I think that people have been trying to say politely all along that it is fine for kids to be playing outside without masks on and that the chances of a kid picking the virus up on playground equipment was slim to none but - BAM! - that conversation would get shut down in a hurry by individuals who were trying to "Save Lives!!!!". It became impossible to have a well reasoned, rational conversation. At some point, people just chose their own corners and did things their own way. Some kids went to the playground and to sleepovers during the shutdowns and some kids stayed at home talking to their friends on social media.

I just read in a post just above yours what Tucker Carlson had to say. Seriously???? Holy $h!tskies.

From the very beginning of this pandemic, the CDC advised us that virus transmission was next to nil in OUTDOOR settings. I ran with that right from the beginning and did not ever mask up as long as I was distanced from anyone, including family. That was sooo easy to do.

I did not attend any rallies, I did not go to the town squares (when they were open) without sitting in our golf cart. I did not gather in any kind of crowd. Soooooo easy to do. Now they say it is safe. I knew that all along and did what I thought was best for me.

Must say, in the past couple of weeks since hubby is now fully vaccinated, we have gone to the town squares and enjoyed sitting in the chairs in the squares and are able to people watch. I'm so glad we can feel safe again doing that. Very thankful for the vaccines.

What you describe sounds like a normal day in America.

Now we seem to have agendas yelling and screaming for whatever reason that you are either too liberal (not the political kind) or too conservative (not the political kind).

I am a bit sensitive to this because the rhetoric is getting out of hand....not discussions on here, but the comments with agrndas that sway folks, not because those opinion "swayers" know more than the rest of us "schlubs" but has a need to protect his agenda

Some feel this virus is a joke, a hoax, whatever. Whatever, it strikes fear in millions and that needs to be respected, in my opinion. No need for a very rich reader to mock a parent or anyone. Just very disheartening

Speaking as a registered Republican, Carlson grates on my every nerve saying those things. The man is a dip$h!t!

Oh, please. This just gets worse and worse. No other words for this man. I agree with his POV but, he should NOT be saying those things on network TV. That is just wrong on every level.

I tried debating early on but people really have picked their corners and are doing what they see fit for themselves. Rather than try to sway anyone to my own view, I decided to just do what I thought was right and appropriate in my situation and let others do the same for themselves.

I didn't see the Tucker episode but the news people really seem to love to stir up controversies with their remarks. I'm not really seeing too many Fox viewers calling the cops or CPS on parents who keep masks on their kids outside but who knows what people are going to do.

This whole thing has been crazy. The virus is real it's the reaction to it that has been over the top in my own (sometimes unpopular) opinion.

Nobody wants to resume concertgoing, theater, cruises, ALL activities right here in the Villages, etc. more than I do. And so the dilemma continues. Especially going to concerts. I'm about to go into withdrawals.

As for your earlier question about reports of potential long term adverse reactions to the vaccines, I've read a few over the last few weeks and they all, such as the one that follows, basically say we can't make a determination yet.

I'm also careful not to needlessly scare anyone who's been vaccinated. We've been scared enough over the last 14 months. We don't need people worrying over something just to find out the worry was in vain. That said, there is a good bit of gloom and doom on Youtube about the vaccines, but I don't know how reliable it is.

I came across an article a week or so ago from "A Reliable Source" and I regret I didn't save it. It talked about how the vaccine may cause an immune response that could damage vital organs if one is exposed to Covid post-inoculation. I'm not sure if that's the same as ADE. It would be great if one of the professionals on this board could weigh in on this claim.

The ADE article you posted was encouraging. It's articles like that that make the decision a little easier...that and thoughts of cruises and concerts on the horizon.

A perspective on potential antibody-dependent enhancement of SARS-CoV-2 - PubMed

For those of you who are Fox fans, you probably will not like this, but as an avid Fox watcher from the 90’s, and stopped watching because this was surely the future (facts is I was thrilled when the network began),
But Golfingeagles mentioned the producer, and this. May just be the games that started a few years ago on that network,.

This is part of an opinion piece from someone who was a regular on the network. Just a game to divide us, and keep everyone fighting.


The more likely scenario is that, like much of what Carlson says on Fox, this is itself a hoax, a trick played on his own viewers to see how gullible they are, and a ploy to see how outraged he can make the rest of us. Like I said, high-level trolling — just because he can.
Lest you doubt this interpretation, I remind you that Fox’s own lawyers have argued this — that Carlson says things that are intentionally false, and you, the viewer, should be able to tell that from the “general tenor” of the show.

As the U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil wrote in an opinion dismissing a lawsuit against Carlson and Fox, “Fox persuasively argues, that given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’ about the statements he makes.”
It’s a good warning, and one that should perhaps accompany every Carlson broadcast.

Tucker Carlson’s disgusting new low - New York Daily News

No, you don't shame or call people names. Or make silly baseless claims.

Well in post 301...in a round about way, she did call those that don't agree with her...stupid

GE, you of all people are smart enough to know cable news is a commercial enterprise and they are giving the people exactly what they want. I'd go so far as to say the commentators don't even believe half of what they're saying. They're just pandering to their respective audiences and telling them what they want to hear.

If there's any blame to assign, unfortunately it goes to the millions of viewers.

Hmmmmm....CNN....MSNBC..CBS...ABC..CBS

Just saying

And if "anyone's" wondering...I haven't had anything to do with FOX in a very long time

That sounds exactly like what was happening to many Covid Positive patients early on. Their immune systems launched an "over response" (if that is even a phrase but you get what I mean) to the pathogen and they were having multiple organ failures leading to their deaths. Hopefully, by now, there are treatments to prevent this from occurring but I really don't know that for sure.

As for getting back to our normal lives, hubby and I are looking forward to the day we step foot on a cruise ship again. We really miss cruising.

OK....good to know. Thanks.