).
I don't think this double standard of freely allowing some oafs from the state department to put a mask on something that someone else painted is okay, yet getting rid of it is not. But that's why I'm making a poll.

The thing is, I'm not sure whether I want our small town in the middle of nowhere (aside from being county seat and part of a road to other small towns) to be a mouthpiece of policies that it doesn't necessarily agree with. This whole masking historical (or at least colonial, if they aren't in fact George and Martha Washington) figures smacks of heavy propaganda. This is a small town, but more importantly, this is OUR small town, and it's getting propagandized by its own cute wooden cutouts.

View attachment 43053

Your picture is classic showing women muzzled in the idealic past.

Your post is riddled with a nave nostalgic view of our small town heritage of Mayberry RFD, which on the surface appears ideal, but in reality is not the whole story. This ideal world of the past and today was oppressively racist and brutal to non-white people particularly Blacks and Native Americans. It is an illusion to hide in hopes of this ideal world that never existed outside Mayberry RFD, Ozzie and Harriet, nor Little House on the Prairie when TV was in black and white, but everything was white.

I grew up in a small rural Southern town, and live in one today, and treasure the positive aspects of that life, but fully realize the reality of history where blacks were herded into ghettos and denied jobs education and housing that lead to the current demonstrations and yes riots.

I do not believe in the violence, and we can learn a lot from Buddha and Mohatma Ghandi on how to deal with the oppressive brutality of Anglo-Saxon tribal racism.

 

[BSM1]

Yes, as does my wife. Why do you ask?

Are they working?

 

[shunyadragon]

Are they working?

There is a history that you are neglecting here as to why who is working and who is not. the 200,000 plus fatalities, and growing reflects a horrendous mismanagement of the pandemic like the frog being gradually heated in a pot of water. The recent history of catatrophies reflects the nave Americans out of touch with reality. Americans, particularly the wealthy are very selfish concerning the support of those that are unemployed due to the pandemic. I am employed in various ways, low income, and have always kept my expenses low unlike the self-indulgent soft American Way of life.

 

[BSM1]

Your picture is classic showing women muzzled in the idealic past.

Your post is riddled with a nave nostalgic view of our small town heritage of Mayberry RFD, which on the surface appears ideal, but in reality is not the whole story. This ideal world of the past and today was oppressively racist and brutal to non-white people particularly Blacks and Native Americans. It is an illusion to hide in hopes of this ideal world that never existed outside Mayberry RFD, Ozzie and Harriet, nor Little House on the Prairie when TV was in black and white, but everything was white.

I grew up in a small rural Southern town, and live in one today, and treasure the positive aspects of that life, but fully realize the reality of history where blacks were herded into ghettos and denied jobs education and housing that lead to the current demonstrations and yes riots.

I do not believe in the violence, and we can learn a lot from Buddha and Mohatma Ghandi on how to deal with the oppressive brutality of Anglo-Saxon tribal racism.

I live near 'Mayberry', btw..

 

[BSM1]

Yes, I wear a mask whenever there is a chance of contact with another non-family member. So, walking down a busy street, in a shop, on public transport, etc.

If there is just a 5% chance of me reducing my chances of infecting someone else, I'll do it.
and, There are some quite 'trendy' masks out there now.

Is it working?

 

[BSM1]

There is a history that you are neglecting here as to why who is working and who is not. the 200,000 plus fatalities, and growing reflects a horrendous mismanagement of the pandemic like the frog being gradually heated in a pot of water. The recent history of catatrophies reflects the nave Americans out of touch with reality. Americans, particularly the wealthy are very selfish concerning the support of those that are unemployed due to the pandemic. I am employed in various ways, low income, and have always kept my expenses low unlike the self-indulgent soft American Way of life.

This has nothing to do with my question.

 

[Altfish]

Is it working?

That's a bit like saying, "Is looking left, right and left again before I cross the road working"

I went on two trams today and as far as I could see there was 100% compliance, that's in Manchester, England

 

[shunyadragon]

I live near 'Mayberry', btw..

So do I, in North Carolina 2 hours East.

 

[shunyadragon]

Is it working?

The evidence is overwhelming where masks are not worn and social distancing is not observed COVID-19 rapidly spreads.