I had to drive around town for a few essential activities today and I was blown away by the lack of masks. I went to a Culver's, car dealership, and a gas station. Only Culver's staff wore a mask. I saw over two dozen normal people without masks. Am I weirdo for wearing one?
Posted Jul 10, 2020, 1:55 AM UTC
I went to the Roseville Target and The Source today. In Target all the employees and a very large percent of customers were wearing masks and the Source won't let you in without a mask.
god bless those nerds
Hijacking for visibility:
Minnesotans are the country's worst mask wearers (edit: among states with at least four million people). Source.
I believe this may be a product of Minnesota Nice (or as its alternatively known, passive aggressiveness). We collectively do not confront antimaskholes, so they continue without them. It's time to start asserting ourselves, as inappropriate as it feels to our delicate Scandinavian sensibilities.
Minnesotans are not the country’s worst mask wearers.
Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, South Dakota, and Wisconsin all report a lower % of US adults in each state who say they wear a face mask when in public. Source.
Edit: You’re edit is also wrong, as the data in your source only compares 20 states with populations over 4 million.
The following states have a population greater than 4 million and were not included in the analysis: Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky, Oregon.
My family lives in KS and I can confirm almost NOBODY wears masks where they live. It's wayyy worse there than (from what I've seen) here. My mom is a dental hygienist and says people give her shit about the masks so much - they even complain that she wears a mask while working on them!! She's always wore a mask when with a patient, even before covid.
u/CaptainForbin didnt even read their own source, it says
As an aside, note that Minnesota has the lowest self-reported rate of mask usage among larger states in the US. This is interesting because the state is home to a large population of Scandinavian-Americans and Scandinavia has some of the lowest rates of face mask usage in the world.
That's from May. I wonder if the discrepancy is based on the methodology or the timing of the surveys. I'm sure some reddit scientist will be along with some inaccurate conjecture any minute.
I've got a couple issues with this data because I'm pretty familiar with the problems in survey-based data and public health as well.
I'm not saying Minnesota is the best by any means, but according to this source Minnesota is the lowest in reporting "Always" wearing a mask in public. "In public" includes going to the beach, the park, out for a walk - all things that we've been told we don't really need a mask for as long as we're social distancing or keeping to those we're living with. There's a lot of open space in Minnesota even the Twin Cities so we can get away with that better than people in larger cities.
Second, if you only wear a mask when you're going to the grocery store weekly but not when you're walking the dog daily wearing it "sometimes" or "rarely" is actually pretty damn good from a public health perspective. I personally am much more concerned with the people who report "Never" than who don't report "Always".
I personally am much more concerned with the people who report "Never" than who don't report "Always".
That's actually a really good point.
Are you familiar with the actual methodology here, or just skeptical of the results?
Man. I live in Georgia, the state that elected Brian Kemp, and it feels like the majority of people here seldom wear masks. I can't imagine what it's like up there. Kinda surprised. Though the rest of my family lives in Hutchinson, and my mother has yet to wear a mask. I just assumed that was small town behavior, and expected it to be different in the cities.
he only won after widespread voter suppression. Its a good sign when they have to cheat like that to win in one of their likely R seats.
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The alternative is people dying unnecessarily. Grow some nuts.
Yeah I'm going to definitely trust a source from a morally bankrupt company /s
You’re edit is also wrong, as the data in your source only compares 20 states with populations over 4 million.
The following states have a population greater than 4 million and were not included in the analysis: Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky, Oregon.
Roseville Target is one of my only frame of reference since this all went down. I would feel weird in there without one.
Roseville is the biggest pile of overeducated liberals in the state. Also Roseville has a massive boomer percentage.
The Source also has a sign that says the Roseville police mandates the mask, for whatever that's worth. The cub on Larpenteur has all the employees and about 50/50 customers with masks. I have actually seen customers swear off of cub because they don't mandate masks. I don't blame them.
Ah the source!!! I still miss the old building
Stopped in Wal-Mart today and it was about 50-50. I try to shop at times the store is practically empty so I can put good distance between me and the maskless. My GF works at a care facility so people would likely die if our household unknowingly got it.
Makes me want to go and buy something from The Source
I got a couple of board games. I'm super lucky to have a partner who likes to play too.
Good 2-person games? I'm all ears.
Patchwork, 7 Wonders Duel, Splendor, Jaipur
I'll use the formatting I use on r/boardgames so it's easy to read.
Hey, That's My Fish. It's a tiny game about moving penguins around ice flows as they break up and trying to get more fish. It has a cute theme but is a cutthroat game. Especially meaningful for me because my partner and I played it on our first date.
Onitama. It's a chess clone, but the way the pieces move are detirmined by cards dealt at the beginning. Whatever move you use is put in the middle and then you take the other middle card. I love the idea of giving my opponent a reply to the move I just made.
Race for the Galaxy. Play cards so you can conquer planets and/or build a trade empire. You pay for cards by discarding other cards so it's all about opportunity cost. Warning: this game is VERY heavy on symbols instead of text. If you want a lighter version of this, Roll for the Galaxy is an excellent dice version.
Marvel Champions. Each player gets a deck of cards that represents a Marvel hero and you face off cooperatively against a deck that represents a Marvel villain. You can also customize the decks so you can play as Spider-Man with a focus on defending and waiting for the right time or maybe you want to focus on having a deck filled with allies who help you out. Also is an excellent solo game.
Overall, I put these in order of least complex to most complex, at least in my opinion.
I recommend Hive! It's a little bit like chess in that it's a strategic back and forth game where you try to surround one piece.
Pandemic Legacy.
Patchwork and Jaipur are are great and instant classics. Hive is amazing if you like thinky strategy chess-like games. Azul is beautiful and very tactile with big chunky candy like pieces and can play up to four, but is wonderful with 2.
Patchwork for sure! My wife and I like Sagrada a lot. Gene at the Source recommended it to me and that man knows what he's taking about.
I’ve never even heard of it until now. I’ll be stopping by though.
Ah shit the source was my jam back in the day
Seriously. I wanna just walk in for the nostalgia dopamine overload.
No, you are absolutely not a weirdo for wearing one. You care about the health of yourself and others, so thank you!
Thank you! Masks seem like an intelligence indicator, which makes me feel snooty...but damn y'all.
So I'm not sure about intelligence, but I have noticed wealth seems to be a factor. When I'm in nicer neighborhoods I see a vastly higher percentage of people wearing masks, and less so in poorer areas. I'm not exactly sure why, but in my experience it seems to be a thing.
I don't wear one when driving generally, but do put it on when I get to the store (usually as I'm walking in the lot)
I don't wear one when getting gas - unless I plan on going in.
And I don't wear one going through the drive through.
I’m with you, although I just started putting one on in the drive thrus. I figure the person working is no further away from me than a cashier at target, so I need to put one on.
Sounds completely reasonable. Same things I do.
Cub Midway, Mississippi Market Co-op in St Paul people are 90% masked. Went to a TMobile in Richfield and they told a person to leave that walked in without a mask
Mississippi Market has a requirement to wear masks to go into the store - I haven't seen anyone inside without a mask.
So does the entirety of Minneapolis and St Paul
Target in Midway wasn't requiring masks yesterday when we stopped - they are 'highly recommending them', but not turning people away -- though at Mississippi Market I've seen people turned away if they don't have a mask.
Honestly the fact that a place with a pharmacy isn't requiring masks... facepalm
my close friend is one of the people working the entrance there. "thank you for wearing a mask" and "welcome to target, please consider wearing a mask for your next visit" is the only thing she says, all day. she also keeps a count of how many patrons are in the store, sans mask, with a device.
As a mask wearer living in Minneapolis I can assure you that that is not accurate. We have more wearing them but it's definitely not full compliance.
No it is accurate that they have ordinances in place, they just have no teeth to make companies comply.
I was at midway cub yesterday afternoon. They do have a sign on the door that says they require masks, but inside the store it was maybe 60%. Last weeks trip to the target next door was slightly better, but super busy as normal. I actually started buying a lot of groceries at menards, they're still the only store I've seen an employee ask a customer to put a mask on past the front door, and menards actually has a decent amount of non perishable groceries.
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Lack of masks? I think it’s quite the opposite from my experiences. I see a vast majority of people wearing masks at places like Target, Costco, Cub, Lunds&Byerlys, Five Guys, etc... I’d say that for every 10 people I see with masks, 1 person is without.
My experience is about 60/40 in the opposite direction.
EDIT: NW burbs, not including Costco since they mandate it.
Bachman country is Trump country.
I said NW burbs, not Emmer's district in the NW boonies. Dean's district - Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Brooklyn Center/Park...
A couple trips as far South as Plymouth and saw the same there each time.
Coon Rapids went for Trump in 2016. Granted, it went for Walz in 2018.
Regardless, people from the boonies are going to come shop in the outer suburbs. That includes all of the places you listed. Also, some people might just feel safer out there because the early outbreaks hit the denser areas of the cities hardest, maybe? But given the polling on this issue, it's far from ridiculous to compare mask wearing to electoral maps.
Go inside the 494/694 loop and the mask situation definitely changes drastically.
I’m out in the Bachmann/Emmer intellectual cesspool. Why the hell did I move here.
It’s cheap?
So the part of the state notorious for being the most conservative....
Crazy. SW burbs, STL Park, Golden Valley all seem to wear masks. like at least 90%.
Depending on where the item is that I need, I see a contrast. For example, Home Depot’s in the SW burbs north of the MN River (EP, Bloomington, Richfield), most people have masks. HD in Shakopee or Burnsville - not nearly as many.
Ive noticed mask use is very much tied to location and socioeconomic status.
You go to stores out in the burbs and beyond and almost nobody is wearing a mask. The more urban you get the more mask usage you see.
It's almost like suburbanites think this is a race issue, and they are safe in lily-white Woodbury.
I’ve had the opposite experience. I see people wearing masks at Lunds and Byerlys but not Walmart, for example.
Same here.
I think it is tied a lot to city and suburb too. I saw many people wear masks at Lunds and Byerlys in Minneapolis, but less in Lunds and Byerlys in Burnsville. I see more people wearing a mask in Minneapolis except on UMN campus quite a few don’t compared to Lakeville where people are out and most won’t wear one.
This is probably true. I haven’t gone out a ton but I’d say it’s ~50% mask usage in Eagan. I was surprised more by the number of workers not wearing them too. Like 1/3 Walgreens employees when I was there last.
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I had to go to the Eagan Home Depot Wednesday. The number of mask wearers was probably around 50%. It seemed like fewer people were wearing them than before.
Can confirm. Went to Woodbury. I was the only person in a mask. People kept approaching me really closely to talk as I backed away. I'm scared. Why aren't they at least a little scared/concerned?!?
Cub in Woodbury has a around 90% mask usage that I’ve seen.
How is socioeconomic status tied to mask wearing?
Rich people assume if they get sick the doctor will make it go away. Poor people don't go to the doctor.
Almost everyone in Edina is wearing masks. Liberal rich people wear masks it seems.
I believe Edina passed a city ordinance requiring masks in all public places
Normally I would agree with this but I was at the Woodbury Whole Foods today (granted at 2pm on a Thursday) but I saw 100% masks while I was there. Not a single unmasked asshole. I left feeling warm and fuzzy. Obviously the weekends are different but I was encouraged today.
That's different because they actually enforce mask use as a corporate policy. Most red hats wouldn't be caught dead there anyway.
Been making trips out to Lakeville for work.
Everywhere I went was busy with people and had zero masks. If it starts spreading there it's going to go nuts.
Yup, Shakopee is maybe 10% masks. It's scary.
The politicizing of wearing a mask was such a big mistake.
Toss it on the enormous pile of Trump’s mistakes.
Not a weirdo...one of the smart ones who isnt selfish.
As a cashier...thank you for wearing a mask.
You’re definitely not the odd man out.
My job requires me to visit gas station chains in the twin cities/metro. Thankfully my employer provided all field employees with masks, hand sanitizer and gloves as a caution for store visits.
I probably visit about 50 stores per week. I haven’t seen a single gas station employee wear a mask. It’s frustrating to see that considering their level of interaction with the general population is higher than most.
In my experience, gas station convenience stores are probably the worst for mask compliance. Not sure why. Madness, maybe.
I think it's a reflection of the staff. It honestly seems like a lot of people have masks available and make the decision about whether to wear them or not depending on whether the employee behind the counter has one on.
Maybe it's just that people wearing masks don't want to go in to a store where staff aren't wearing masks.
I have stopped going to 2 different gas stations in the morning for this reason. It's terribly unsafe. The silver lining is that now I have been making coffee and breakfast at home rather than spending money every day.
Menards went back to requiring masks, thank goodness. If only they could go back to keeping children under 16 out.
Their "no children under 16" rule really pissed me off. My children and I were all masked but turned away at the door. I refuse to shop there anymore. That's an asinine and ageist rule. Children aren't the ones spreading it anyway, it's mostly the 21+ crowd. You should be much more concerned with the 35 year old who went to 5 bars this weekend than the kid who hasn't seen his friends in 4 months.
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You shouldn't be shopping as a group at all. Send one person to do it -- limit exposure that way.
How can a single parent with a younger child go shopping by themselves? I can't just leave my kid in the car. And no, it's not as simple as "go find a babysitter."
Children are the least germ cognizant and spacially aware little humans. I'm sure some are well behaved, but many touch everything, mess around with their masks, and invade others personal space.
I’m here to say that every Wells Fargo branch will require its customers to wear masks as of Monday 7/13.
Should have been doing that 3 months ago.
Have they been drive up & by appointment only the last since March? That's how my bank has been handling it
Better late than never.
I was there yesterday, which is the first time staff have been masked.
Now if they could do something about the crowd of people jammed into the anteroom waiting to get in, even better.
I'm from Wisconsin but spend a lot of time in the cities. Compared to Wisconsin, I think MN is doing a fantastic job with the mask situation. I was in West St. Paul today and saw people on their own on walks wearing masks. It was refreshing to see people taking responsibility. Whereas in WI, folks act like it doesn't exist. Please keep wearing masks. The number of cases is reflected by MN's responsibility and general decrease.
Edit: I take back the decrease comment as of this morning, but the increase is miles less drastic than WI.
I was in Wisconsin (barely across the border) last weekend and I went into a gas station and no joke some kid asked his dad why I was wearing a mask and his dad told him that I believed in the "corona conspiracy", clearly intending for me to hear him.
It's night and day as you cross the Lacroix, over there the bars are packed and you drive around and watch people just inhale from each other's mouths like there's not a pandemic on.
Yep. I'm from there and the MN deniers come over the border because WI isn't enforcing anything. I never go downtown on the weekends
The daily no mask post.
Tell your friends to put theirs on and these posts will come to and end.
When I'm outside walking, or driving, or away from others; no mask. But to enter any store I put one on.
iirc, both Minneapolis and StPaul still have mayoral orders for wearing masks indoors.
Means nothing if businesses aren't enforcing it. Which most aren't..
Please please please keep wearing a mask. My aunt passed from COVID 3 weeks ago. Believe in the medical science backing the reason why to wear masks and not dumb ass politics.
I've basically just given up on going to any stores but Menard's and Costco. Everywhere else doesn't seem to enforce masks. I'd like to support some smaller businesses but I've walked out of several when I went in they where full of people not wearing masks, and I haven't gone back...
The state needs to mandate mask wearing in public immediately.
I'm an avid mask wearer, but I think that's too much. If you can keep your 6 foot distance outside, no need for a mask during a walk. Indoors or crowded sidewalks, yeah, definitely a mask.
I can be in an empty football field, and someone will go out of their way to go within/under 6 feet of me.
I will leave MN if that happens.
Mask outside on a 95 degree day? No thanks...
IDK, most places have been pretty good, but I don't go a whole ton of places.
My job - required for entry.
Costco - required for entry.
Home Depot - pretty sad.
Gas station - stay by the pumps.
Co-op - almost everyone.
Bait shops - none.
Lakes - none, but more than acceptable distancing.
Wisconsin - terrible.
Trends - most without masks are 40+ or young white guys. On the whole though, most people are doing pretty good.
I'm more upset by the number of people going out and getting close to others. I fear the masks are imbuing some people with some sort of sense of safety. Others are doing it because they don't care. Masks help but they don't make it safe to go out, they make going out when you absolutely have to safer. The best thing you can do is limit your contact with others, don't linger in stores, take your food to go. I really don't see a benefit to having dine in seating right now.
That's exactly why I'm not really a fan of these non-medical masks. I get that they're a lousy substitute for N95, but they do somewhat help and they're the best we've got- the problem is that you're probably safer 6 feet away without a mask than getting in someone's face because you think you're invulnerable now that you are wearing a mask.
Half of the N95's I see have those outflow valves on them, which just concentrates your unfiltered exhalations. So even a lot of those don't prevent you from breathing on other people.
Plz continue to wear a mask . Thx
No kidding, right? I thought MN had strong education , but then I see all of these idiots without masks. Kids must have failed a lot of basic science in grade school.
It's not just a MN problem its a USA problem. Probably a mix of exceptionalism and hubris making people not wear masks. My mom has to work now, and its wild how many times people who visit do not wear masks at her office, and the level of excuses they make up. Alternatively, these people are probably looking at the others not wearing masks and think its ok not to. Probably not having a COIVD affect friend of family or just the consequences of their actions have not hit them yet or at all. if it's not a, "My rights are being infringed upon!" case, it's definitely a, "I just dont care" case, which really makes me fear for the future of this pandemic and future ones, but yes you are not the weirdo, and you are awesome for considering the safety of others and yourself.
Trust me MN is better than a lot of other places right now. I just moved from AZ where mask wearing is considered a communist act by way too many people.
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The truth is worse. Kids in MN dont fail they just dont learn anything and and pass anyway. Especially in outside of the metro. The schools are mostly fine but you can't teach stupid. Unfortunately you can't give stupid kids bad grades either unless you want to get lynched by their stupid parents.
Thing is we're doing so much better than most of the country right now. Honestly, every time I see MNtains say on Twitter or Reddit that "no one is wearing a mask!" I'm surprised because I rarely go out and see people without one.
its because wearing a mask has, VERY sadly, been politicized. Its freakin awful.
The weird thing is...why?! Because a doctor or professional days it but not supreme leader,who said he liked cool in one once, we must discredit. Ugh.
I’ll never wear a mask in a target lmao. I’m not near anyone and I self checkout. Pretending masks are doing anything in that scenario is hilarious.
I don't understand this sentiment. Why not wear a mask? It's not that difficult and it does make a difference. Even a cloth mask would make a more tortured path between you and the virus in either aerosol or droplet form. It won't be perfect but getting infected by a virus is dose dependent to exposure. The more virus particles that you get in your body the greater the chance that you will get sick. Also if you get infected with a larger dose then you will be more sick than you would have been otherwise.
Finally, it just signals that you don't care about the people in your community and that you would rather risk their health and shed more viral particles to prove some kind of point.
Please wear a mask.
Wear a fucking mask you goddamn idiot, it's not that big of a deal.