COVIDiots

[TimT]

Some people really do need to be dragged off to covid detention camps.

[S209]

98 new cases. Running close to 100 for several days now. I believe these are the highest official numbers since the beginning of covid.

600 or so people jammed into the chasunah I’m at now.

[AsherO]

 

[TimT]

He’s just a plain old idiot. Long before COVID.

[Yonah]

Not sure if non Lakewood stories are allowed in this thread.

1) a guy who does a car service on the side gets a request to take someone's father to the airport. He's been extremely careful and asked a couple times if he had any symptoms or was exposed and was assured not. A few days after the trip, the driver comes down with symptoms, tests positive and gets hit really hard. It's out of commission for two weeks, but recovers, B"H. The person who commissioned the ride tells him, by the way, how hard it was to get his father in a flight even though he had covid.

The driver demanded he receive payment for lost wages while he was sick, the guy refused, but agreed to have the case heard by a rov. The rov about lost his mind calling the guy a borderline rotzeach. He paid up.

... as he should.

2) someone who throws an annual party, but scaled it way down this year due to covid. 11 people at the party got covid, and all the party guests had to quarantine. Dozens of families were shut down, unable to go to work, etc, not to mention all the people that got sick.

Turns out someone came to the party after testing positive because, and this is a direct quote, "I didn't want to stifle my lifestyle."

So this is a 'scaled' down party and 11 people got sick which means that there were probably well more than 11 people there.  Looks like the person throwing the party is to blame because they didn't want to 'stifle their own lifestyle'.

[Yehuda57]

... as he should.

So this is a 'scaled' down party and 11 people got sick which means that there were probably well more than 11 people there.  Looks like the person throwing the party is to blame because they didn't want to 'stifle their own lifestyle'.

Keep in mind this is in a neighborhood that is running basically as if Covid doesn't exist. So a scaled-down party was a significant sacrifice for which the organizer got mocked for.

[Yonah]

Keep in mind this is in a neighborhood that is running basically as if Covid doesn't exist. So a scaled-down party was a significant sacrifice for which the organizer got mocked for.

Hopefully his sacrifice didn't sacrifice the lives of his guests.

[Traveler718]

Things like this certainly aren't going to help the situation in Israel (or anywhere else): A group of maskless Chareidim on an El Al flight had forged negative tests that they were overheard talking about. Upon arriving in Israel and being retested, at least 11 tested positive for Corona, and now dozens of fellow passengers are in quarantine:

https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/S1sQLvMMO

[Lurker]

Things like this certainly aren't going to help the situation in Israel (or anywhere else): A group of maskless Chareidim on an El Al flight had forged negative tests that they were overheard talking about. Upon arriving in Israel and being retested, at least 11 tested positive for Corona, and now dozens of fellow passengers are in quarantine:

https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/S1sQLvMMO

Vile. If I say anything more, I'll be called an anti-Semite.

[YitzyS]

Vile. If I say anything more, I'll be called an anti-Semite.

No, you can, and should, say more.

[aygart]

Vile. If I say anything more, I'll be called an anti-Semite.

That depends on what more you say. I would fully support them being prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law including damages to all those in quarantine and all of their financial losses.

[Lurker]

I don't have any eloquent to say, just raw and personal feelings. Although I grew up frum, and currently consider myself frum, I spent most of my adult life not frum. Never in my life have I been so disgusted and disillusioned with the frum world. I know that's a broad generalization, and I don't mean to throw everyone under the bus, but it's too large a percentage of Orthodox Judaism, from the leaders on down. And I don't want to hear about any other group. This isn't a competition. My friend just lost a baby due to premature birth while his wife was hospitalized with Covid. These people are wearing tefillin while dancing on Jewish graves. Babies, parents, grandparents. I don't care about risk levels and comorbidities or any of the other garbage. The complete callousness and disregard for life is revolting beyond comprehension.

[YitzyS]

I don't have any eloquent to say, just raw and personal feelings. Although I grew up frum, and currently consider myself frum, I spent most of my adult life not frum. Never in my life have I been so disgusted and disillusioned with the frum world. I know that's a broad generalization, and I don't mean to throw everyone under the bus, but it's too large a percentage of Orthodox Judaism, from the leaders on down. And I don't want to hear about any other group. This isn't a competition. My friend just lost a baby due to premature birth while his wife was hospitalized with Covid. These people are wearing tefillin while dancing on Jewish graves. Babies, parents, grandparents. I don't care about risk levels and comorbidities or any of the other garbage. The complete callousness and disregard for life is revolting beyond comprehension.

+10000 on the sentiment, though I don't see what you are seeing.

Those who disregard the safety of others in such a dramatic fashion, that they forge documents, are dangerous criminals. However, I don't think they represent the frum world. Yes, there are too many people who don't care about others' health. But there are so many, yes, even here in Lakewood, who do care, and I talk to them all the time. It's just that those who are in the open are the visible ones.

[Euclid]

+10000 on the sentiment, though I don't see what you are seeing.

Those who disregard the safety of others in such a dramatic fashion, that they forge documents, are dangerous criminals. However, I don't think they represent the frum world. Yes, there are too many people who don't care about others' health. But there are so many, yes, even here in Lakewood, who do care, and I talk to them all the time. It's just that those who are in the open are the visible ones.

Do they care enough to make themselves uncomfortable? Talk (especially reactive talk) is cheap.

[Lurker]

+10000 on the sentiment, though I don't see what you are seeing.

Those who disregard the safety of others in such a dramatic fashion, that they forge documents, are dangerous criminals. However, I don't think they represent the frum world. Yes, there are too many people who don't care about others' health. But there are so many, yes, even here in Lakewood, who do care, and I talk to them all the time. It's just that those who are in the open are the visible ones.

I'm not going to dive too deep into this, because ain kan hamakom, and I'm not in the right headspace for it. There is undoubtedly a large segment of people who do care, probably even the majority. That people care about life shouldn't be a chiddush; it should just be the standard. My feelings stem from the percentage of those who don't care being too large. And not just the riff-raff, but in leadership, as well. This case is egregious, but that this isn't shocking anyone is telling. We've seen this over and over and over again for almost a year now. We're supposed to be better than this. What are we teaching that so many just don't care? Where is the disconnect? I don't get it.

[Dan]

I'm not going to dive too deep into this, because ain kan hamakom, and I'm not in the right headspace for it. There is undoubtedly a large segment of people who do care, probably even the majority. That people care about life shouldn't be a chiddush; it should just be the standard. My feelings stem from the percentage of those who don't care being too large. And not just the riff-raff, but in leadership, as well. This case is egregious, but that this isn't shocking anyone is telling. We've seen this over and over and over again for almost a year now. We're supposed to be better than this. What are we teaching that so many just don't care? Where is the disconnect? I don't get it.

It is mind-boggling that chumra of the month club extends to everything besides COVID. Would love to hear a cogent explanation for it.

[dasmo801]

I don't have any eloquent to say, just raw and personal feelings. Although I grew up frum, and currently consider myself frum, I spent most of my adult life not frum. Never in my life have I been so disgusted and disillusioned with the frum world. I know that's a broad generalization, and I don't mean to throw everyone under the bus, but it's too large a percentage of Orthodox Judaism, from the leaders on down. And I don't want to hear about any other group. This isn't a competition. My friend just lost a baby due to premature birth while his wife was hospitalized with Covid. These people are wearing tefillin while dancing on Jewish graves. Babies, parents, grandparents. I don't care about risk levels and comorbidities or any of the other garbage. The complete callousness and disregard for life is revolting beyond comprehension.

I also have nothing eloquent to say, just raw feelings so please take my comment in that spirit.
I live in Lakewood. I have been very critical of people in my community who have chosen to be meikel with pikuach nefesh. I was one of the last maskers in my shul. That said, your comment above suffers from intellectually laziness. It is simply much easier for us to just view the world in black and white and acknowledging that we are generalizing does not excuse the laziness.

The fact are that even in a community like Lakewood, where the overall impression is that "covid was over" since the summer (or earlier), there are many who are still careful. And even among those who are not being fully careful, there is still a broad spectrum ranging from "I will wear a mask to shul if i have a cold" to "I only stay at weddings for under an hour". Total and complete disregard for the lives of others to this extent (forging covid tests to get on flight, while being positive for covid) is taking this to an entirely different level and cannot honestly be lumped together with the other attitudes mentioned above.

[Lurker]

I also have nothing eloquent to say, just raw feelings so please take my comment in that spirit.
I live in Lakewood. I have been very critical of people in my community who have chosen to be meikel with pikuach nefesh. I was one of the last maskers in my shul. That said, your comment above suffers from intellectually laziness. It is simply much easier for us to just view the world in black and white and acknowledging that we are generalizing does not excuse the laziness.

The fact are that even in a community like Lakewood, where the overall impression is that "covid was over" since the summer (or earlier), there are many who are still careful. And even among those who are not being fully careful, there is still a broad spectrum ranging from "I will wear a mask to shul if i have a cold" to "I only stay at weddings for under an hour". Total and complete disregard for the lives of others to this extent (forging covid tests to get on flight, while being positive for covid) is taking this to an entirely different level and cannot honestly be lumped together with the other attitudes mentioned above.

Again, I don't intend to make as if this case is representative of everyone. But, no one saw this story and was shocked. Disgusted, but not surprised. This behavior is extreme, but the attitude is very prevalent. My feelings didn't start with this story.

[Dan]

We had a walk-in into our unmarked shul, where as per state law, we have a mask policy.
When we handed him a mask, he cursed us out as apikorsim, katnei emunah, controlled by the government, etc.

I asked him if he wears a seatbelt, and he said of course.

No further questions.

[Lurker]

We had a walk-in into our unmarked shul, where as per state law, we have a mask policy.
When we handed him a mask, he cursed us out as apikorsim, katnei emunah, controlled by the government, etc.

I asked him if he wears a seatbelt, and he said of course.

No further questions.

I've heard this story first-hand from no less than 4 different shuls. Beis Menachem in Miami has had this happen multiple times.