Comment on Face masks made ‘little to no difference’ in preventing spread of COVID: study
Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 5 weeks agoI feel like you’re the kind of person who’d argue against seat belts and airbags because they sometimes kill people instead of help. And against helmets when riding bicycles.
I’d be more willing to have that argument than this because those are mostly too protect oneself rather than others, like masks do.
airrow@hilariouschaos.com 5 weeks ago
those are interesting examples to discuss!
I’ve never gotten in a crash, so wearing a seat belt has had a wasted opportunity cost. We have lost x amount of time wearing seatbelts that could have otherwise been ignored with no consequence. I think they’re fine for some speedy areas but probably able to be ignored in slower areas especially (shouldn’t be required for adults certainly by law). But again, if I never wore a seat belt throughout my entire life, it wouldn’t have affected me, but wearing one has wasted lots of time in my life.
Bicycle helmets you may be aware aren’t really used as much in countries like the Netherlands; the biggest danger is being hit by cars so if you can get away from cars that reduces your chances of injury the most. Also helmets only protect up to 15 mph, so they’re not really going to help in a lot of crashes. So actually there are some cyclists who advise it is “safest” to not wear the helmet, or negligible for safety. Another danger is motorists drive more dangerously around helmeted cyclists. Also there are many more head injuries driving, and there was a push for “motor car helmets” at one time, but it never caught on. The logic therefore goes that since people don’t wear helmets while driving a car, and they’re more at risk then, that cycling without a helmet isn’t really more dangerous and so it’s fine to cycle without a helmet. Cheers
Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Yep, there goes the last of your credibility.