I haven’t had it for almost a year now.

How do you know this for sure? If you’re in the UK, the state of public health is laughably pitiful just like it is here in the US. Rapid tests are often months, years out of date which means they are either expired and totally nonfunctional, or they won’t catch these evasive variants at all, and in order to have a PCR done at most clinics near me anyway state insurance won’t cover it and you need to be exhibiting “severe symptoms” to get one in the first place, which costs something like $100-$150 each time. I don’t even know how many times I’ve had it because no one wants to do anything about it. I am already disabled myself with lots of compounding chronic illnesses that existed long before 2020 which means that I am well-acquainted with public health and medical facilities by necessity. They will say you are “COVID-phobic” in your chart at some places now when you request staff to mask, and even knowing you are vulnerable like they do with my decades of medical history they still won’t do it. I’ve never seen anything like this response in my life. It’s madness.

All of this still ignores the reality that, like HIV, the acute phase passes and we don’t see or hear about lingering effects or sequelae for years, maybe a decade later, and then you are just laid on your ass or worse, and there’s all kinds of things to blame it on by then, continuing the minimization and further unmitigated spread. To call it a biblical level event is not exaggerating…and the response is always, even from people who ought to know better, “well me and all my mates at the pub seem fine so that’s that”. You’d never know looking at me that I have intolerable inflammations in my legs daily from walking to the grocery store that leaves me limping after only a few hours of movement if I’m lucky…and yet I do it every day, still. I may look fine, but I am not fine. A lot of us aren’t, and the less scrupulous of us will make sure no one else ever finds out until it’s too late. Sound familiar?

Knowing the history of the HIV/AIDS crisis will really change your mind about this virus, I promise you. We underestimate it at our peril, like we did with HIV in the 80s (until the right people- the ones other than the f*gs- started getting fucked up, that is), and like we have with climate change for the last century. It’s the same patterns, the exact same mechanisms at play. It’s not hard to connect the dots.

“I know I will respect the limits of presidential power as I have for the three-and-a-half years, but any president, including Donald Trump, will now be free to ignore the law,” Biden said.

I know this is “as expected” but damn at least do something, dude. they literally told you that you can do whatever you want.

Threads like this are a really great window into how fucked up western progressives really are about very basic and simple principles. you all want me to believe you’re going to do shit for a revolution when you think you’re invincible and constantly whining about putting a thing over your face when you go out? it would be incredible if it weren’t fucking us over all for the sake of a pint at flanigans or whatever other asinine garbage we’ve decided is worth throwing away the future. libs until proven otherwise now and forever.

buddy. why do you trust the state line on Covid metrics? genuine question. do you actually trust them to be truthful about this? why? people literally can’t say the word aloud and you truly believe it’s all just a nothingburger now? they lied about the impact of aids for decades and they’re lying about this.

so, like, everyone then

If you move away from smokers, you are probably over reacting

masks are a good litmus test cuz it’s something that actually makes a material difference at the cost of your social capital and looking cool.

Really good way of putting it

Conspicuous lack of mention of 2 here

how do you not just completely fall into despair living as a vulnerable minority in the United States at this moment. what does a future even look like

more and more I realize my problem is americans and this specific cultural blight, not just any particular generation of them. I will never be at peace here. I can only hope I will mesh better anywhere else in the future.

Real world is extremely hostile to my continued existence on many axes. Here there is only a coin flip chance one will be, usually.

I have seen it. It has become so politicized that you risk any appointment running afoul of “professionals” who think they don’t need to wear anything on their face under any circumstances anymore- doctors, nurses, surgeons, dentists…

You know a surgeon that masks?

Navigating the completely fucked contradiction of being a militant communist and realizing your entire country is full of evil people at every rung of the social ladder. They will break the chains and then chain everyone else. Fuck this place forever.

If you’d like to play over online sim and maybe make a (cute, cool, nice) new friend feel free to ping me @itsmiaomiao:matrix.org

With the way power creep tends to go in games like this I think draft is the only truly fair way to play. It flexes every muscle the game has and I love it dearly. I like commander very casually but I agree it is not usually for me. I live in a super competitive area that I don’t have the resources nor desire to keep up with anymore so even constructed formats in-person I find a waste of time often; I keep those to mtgo leagues or arena just because it’s cheaper. I always do limited events if I go to anything physically these days.

I haven’t played in a minute but I used to do pauper 5c tron in mtgo leagues years ago, the meta is so much faster now and there have been a couple of bans that have hurt it. Prismatic Prism and Bonder’s Ornament are gone. Tolarian terror decks can have a 5/5 out very early and tron decks are just too slow to keep up. Lots of artifact hate going around. Red decks apparently main Cleansing Wildfire these days…many such cases. I am told some mono green variants can still do some stuff but tron is definitely falling off.

No PCR or rapid at-home test has ever turned up positive for me but I sure wish there were any other way to know if I have ever had it/how many times prior I may have had it.

For the avg treat-goer American I have heard as often as three-four times per year. The actual avg last I checked is two times a year. They can ban my mask when they physically come and take it off my face.

I love magic- I am a modern, pauper & legacy (sometimes) player, usually- but I have made an effort recently to not use Discord when I can help it. Let me know if there’s any want for a Matrix space or something and I’m in.

Genuinely made me feel better.