#CW Covid

[cane-detector]

cane detected!

(amazing work!)

WHY WE MASK: It's Not "Just A Cold": A Handy Scientific Guide to Surviving COVID-19 Together

Here, have a free science zine with a ridiculously long title! Endless thanks to my partner and fellow disabled artist, Kimball Anderson aka @earnestattempts, who helped through the entire year-long process with art edits and image descriptions (located in the alt text). Additional thanks to my friends Dupe and Caitlin, who gave me thorough copy-edits, and every friend who read drafts or listened to me rant about COVID-19.

Feel free to spread it far and wide! And hit me up if you're interested in printing &/or distributing free copies :D

Read WHY WE MASK with Endnotes - includes working URLS so you can read the scientific papers I cited for yourself. Plus links for all the other resources, and a full transcript.

Download WHY WE MASK - Free PDFs to read, print, and share! Any donations go towards print copies &/or local mask blocs.

Can't get enough free printable COVID zines? Check out @newlevant's excellent What's Up With COVID & How To Protect Yourself: 2024 Ed! It was a huge inspiration in the final stretch.

Extra pages under the cut:

[lastoneout]

Actually am still kinda pissed that my fiancé's psychatrist evaluated him for anxiety and said he didn't have it but then was like "in the future I'd like to see you make enough progress with your anxiety that you feel comfortable taking your mask(N95 not neurodivergent mask) off" and didn't seem to care when he explained that his fiancé(me) has several severe chronic illnesses and immune issues so we both do what we can to ensure I don't get sick with any illness, not just covid. Like does he have anxiety or not?? You can't have it both ways buddy!! And like it or not protecting a vulnerable person from getting sick is logical, YOU'RE the one being irrational here.

Like this is why I get pissed about mask(N95) stuff, people have legit fallen into some kind of thought-terminating cliché about covid and all other contagious diseases not being a problem anymore to the point that they think even sick people and their loved ones taking reasonable precautions to protect their health is a sign of anxiety and paranoia. I truly do not get it. Like it's one thing if you personally don't want to wear a mask(N95) but at least leave people who do alone, but legit acting like people like me are insane for doing something that makes perfect sense is turning me into the Joker. It doesn't even work to say "oh I have asthma and allergies and the air quality is bad today" or "I'm having an important surgery soon and need to make sure I don't get sick" like they think wearing a mask(N95) AT ALL in any circumstance for any reason means you've legit lost your mind.

I genuinely feel like the government suddenly started hiding all the national car crash statistics and insisted in tons of press conferences that crashing your car is actually perfectly fine and not a big deal at all and wearing a seatbelt isn't something healthy people need to worry about, so now everyone thinks it's silly to wear one and every time I do I have to deal with people implying or outright stating that I'm legitimately mentally ill and need an intervention.

[probablybadrpgideas]

Due to concerns about shareholder profits, kingdom being actively ravaged by death-spewing hell dragon adamant that the death-spewing hell dragon is actually pretty harmless, and also that the death-spewing hell dragon has been dealt with and everything's fine now, and also that the death-spewing hell dragon doesn't exist.

[battlecrazed-axe-mage]

So you know how covid blocks your sense of smell and taste? Not me apparently. To me, it has granted sense+; I am smelling and tasting colors previously only perceivable by shrimp. Which tbh isn't a bad thing exactly, but boy sometimes I get a whiff of something (like the little pot of veg and mushrooms included on the side of my noodles just now) and it is Very Smells

[chanafehs]

IM COVID FREE

[fellshish]

I’m not even impressed that we’re nearing another new year already tbh everything since covid is just a thick goo of “years since covid” soup to me

[ohgodimafraud]

Cw for covid discussion. Scroll now to avoid.

I’ve seen like 4 ppl making statements w honestly shitty takes of like wowwww why are ppl vague posting D: why are people naming OP. (Sometimes the same person like which do u want) Wow why get upset about someone saying they PLAN to go out and spread disease. Not to mention their dad was going out driving around and taking no precautions while contagious w covid and it’s possible op wasn’t the only one infected.

Ppl are out here basically saying “Fuck u disabled community my feelings are hurt for some reason even tho I’m not even the ppl you’re talking about (I hope??).” Sorry that some ppl took it super personally and decided to defend that person’s behavior. It’s also not just that one person. Literally I remember a fetishist YouTuber sneezing all over in a thrift shop on purpose into her hands and touching stuff during like 2021. I’ve seen people being like please make content of yourself while you have covid. Please make content of yourself going out with a cold and sneezing on stuff for real not j a scenario. I remember ppl on blue forum saying wow I bet we can get more fetish content from the pandemic.

Wow it really bugs me seeing this on snzblr :((( wah wah wah. I had someone intentionally bring covid to my job and I reported it and nobody did anything and ppl got sick. Write ur horny fics and scenarios but don’t LARP it with random non consenting people Jesus Christ.

[artemis-pendragon]

Not my roommate stomping upstairs and slamming the door in annoyance after I told them I'm gonna wear a mask around them because they had a COVID exposure LMFAOOOOO literally am I insane. Like am I going insane. How are THEY annoyed at ME.

[sunsetsnz]

cw: covid

coworker just said she has covid and i was just working with her yesterday. for hours. all up in each other’s space (because certain areas of my workplace are confined, and it’s basically required). for fuck’s sake man.

[wishuponastarion]

WELP it was a good 4 year streak of not having covid, and honestly it's not as bad as it could be, but aaarrrggghhh why does it have to include bone hurty???

[sennamybeloved]

hey all! i'm not gonna be super active for the next little bit because i have covid and it's absolutely kicking my ass.i can barely sit up, let alone write this. i'm still peaking at everyone's selfshiptober entries in the meantime! feel free to keep tagging me :)

[chanafehs]

I unfortunately got Covid (fully masked and vaxxed but I still caught it) and I’m not feeling great - does anyone have any good teas or home recipes they make when they’re sick? Open to all suggestions

[fellshish]

hot take maybe but perhaps the illness outbreak in david tennant macbeth is a sign that they should just not do stage door anymore

[clovesnz]

CW mentions Covid

Does anyone have any advice for…believing Covid tests?

See, I was exposed to Covid last Friday. But then on Saturday I had to spend the day with someone with an active cold. Now I’m sick.

I keep testing negative on rapid tests, I’ve taken one every day since my symptoms started three days ago. But I’m also not that sick…just a sore throat and body aches. Since I’m not very sick, and my Covid tests are negative, and I did get exposed to a cold too, everyone keeps telling me that I should keep going out and being social and going to work and stuff. But I can’t stop being terrified that I’m actually spreading Covid to everyone and it’s freaking me out.

My city doesn’t have pcr tests anymore* so I can’t get one to confirm. Idk I’m probably being paranoid but I just feel really yuck :((

*future clove edit this turned out to be wrong thankfully I just wasn’t searching hard enough

[artemis-pendragon]

Exposed to covid again last week and have a slight sore throat it's so over for me 😭

[callmeend]

Might have covid.

That’s not cool

But I will make me know why I feel like SHIt