I rode out the pandemic in Texas, where it was crazy but sane compared to the rest of the world. Exactly one (1) year ago I took my first trip out of the state to DC - I was in for quite the awokening (see what I did there).
I’m actually back this week. Not as bad, but not like Texas!
I wish you had decided to wear the mask just long enough to get in the room with the doctor and then pulled it off and told him why you were going to a different optometrist. 😂
Might not have been an option but it would’ve made me laugh.
“Because fuck them. That’s why.” Omg.....I love this! I live in the woke California. I was born here, never lived anywhere else. That sums up my sentiment exactly. I am retired so California might force me out by making it impossible for me to afford to live here but short of that I am seeing this out to the end. Thank you for writing what you do, making me smile some, and always letting me know there are a few sane people left and I am not alone (although my own sanity just might be in question sometimes....).
I listen to audio and read at the same time. That last line was really funny coming out of the sweet robotic voice played at 2x speed. Keep on keeping on Holly!
I've been meaning to do this for a while, but that story sent me over the edge. Time to finally subscribe to my first two Substacks: yours and Josh's. I love you both for the quality of your writing, your tenacity, and your willingness to engage with the extremely uncomfortable, regardless of consequences.
Holly I'm in Waterbury, VT and there are still some holdouts, but I haven't had this experience to this extent for at least a year.
I'm done with masking. If a business asks, I just don't go back. There are more than a few places that I used to love to visit but I don't anymore. I'm in a very tourist-heavy area, so maybe that has something to do with the lack of strict masking holdouts.
Mar 20, 2023·edited Mar 21, 2023Liked by Holly MathNerd
It can be difficult for people who've trusted our institutions to recognize that the trust is now misplaced in a lot of ways. My oldest son is a 1st year surgical resident, he has two little boys, 4 and 2. He got them jabbed probably 6 or 8 months ago, literally about a week before the CDC came out and said that they really didn't have any evidence at all that the jab had any efficacy for pediatrics. After I begged him to hold off until more info came out.
Note that he's not a dummy - BS from USNA in quantitative economics while also being a 4 year letterman in a D1 athletic program. But after 4+ years of being hammered over the head by The Medical Institution, he couldn't overcome it. Politically, he's more libertarian/free thinker than anything else. He's just been inculcated with institutionalism. It's going to take life and probably a few years of actually being a practicing surgeon for him to realize how screwed up the medical institutions are, and that their proclamations on anything have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, not as a unified whole.
I would just like for you to know that this post finally converted me into becoming a paid subscriber. Not that there's anything specific about this post, just that it's one more added to a great pile of excellent work that has now weighed the scale down enough that I'm ready to open my wallet. Thanks for everything you do.
When you said "deep south," I can't help that I thought Cape Horn / Tierra del Feugo.
The optometrist did you a great favor by allowing you to not give them any money in light of their crazy viewpoint discrimination. I live in a "red" state, but there's still plenty of crazy to go around, including our public universities. The brave people are the ones changing the "blue" states from within.
Holly, I’d recommend you send a complaint to the state optometry board about this. Not offering an accommodation is a clear violation of disability laws.
I believe we can finger the feds for this effed up foul up. They require medical facilities that get Medicare and Medicaid funds to demand their patients be masked. I am not sure, but hazard a guess that optometrists feed at the federal trough in some way.
This reminds me of something that's been bugging me for a while. Slightly off-topic, but why does it take a full on medical examination by a medical doctor just to figure out what kind of lenses you need in your glasses? The procedure they use to determine how your vision needs to be corrected seems fairly rote. Why can't this be done by a technician, or even better, a machine?
I would bet that the response is something like "but finding your lens prescription is just a part of the comprehensive eye exam that you should be getting done annually anyway!" but let's get real here, *nobody* is out there getting annual eye exams unless they wear glasses.
I rode out the pandemic in Texas, where it was crazy but sane compared to the rest of the world. Exactly one (1) year ago I took my first trip out of the state to DC - I was in for quite the awokening (see what I did there).
I’m actually back this week. Not as bad, but not like Texas!
I wish you had decided to wear the mask just long enough to get in the room with the doctor and then pulled it off and told him why you were going to a different optometrist. 😂
Might not have been an option but it would’ve made me laugh.
Righteous.
“Because fuck them. That’s why.” Omg.....I love this! I live in the woke California. I was born here, never lived anywhere else. That sums up my sentiment exactly. I am retired so California might force me out by making it impossible for me to afford to live here but short of that I am seeing this out to the end. Thank you for writing what you do, making me smile some, and always letting me know there are a few sane people left and I am not alone (although my own sanity just might be in question sometimes....).
I listen to audio and read at the same time. That last line was really funny coming out of the sweet robotic voice played at 2x speed. Keep on keeping on Holly!
I've been meaning to do this for a while, but that story sent me over the edge. Time to finally subscribe to my first two Substacks: yours and Josh's. I love you both for the quality of your writing, your tenacity, and your willingness to engage with the extremely uncomfortable, regardless of consequences.
I have been reading and sharing your posts for a while now, but I just upgraded to paid.
Why?
The last line in this post. Brilliant!
“Because Fuck Them.” 😎 Amen sister.
Holly I'm in Waterbury, VT and there are still some holdouts, but I haven't had this experience to this extent for at least a year.
I'm done with masking. If a business asks, I just don't go back. There are more than a few places that I used to love to visit but I don't anymore. I'm in a very tourist-heavy area, so maybe that has something to do with the lack of strict masking holdouts.
It can be difficult for people who've trusted our institutions to recognize that the trust is now misplaced in a lot of ways. My oldest son is a 1st year surgical resident, he has two little boys, 4 and 2. He got them jabbed probably 6 or 8 months ago, literally about a week before the CDC came out and said that they really didn't have any evidence at all that the jab had any efficacy for pediatrics. After I begged him to hold off until more info came out.
Note that he's not a dummy - BS from USNA in quantitative economics while also being a 4 year letterman in a D1 athletic program. But after 4+ years of being hammered over the head by The Medical Institution, he couldn't overcome it. Politically, he's more libertarian/free thinker than anything else. He's just been inculcated with institutionalism. It's going to take life and probably a few years of actually being a practicing surgeon for him to realize how screwed up the medical institutions are, and that their proclamations on anything have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, not as a unified whole.
I would just like for you to know that this post finally converted me into becoming a paid subscriber. Not that there's anything specific about this post, just that it's one more added to a great pile of excellent work that has now weighed the scale down enough that I'm ready to open my wallet. Thanks for everything you do.
When you said "deep south," I can't help that I thought Cape Horn / Tierra del Feugo.
The optometrist did you a great favor by allowing you to not give them any money in light of their crazy viewpoint discrimination. I live in a "red" state, but there's still plenty of crazy to go around, including our public universities. The brave people are the ones changing the "blue" states from within.
Holly, I’d recommend you send a complaint to the state optometry board about this. Not offering an accommodation is a clear violation of disability laws.
Because fuck them is an excellent reason!
I believe we can finger the feds for this effed up foul up. They require medical facilities that get Medicare and Medicaid funds to demand their patients be masked. I am not sure, but hazard a guess that optometrists feed at the federal trough in some way.
This reminds me of something that's been bugging me for a while. Slightly off-topic, but why does it take a full on medical examination by a medical doctor just to figure out what kind of lenses you need in your glasses? The procedure they use to determine how your vision needs to be corrected seems fairly rote. Why can't this be done by a technician, or even better, a machine?
I would bet that the response is something like "but finding your lens prescription is just a part of the comprehensive eye exam that you should be getting done annually anyway!" but let's get real here, *nobody* is out there getting annual eye exams unless they wear glasses.