Have you tried doing any of this? Because I have, frequently, along with a bloc of like-minded people, a "mask bloc" if you will, and for 6 years very consistently the attitude among individuals attending protests, demonstrations around my city, and the various organizations that participate in them has been that I am secretly a fed trying to sow discord, I'm bougie for still caring, or that I'm simply a wrecker to be disregarded, and at best, they will tune me out.

Not to be a dick, but it kind of sounds like you all need to refine your approach to talking to people about masking and figure out how to develop a lot more patience because pushing people to change is really hard.

I agree that we need to be better about masking, I agree that orgs could put more emphasis on encouraging people to mask at their events, but it's also true that we have limited attention and resources. Realistically, we need disciplined and well organized pro masking groups to show up in coalition, with other groups, to provide resources and education in a conducive way.

Meeting people where they're at honestly sucks, but if we actually want to reach them, what alternative is there?

[–] mononoke 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Not to be a dick, but it kind of sounds like you all need to refine your approach to talking to people about masking and figure out how to develop a lot more patience because pushing people to change is really hard.

We have had 6 years and many, many events to refine and tailor our approach. I can tell you with confidence there is no approach that works better than any of the others. If there was something, anything that worked, we would know and would be doing it by now. We've tried being militant, we've tried being patient, we've tried "meeting people where they are," and all of this has had the same efficacy and staying power: zero. We provide everything along with guidance, and we are ignored while business goes on as usual. We give the means to independently assess and handle risk to each individual or group, and we are ignored while business goes on as usual. I am all ears for any actual experience you may have with this!

[–] gayspacemarxist@hexbear.net 2 points 3 days ago

Health interventions are tough, and they kinda go on forever. I wonder if this kind of work could be best approached as a community health project, like a community clinic type thing. Rather than focusing on getting people to adopt covid protocols, focus on getting people involved in addressing the healthcare needs of marginalized and disabled people in the community. That way you're pulling people into a context where they're asking for training to be able to safely assist their neighbors and struggling together to improve health outcomes in the community. This might not be exactly the focus you're looking for, but I think there's a broader issue that forms the backdrop of the general apathy towards covid safety. I bet there are multiple mutual aid groups in your area who would be open to expanding their services to include basic health training and care.