I wear a mask or not for the purchase of my food -My question for the moment- What is your opinion ?

[Color]

Masks are mandatory in stores and small shops and in public transportation here in Croatia. I'm wearing one when I have to, on which I wrote "Corona is a fraud".

All over the path around the lake Jarun (favorite destination for all the capitol city's population to go to, through the week and especially during the weekend) there are sprayed printed sings on the ground with that very same message, only in Croatian 'Corona je prevara' It appeared over night about a week ago and since I'm at the lake daily, never fails to put a wide smile on my face! I will take a photo of it next time I pass by. :)

Watching the reactions of others is interesting. Some are cheerful and approving, some are indifferent and some just roll the eyes. Most people are not pleased with "new normal", but still largely obeying the rules. There is also some question raised about sheer legality and unconstitutionality of the decisions made from non elected quasi-political "National crisis HQ" but nothing concrete so far. One thing that I'm noticing is that elderly ladies are much more prone to align with new rules and I'm still figuring why!?!

From what I have learned about our history as a 'nation' (tribes which migrated to this area, from where exactly nobody seems to agree till this day ;)) and what I've observed so far in my life, we are quite a contradictive bunch! We were conquered and submitted again and again, through out the history, by so many empires that we should wholeheartedly apply for some Guinness record in that area! But then again, through those oppressions, we still seemed to thrive, producing exquisite minds and hidden movements of people gathered in mutual cause for the common sense and plain good heart.

I know this may sound as a distant song of the long past endeavors, always ruined by some new ruler of the land, and I'm aware how today's Croatian land is a heavy mixture of many other 'tribes'. But still, there is something about this lil piece of Earth and people who were born to it, something which I wouldn't trade for any other place that I've traveled to, or lived in. I spent so many years running away from Croatia and it's people only to find myself being pulled back, with a strong sense of love and belonging. Finally. The circle is closed. :)

All this talk reminds me of one story which I can't find anymore online, about one lady from Iran who had to escape with her family to the USA in order to survive, cause their lives were threaten from some political party back home. That story happened many years ago, when the USA was still considered The Land of the Free. After few years in America, she begged her husband to go back to Iran, no matter the very real and immanent danger for their lives, explaining it how she feels the freedom the USA gives her is like a Satan's paradise! She would rather go back and be killed for what she finds to be a True living than to live even a second longer in the society which approved of everything!!!

Sorry for the digression; about the 'old ladies' you've mentioned- I observed the same phenomena, my mother being one of them. But also, even in greater numbers, the young girls in Zagreb. I've concluded it's the gender issue, in general. And I find it to be the same all over the world. I have many thoughts about how and why this came to be, but that's a whole other topic of discussion. Briefly, it's about converting the strong connection with higher emotional energy centers of female gender into a source of food. Something along those lines...

 

[manitoban]

Well the mask mandates appear to be accelerating around the world, as usual in lockstep and it looks like they are really going to push this on just about everyone on the planet. And it seems at this stage of the game, in order to feed ourselves and maybe even keep our jobs or our friendly relations with co workers, neighbours etc, we are forced to comply with ridiculous, nonsensical rules like wearing a useless muzzle. It is truly maddening, but for most of us, we may not have any choice about wearing the mask, but what we do have is the choice of how we look at it. We can choose to view this as a form of conscious suffering whereby we use this suffering as a means to gain control over our machine, our negative emotions, and in general our ability to foster self control and stoicism.

There is also the aspect of strategic enclosure, which the way things are going and people's deteriorating mental state, we have to consider the possibility that any second wave of covid will be blamed on anti maskers. People are so nuts that who knows what they'll do ? Of course, some people's individual situations will allow them to protest in various ways, but for others this may not be a prudent option.

I've had to wear a mask a few times lately for short periods, and I enter the store wearing the mask and immediately pull it below my nose as soon as I'm past the mask enforcers. No one has said anything about that as of yet. Like others have said, I also feel anger, frustration and resistance but I've been trying to focus on paying attention to these emotions, just observing them and letting them pass by. It is far from easy to keep all this in check, and yet it could be seen as a golden opportunity for growing mental strength and will. I certainly don't find this easy myself, but I guess like all lessons, it has to be hard and difficult in order to be worthwhile.

 

[Chu]

I agree with others. If the cost of not wearing a mask out of principle is too high, and I need something (supplies, medical visits, etc.), then I wear it and be done with it quickly. At this point, it is not so much the authorities, as people themselves enforcing this nonsense. So, I'd rather save "rebellion" for where it may come in more useful than at a shop full of sheeple. They may try to take away all your freedoms, but you can remain free of spirit. Becoming a martyr and paying a fine every day doesn't seem very smart to me.

 

[Color]

Why not have your food delivered to your house?

Here I have everything delivered, every local store and grocery can deliver what I want for a small fee and sometime free, so I never have to wear the "mask of submission"™.

Well, it's never as simple as it appears on the surface of things. I can answer from my own current position, just to give you some 'food for thought' :)

1) I don't own any credit cards cause I don't want to, I prefer cash. I suspect sooner than later I will not be able to avoid it, since all of this is obviously leading into a cashless society. But for now I am free from it.

2) I like to see with my own eyes and to feel with my own hands exactly what I am buying. That makes a whole world of difference to me when buying food, but also includes other things such as appliances and tech, decor, tools, close (which I want to try on first) etc.

3) I dislike malls and huge stores, but find it quite enjoyable going into a local small shops where I live at the moment or while I travel. I always end up talking to someone there and having fun, which sometime even makes me forget what I came in to buy in the first place or end up finding some new thing to buy which I treasure many years after.

4) In my own experience, being essentially an extrovert, but was pushed into becoming a heavy introvert (through my upbringing and many other aggressive experiences with an 'outside world') I had to fight so many programs within to come to this existence in time, when I am somewhat allowing myself to interact freely with the world around me. And NOW they are telling me to be scared again and retrieve and hide into the 'safety of my own home' and to retract again from the world around me. I don't think so! Won't do!!! If I have to wear the damn mask in order not to get into a serious trouble with the law or even not to be physically attacked by some of the controlled human robots, then OK! I will do it! It's OK, cause I understand the difference between being so scared of the world around you that leaves you completely paralyzed, unable to act in any way for your own benefit or the other's, and the fact how this world is facing a downfall of the empire of lies, which have been served to us for few millennial; how people are going nuts unable to deal with it all and how if I want to keep some ESSENTIAL FREEDOMS in my life I will have to go along with some current craziness of the deceit tactics of it.

That's about it, fwiw, from what I could gather and conclude, in my own (more or less) common sense. I hope it gives you a wider perspective of what's at stake at the moment, on one's personal level as much as on the global one, at the time.

 

[Adobe]

The ancients are screaming at me from the grave, and it’s getting louder.

It was regularly taught by family, churches, schools in our culture to stand up for yourself! “What are you going to do, jump off the bridge just because everybody else is doing it?” “The human race goes crazy at times and everyone run off the cliff…don’t go with them!” Stop and think, and do what you believe is the right thing, come what may…

And here I am wearing a mindless mask lumping along with the “crazed” herd. My parents, grandparents, and relatives all the way back to medieval Europe...are they watching me and shaking their heads in disappointment?

When this craziness started, I felt that, this is the world I’m living in, but this is not my fight. Then I consulted the I Ching and it said in so many words “lump along with the herd it is not the time to stand out.” Then the C’s with strategic enclosure. My network was in agreement to hold and be still (socially speaking). But, for how long?

Soon there will certainly come another shift, then reassessment, and then…? TPTB could bring this shift, as well as the universe/nature. But for some the shift is happening now, and it’s an internal shift. Just how much they can take before snapping. In the last week I’ve watched several people just lose it and became violent, just screaming non-sensical vitriol. Many people I know have doubled down and are running for the cliff to jump. I actively work now and not getting into fights, verbal or physical. And the mask is part of that.

This is a most complexed exam, and it’s certainly like walking on the razors edge knowing what to do in what situation while everything is shifting. If I wasn’t confident that this is a school and an exam is being conducted, it world be much harder to handle. Its final exam week and most people don’t know it, and that’s what I try to remember as I watch people coming apart around me. This also seems to be the great harvest, and everyone is choosing their future trajectories, or having it chosen for them.

 

[Color]

The ancients are screaming at me from the grave, and it’s getting louder.

It was regularly taught by family, churches, schools in our culture to stand up for yourself! “What are you going to do, jump off the bridge just because everybody else is doing it?” “The human race goes crazy at times and everyone run off the cliff…don’t go with them!” Stop and think, and do what you believe is the right thing, come what may…

And here I am wearing a mindless mask lumping along with the “crazed” herd. My parents, grandparents, and relatives all the way back to medieval Europe...are they watching me and shaking their heads in disappointment?

I'll bravely state how I fully understand what you are talking about! Often recently I remember this video bellow and it's message, although it has nothing to do with my ancestry. But the message of it resonates through my soul as an echo of the long lost times when reacting impulsively with one's inner Truth and Understanding was a proper way to live. All or nothing!!!

I believe most of us here on the forum resonate with that long gone reality, no matter if we actually lived through it physically, back in the day, or just 'remembering' it as a collective resonance of Truth. Obviously we all have a lot of trouble dealing with the excess of the latest events which are playing on our strings of 'righteous action'. I witnessed people going at it, full strength, to 'fight it all', based on those exact feelings and they all lost the battle, one by one, they were almost instantly defeated!

Seems to me this is clearly another level of existence/lessons where one still has to keep all of those previous knowledge of right and wrong in mind, but MUST take into account this particular times we live in, tailor his/her own actions/attitudes accordingly in a smart way, not as a betrayal to those Truths we knew and fought for long time ago, but as a strategic enclosure of approaching our true enemy of ignorance and contractions into the darkness, with the True Ending of this current battle in mind! Hope this all makes sense...

Here's that video (which I admire with all of my heart):

 

[Alejo]

I’ve been wearing it where I am required to and I do something similar to other people who have posted here, the way I play it is I approach the stores with it hanging on my hand... and I stare at the enforcers... for as long as possible and then I put it on... I greet them...”good morning, how are you doing?” They greet back... but I open my mouth enough so that it pulls under my nose and I continue to walk :P so far... it hasn’t garnered any attention.

But if it did, I’d just play the forgetful part and simply say something like “oh my gosh! You’re right..” and pull it slightly up. Then as soon as the doors are open to leave the store I take it off and walk away with it in my hand.

At work it has been interesting, I have a boss who loves to be loved and so jumped on the “compassionate” bus, he’s been enforcing it to most people, but not on me, some of us protested that we’re getting headaches and so we’re not required to wear them at our desks and people naturally (even if they’re for them) have gradually expanded the definition of “my desk” where I’d say most wear a mask 40% of the time or less and mostly when the boss is in, certainly not as often when there’s a trip to the printer.

Cliques have also developed of mask wearers and non mask wearers, that’s interesting to observe. It has been rather comic at times when the maintenance guy, who my boss wouldn’t mess with because he’s no pushover, walks in to collect the trash or clean without a mask on. Us in the non mask wearing clique always laugh at this, our joke is “here we were safe from the virus for one week and lo! Billy just killed our impecable record!” This to highlight the ridiculousness of the very idea of asking us to wear a mask and wipe clean the printer and open the office fridge with a napkin and dispose of that napkin immediately after, in a place with decent public traffic, shared public restrooms with offices and business who don’t have the same policy as us, it’s like a silly microcosm of our planet. I have joked about his intentions to save the planet and go green while making us waste a ton of paper every day, all he said was “well... priorities” xD

My favorite definitely was one day when I was sitting, without a mask on, at a conference table and my boss sat across from me and two other people joined in. He had a laser measuring tool and so we were playing with it. So I joked, “oh you should totally measure if we’re keeping safe distance!” He agreed and we were in fact keeping safe distance... whatever that concept is... so we all joked “oh man! That poor virus must be sitting in the middle of the table completely pissed off at us! Not knowing what to do! Poor corona! All it wanted was to come to the US to seek a better life!” My boss laughed uncomfortably.

So, I shared the above because, it’s one of the best ways to respond to ridiculousness: strategically, and this is crucial, keep your sanity by admitting it’s comically dangerous. I wouldn’t suggest anyone risk their livelihood by making fun of an authority, but you need some mirth in life to keep your sanity, so whenever possible enjoy the show, be strategic, be smart, and know your limits, sometimes all one can do is outwardly agree without loosing integrity.

This idea of integrity is very important, I just finished reading Sebastian Haffner’s Defying Hitler and in the chapter where he discusses the indoctrination training he went through, he made it abundantly clear how easy it is to loose this integrity when the right conditions are pushed at us. I won’t go into detail, but in that chapter he described the immense difference that it made for those in the training to be forced to wear nazi uniforms, it broke the recognition ability that people had to know where they stood in relation to one another. That chapter feels a lot like today, who can we talk to? Who that is wearing a mask is against it? The mask wearing I think has a deeper impact on our psyche, and our ability to relate to one another, it’s a great tool for division too.

So having said that, so far I have opted for fun as the way to remind myself the ridiculousness, and to remind myself of my integrity. It’s a “foolish” compliance, and so far I’ve done it when absolutely necessary, that’s it, although it may change.

 

[Chu]

I forgot to mention that like Gandalf, some of us wear thin masks. I made some with very thin fabric (not as transparent as Gandalf's but thin enough to let more air in). And the elastic is not super tight. Most people don't care, and they allow for much easier breathing. I keep the elastic kind of loose, and only one authority has reminded me to pull it up a bit. The rest of the time, it's just there and nobody complains. Oh yes, I did meet a nazi at one hospital who asked me to remove my mask and wear a "proper" one (i.e. the surgical kind). But as soon as I was let in, I put mine back on and no doctor or medical staff said a word.

So, IMO that's a good compromise. Wear the darn thing if it makes your life easier, but also make it easier on yourself by not making your breathing difficult. It's just for show anyway.

 

[gnosisxsophia]

The mask wearing I think has a deeper impact on our psyche, and our ability to relate to one another, it’s a great tool for division too.

So having said that, so far I have opted for fun as the way to remind myself the ridiculousness, and to remind myself of my integrity. It’s a “foolish” compliance, and so far I’ve done it when absolutely necessary, that’s it, although it may change.

My heart certainly goes out to all of you (and yours) suffering under this ridiculous BS, thankfully where I am something we're yet to experience.

Personally I think I'm going to have a REAL problem with it... should be interesting.

Please give your maintenance guy a wink when you see him next, sounds like my kind of guy

 

[Deleted member 4320]

I forgot to mention that like Gandalf, some of us wear thin masks. I made some with very thin fabric (not as transparent as Gandalf's but thin enough to let more air in). And the elastic is not super tight. Most people don't care, and they allow for much easier breathing. I keep the elastic kind of loose, and only one authority has reminded me to pull it up a bit. The rest of the time, it's just there and nobody complains. Oh yes, I did meet a nazi at one hospital who asked me to remove my mask and wear a "proper" one (i.e. the surgical kind). But as soon as I was let in, I put mine back on and no doctor or medical staff said a word.

So, IMO that's a good compromise. Wear the darn thing if it makes your life easier, but also make it easier on yourself by not making your breathing difficult. It's just for show anyway.

Nothing better than being your own mask producer!

 

[Revolucionar]

I'll just quote the post I just made on the main Corona thread. In short, you can definitely get away with not wearing the muzzle here in Croatia (I'm sure similar rules apply elsewhere), but I will not go so far as to endorse such behaviour. This is my personal choice and you have to weigh things out for yourself.

Hi everyone,

I've taken a long break from this thread and the whole corona craziness, but I have been keeping up with the discussion here more or less (more "less", than more:)

As has been mentioned, Croatia has instituted mandatory masks in shops etc.

I personally have not had to wear it yet even though I've been in many establishments since.
The first instance was a petrol station. I went in to pay for the petrol only to be told that I need a mask. I said that I can't wear a mask because I have asthma (this is semi sort of true, because I did have allergenic asthmatic bronchitis throughout my childhood up until I started smoking) so I can say it without feeling like I'm lying. The guy said, okay, but only because it's the first day of the new measure being introduced.
After that I went into two more petrol stations on the same day (we were travelling across the country) and I just went in, sans mask, and did my bidding. No one said a word. I didn't even notice people giving me strange looks even though everyone else had a mask on like a good citizen.

Day later I went into a bank where I had some business to attend to and again, no issues. No one said a word. The bank teller was a young woman with a mask on, of course, but she kept fiddling with it and took it off completely several times only to put it back again after awhile. I could sense that she wanted to say something about it, but she didn't. I might be a bit intimidating because of the way I look, but also because I wear my unmasked face with full confidence.

A day later I went to a supermarket with my wife, her parents and my baby son. I was pushing my son in the cart to enter the store when an employee (whose job seemed to be exclusively to make sure everyone complies with the new rules) almost ran towards me from 10 m away and made a gesture to indicate my needing to put on a mask, thinking I didn't speak Croatian. I calmly approached closer and told him I couldn't wear a mask because I had asthma. He said, you have what? I have asthma, I replied. Oh, Okay then, and he waved me in.

After all that I went into at least three other grocery stores and several petrol stations and no one said a word. Nothing.

During all this, I have only seen a couple of people not wearing masks (not including small children) and that was in petrol stations with no customers at the time.

So guys, it seems that it's pretty easy to not wear a mask here in Croatia. Just go about your business like you're doing nothing wrong and if anyone says something about it, calmly explain that you have asthma and can't wear the muzzle.
If you have asthma, you are exempt from wearing it. The department of public health website says so.

I do have a mask that says COVID-1984 Muzzle, so if it really comes to that, I'll wear it with glee.

On the other hand, at least 60% of the people I know down in Dalmatia where I'm from don't buy this crap at all. I was surprised by many of them holding this contrarian opinion, while there were many that I expected to be aware of the truth, at least to a degree, that are buying the narrative. It's weird. Reality is truly splitting down the middle.

Other than this, what else is there to say? Things have gotten really crazy, the measures make no sense at all. People are free to do almost anything they want, but they have to wear a muzzle in stores and banks and such. But not in bars. Or on the beach. Or anywhere else.

I just pity the waiters having to wear these health destroying, dignity annihilating contraptions on their face all day long.

 

[Gallo]

Hello everyone.
I am French.
Our masters have been forcing us since Monday to wear a muzzle in all closed places.
So I no longer go to closed places. It's finish ! For the best of all, and mine, I boycott all supermarkets, doctors and other shops. To eat, I go to the outdoor market.
I think it's very important that we assert ourselves on this subject of the mask. Shame on our generation, shame on us, our current means of rebellion is not to wear a mask ...
In 1939, we were forced to denounce the Jews. It was the norm. Everyone was following. And today everyone is crying scandal over this period. Hey guys, the same is happening today! But it's worse, because our choice is to no longer consume like donkeys, not to send our brothers to the slaughterhouse. The choice is much easier than 60 years ago ...
Believe yourself free to protect yourself, I am not free so I make my choices.
You have to listen to your instincts.
I have been worried since March, because I feel manipulated, betrayed, slave, even more than before. I want to throw up, and it's not a picture, when I see all these masks.
Let's unite, it's not that complicated, refuse the muzzle and boycott the controlled places.

Peace and strength.

 

[Miracle]

There's the Gestapo types now that are emerging and these are the ones that'll call you out and demand you have an airtight lock around your face.

Even more disturbing are people like me who have to enforce mask wearing while working in a restaurant to ensure job security when I most certainly do NOT think it is any of my business to tell a customer to wear a mask like I'm their mother! Better yet, I have to look upset and angry at customers who do not wear masks to 'blend in' with my coworkers! Time to work on my acting skills... Blending in might be the best defense when your friends, family and coworkers start reporting people to the authority!

 

[Pecha]

I do food delivery part-time and it's been mandatory to wear a mask inside of restaurants for a while now. It is rather unpleasant to have to wear outside, but I feel like it's a good practice of external consideration—making it easier on others lest I draw the ire of the public, and that's always a drain for both parties. Of course, as soon as I make it to my car I rip the thing right off!

The reduced air-flow doesn't bother me as much as it used to. The decreased flow mimics breathing during meditation, and according to studies done by James Nestor on nose-breathing, this type of slow inhalation through the nose and out does wonders to the parasympathetic nervous system and relaxing the body! Now, the hard part is getting the internal world to sync up with that...

 

[Gary]

My current stance on this issue is to use a printed face covering exemption card or show one on my phone. I have to wear a face mask for my part-time job in a care home already and I am not prepared to do so for shopping - unless I have no choice. Although it is mild I do suffer from asthma (have prescribed inhalers) and as such will be using the 'breathing problems' exemption card, which should suffice when attempting entry to supermarkets and other shops on Friday when face coverings become mandatory in the UK.

This isn't a significant act of rebellion I know, just pushing back a little against yet another totalitarian measure. If I am asked for further proof I have stored on my phone the UK Governments exemption list:

You do not need to wear a face covering if you have a legitimate reason not to. This includes:

• young children under the age of 11
• not being able to put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability
• if putting on, wearing or removing a face covering will cause you severe distress
• if you are travelling with or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading to communicate
• to avoid harm or injury, or the risk of harm or injury, to yourself or others
• to avoid injury, or to escape a risk of harm, and you do not have a face covering with you
• to eat or drink, but only if you need to
• to take medication
• if a police officer or other official requests you remove your face covering

Also I have information that hypoxia (decreased oxygen) from wearing masks may be a "forerunner to fatigue, weakness and serious diseases like cancer" - which is 'risk of harm' to oneself I would say.

Just to clarify, I have no intention of paying the fine (£100) and would either make a dignified exit if requested after presenting my case (if necessary) or wear a face covering and continue shopping. I fully expect however that most store employees would be satisfied with viewing an exemption card.

A UK police chief has called this policy ‘absolutely absurd’ and said it will be ‘impossible for enforcement’. We need to choose our battles wisely for sure, and there will be more important issues coming soon I suspect to 'make a stand'. But this may be a great learning opportunity - for some with an aversion to confrontation or non-compliance and those who need to learn to comply sometimes. It is 'situation specific' of course and we all have different lessons to learn.