I think there are bigger things to worry about, we don't have that many regulars so we might as well try to see the positive side of having each one rather than be hung up on the things that annoy us.

As for the covid discussion I understand the perspective that using individual experiences is a small sample size that could be misleading, but on the other hand if someone feels that the national media has adopted an approach more like propaganda than news that's intentionally wanting to make people afraid/take the vaccine, they could see the in person evidence as meaningful to them without any better alternatives.

Personally it does affect my decision in regards to the vax that I've been working in a crowded place this whole time and people don't seem to be dropping dead, I don't even know anyone who's gotten covid. I have had a very young coworker in recent months die by getting hit by a car, so at the moment crossing the street makes me more nervous than covid does. That may seem like flawed logic to some but that's the way I've decided to deal with it.

I wasn't talking about anything else that you mentioned below. Don't push your agenda into my discussions. Just because zwackerm is a regular doesn't mean he can spin anything. I am an admin and he regularly belittles my ideas where are you then? I'm guessing you're assured of me staying in the forum so I can have it?

I remember your comment in the box office forum about thinking he was following you around and intentionally taking the counter position and honestly I didn't see the pattern myself, although I could have been missing something.

Sure as you say.

Dunno when Jack became so obsessed with me lol. I have nothing against him.

I am not obssessed with you but amazed by your stupidity!

Lol ok man sorry for my low intelligence lol

You are intelligent there's no doubt about it but negligent when it comes to COVID.

This is in response to me saying that a negative covid test as a pre requisite for getting on a plane is ridiculous, as you can test positive long after you are recovered and no longer contagious. I fail to see how that is negligent

There's only one way to settle this feud.

Hell
In
A
Cell

No it's not

That's just stupid. Wtf?

It's because we are at the point where the virus is mild, masks barely if at all work against it because it is so transmissible, and it is spreading around, with everyone getting it regardless of what we do. The vaccine may reduce hospitalization and death, but it barely if at all prevents spread. It is endemic, it is literally like a more transmissible flu at this point. Soon, the omicron wave will die and we will have the next variant which will almost certainly be even milder and more transmissible. Triple vaxxed people, the ones who have been most worried the whole time, are finally unmasking, stopping worrying and going back to normal life.

If I say anything more Shack will be offended so I am not going to post on this anymore. Enjoy everyone!

Good idea. (For everyone.)

Everyone has dug themselves down deeper than the Mariana Trench on all this by now. I don't think anyone has budged (either way) on it nearly year now. It's like questioning someone's faith now. Unless I have to implement something involving it at work, I don't bother discussing it anymore and interrupt others when it's brought up towards me.

God forbid (when) something more deadly comes around in the future.

I had Omicron and while ir wasn't was bad as the previous one, it still fucks uñeverythibg up because all those cases need to be isolated.

Imagine trying to run a small jusimess where one half of your staff is infected? That shit will be awful. My shift has 6 doctors, 3 of us got it and are in quarantine, imagine how bad it must be for our coworkes that they have to literally treat 100% more patitents just becausr we are not there.

But alas, its jot a big deal like some said

Since more and more are determined to "move on", the very, very least we should be able to do is offer hazard pay to all essential workers. We're so desperate to get everyone back to work and keep them there with as little time away after getting infected as possible, they deserve some compensation.

Some companies have increased pay on their own, but not all have, of course, and the federal government has done squat regarding hazard pay and/or minimum wage increases. The jobs that the essential workers do are the most important in society. Nothing works without them. Why aren't we supporting them and their industries throughout this?

I'm speaking for the U.S. here. Some countries have treated their essential workers with dignity and respect through this, and not as the same ol' low-skilled punching bags that are treated as a means to an end in the daily life of others. Same for jobs like teachers and health-care workers who make more, but are abused for their essential jobs as well.

I'm on board with "moving on" (we do have an effective vaccine, we know the basic measures that help lessen the risks of exposure), never agreed with the strict lockdowns, but you can't ignore that the pandemic is still here and still heavily affecting the daily lives of many (essential workers and the industries they're in). Meet them half-way in this process. It's the very least we can do.

I worked in a grocery store from Mar 2020-Aug 2021, and I was given $2 extra per hour for Mar-May 2020.

I agree with Corpse. Unfortunately the COVID situation has become political as it is easy to argue it is the reason Trump lost the election and has led to worldwide political decisions that effect our daily lives. So very few people go into talking about it with any sort of objectivity outside of scientific communities who themselves have conflicting opinions.

I got one think not getting a vaccine is fucking stupid, and fully support businesses who have vaccine mandates (outside of those who cannot take vaccines for medical reasons). I also don’t have a problem with wearing a mask and think those who do have a problem are insecure.

That being said, yes many of the mandates are needless and sometimes create more harm than what they do to help and honestly masks are frankly starting to become not that important and are bit of a placebo.

There was a decent effort made in the early months of the pandemic by both the government and businesses to support people. As zwackerm said, his store was paying him an extra $2/hour for a few months. And the government sent out stimulus payments.

This all largely came to a halt too early, though. Such assistance should have been extended along with the pandemic's duration though (still ongoing), and adjusted to better focus on businesses and individuals who are more in need of the support (essential workers, essentially). There was a lot of money that went out to people and businesses who didn't need any help.

The White House and Congress can still do something. There should be enough bipartisan support to pass a hazard-pay bill that assists essential workers as everyone works towards a more stable ("normal" isn't a good work here, as it suggests ignoring any ongoing problems) situation. A lot of people are upset with inflation right now too, and it mostly affects these same people who continue to suffer the most from the pandemic. A federal hazard-pay bill would go a long way in helping with that right now too.

Saying stuff like "well, omicron isn't very serious, especially if you're vaccinated, so let's all get back to 'normal'" is unproductive, and some would understandably take offense to this (a health-care worker, for example, who is having to deal with record hospitalizations around them and low-staffing). It's still affecting a lot of people and businesses. We're expecting people in high-risk jobs to act like everything is fine again. It's not yet. It's still very disruptive for many. But we (us) can help them (us) as they (we) selfishly keep society moving. Prop them up a bit, provide some needed support, as we work on this together. This is as far removed from political differences as can be, and anyone who makes it political isn't worthy of anyone's time.

The flipside is it's hurting businesses to have such big staff shortages though in part of a result of people becoming comfortable not working. I know where I work the #1 problem is shortage related both with the on hand staff and indirectly with supply problems caused by their own lack of staff.

Well, I'm not really talking about just giving handouts, thus making them comfortable while staying at home, if you will. And not extra unemployment or leave benefits either. I'm only referring to people who are working, or actively looking to return to work.

If workers are getting payed more appropriate wages "relative" (for lack of a better word) to the current/ongoing risk of their job, they'd be more willing to stay. And more people would be willing to apply. It's a win-win for both employees and employers.

And I'm not really even saying everyone in an essential job position should be making vast amounts more than they normally are. (The entire living wage thing is a whole other discussion.) But a $2-3/hour increase for lower-wage essential jobs is an appealing (for the workers) and manageable (for most businesses, all if a federal bill would be passed) thing to implement while the pandemic is still ongoing. And for salary positions that fall into this, a monthly bonus would be a pretty simple way to go.

Now, for how long? Well, it's not clear, and setting a timetable isn't wise. It should have been something put in place months (a year+) ago, but it can still be done. As things change, hopefully improve, such assistance can be scaled back or adjusted as needed. It's not a cure-all solution, obviously. It's not going to solve the inflation issue, but it will help low-wage, average people out during it. And it's not going to solve the supply chain issue, but it will help improve the staffing issues, if just a bit.

We're literally telling everyone to get back to "normal" when things just aren't there yet. We're trying to bypass a step or two and tripping in the process. A less dangerous variant like Omicron is a "good opportunity" to begin moving back to some semblance of normalcy though, but there's still a present risk involved that can't just be ignored either. So meeting these essential employees, and businesses, half-way with some assistance is a good way to go.

Could be a better idea to just give the businesses money and letting them decide what to do with it, maybe they could be more efficient using it than 2 dollars more an hour going to their total chump employee (which in current conditions they're forced to hire).

In terms of how much money to give to businesses as covid relief that's a different argument involving things like inflation and whether interfering in how the free market sorts out winners/losers is worth it (if you can't understand logic like paying the fewer employees you have now more money to make up for it, maybe you should fail) I'd rather it go to them than someone not working at least.

Bad week for anti-vax celebrities.

One was

The other was