Tag: Vaccinated

Justice

Job Advice: The U.S. Supreme court overturned the OSHA mandate. Now what?

Posted on by Karac Avalron

This blog doesn’t give medical advice as a normal practice. In terms of covid, the vaccine, etc., my best advice to my readers is to visit your primary care doctor and ask their recommendation. I am vaccinated so is everyone in my family, by choice, not by mandate.

So for my foreign readers a quick background. In the U.S. congress (state and federal) passes bills that once signed by the executive (state or federal) become law. The executive branch, in this case the president of the united states can issue what is called an “executive order”. Every modern President does this, it’s not exclusive to democrats or republicans. This practice falls under our constitution, article 2 which essentially empowers the executive branch to enforce laws.

So here we are in 2022. The last high profile order was the OSHA mandate that required employers of over 100 people to require that their employees be vaccinated or submit to regular testing. This was challenged in court and the supreme court upheld the challenge. Meaning the order is now non enforceable. There are a lot of nuances here I am not going to cover but that is the gist of it.

I don’t get it

So now what? As a U.S. worker what do you do if your employer still mandates a vaccine? Really there isn’t much you can do. You can get it, or you can be terminated. Most employment in the U.S. is “at will” employment, meaning either party can terminate the relationship at any time. However, there is one caveat that has to be noted in the current economic climate. The U.S. job market is red hot, essentially there are not enough workers to cover all the jobs available.

Sure the high paying high profile jobs may not be in abundance but in this scenario job openings filter upward. Meaning a supervisor is going to have to fill in for workers if they don’t have enough, managers of those supervisors have to fill in for the supervisors if the supervisors are filling in for the workers, I think you get the point. So as a worker in the U.S. you are in a leverage position at this point in time. Any employer who places a mandate on you runs the risk of losing you as an employee.

So what do you do? Below are 5 things you should do now as a worker in the U.S. to maximize your labor return in the current job market.

  1. Get vaccinated: Being vaccinated makes you a more desirable candidate for a job right now. Companies don’t want to navigate this mine field. This is an asset, and you should be vocal about the fact you have this asset.
  2. Update your resume: Do it now.
  3. See what’s out there: Even if the vaccine mandate issue isn’t a big deal to you, there are a lot of opportunities out there. Now is the time to explore the job market it is a sellers’ market, and you are selling your labor. You might make up to 20% more just by flipping jobs.
  4. Sit down with your current company: Now is a great time to bring up your future with your company. What you want to do where you hope to be. Again remember they need you, this is your chance to make progress toward a professional goal. This labor dynamic will not last forever.
  5. Diversify your skill set: There are so many side hustles now, so many opportunities to pick up work on the side. Companies are desperate for help, diversifying your skill set and learning new industries makes your personal brand more valuable in the future.

Some may say this is taking advantage of the current situation with a pandemic. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that it isn’t, I would be lying to you. I look at this as an opportunity. Let me put it this way. In life there are often people who are given a situation and will complain about it hoping someone will change it for them to make it more favorable. There are others who look at the same situation and figure out how they can best survive and excel.

Be the later in the context of your career. Believe me, if the situation was different and there were more people looking for a job then open positions these companies would squeeze you for as much as they could. The window on this reality is closing, Covid is almost played out. Carpe diem.

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Am I contagious?

A Follow up to my post – Comply or Else

Posted on by Karac Avalron

So this is a bit of a side track for this blog as I don’t normally do follow ups on recent posts. The post I am following up on can be found here. I have received more feedback than anticipated via email and direct message. A quick aside, it’s interesting as a creator to see the amount of people who actually look at your material far surpasses the likes on any given post. J

Let me say first there was one hostile person out of 6 who contacted me. The majority agreed with my post but wanted to emphasize a specific point. I’m going to make some blanket statements below that are meant to address the issues that were raised to me without compromising individual’s anonymity.

To the hostile person: I will never take responsibility for another adult’s emotional response unless I am specifically trying to harm them. I don’t know you. You were not a consideration in the post I made, how could you be? Again I don’t know you. I would encourage you to eliminate those people in your life you believe to be negative influences, if that includes my blog so be it.

To my friends in Australia: I only know what I see in the news and read online. I don’t in fact know how bad it is so it wouldn’t be responsible for me to pontificate about it. I hope you take some solace in the fact that there are millions of people around the world who are compliant out of convenience not out of agreement. The fact I chose vaccination was personal but as a gesture for you I will offer a brief explanation on my reasons. I have elderly people in my life who rely on me to help them. Putting them at risk of Covid would have been irresponsible, so I got the vaccine.  I had the choice, I was not forced (unlike you) if I had been forced perhaps my decision would have been different but months later, I am no worse for the wear. Get the vaccine, but keep the fight for liberty going.

To those who saw my comments on another blog: No “Comply or Else” is not a result of that interaction. Yes, that interaction influenced the post. My blog speaks for itself, I have been pro liberty since day 1 and If I see others who are not, I will give my opinion on it. I don’t regret any language used, I do regret that I was unable to articulate the point clearly enough so others couldn’t conflate some of the terms to inflame a narrative but I cannot control how other people think. This post and its context appear regularly on this blog, liberty is paramount, IMHO. We all use terms to emphasize a point, and when people chose to fixate on one term rather than the point it was trying to emphasize it’s a waste of time trying to convince them otherwise. More often than not, their mind is made up anyway. If I point at the sky and say “it’s blue” and the rebuttal is “no it isn’t, and “it’s” not an it” spending the next hour discussing what an it is, doesn’t change the fact that the sky is blue….

Am I being hyperbolic? Well yes to a degree, I won’t deny that. Nothing is absolute and sure “Comply or else” is clickbait but I stand by my prose. I think the cavalier attitudes around others freedoms is dangerous. I think healthy debate and a good examination of the issues, including nuances should be done. The environment (particularly online) is not conducive to that end so we do the best we can. This is the strength and weakness of dwelling in an online world.

My body my choice: This is specific to one person. I have no issue with this argument but correlating it back to an abortion argument is a fool’s errand. You are attempting to remove people’s emotions and argue logical points. I don’t dispute your argument; I think you are spot on but trying to convince an irrational person with a rational idea is a waste of time. I don’t have the energy for it anymore, good luck.

Conclusion: I’m not going to carry on with this beyond this post. I will read any messages you send me and comments here but I will never compromise your anonymity. If you are one of the people who contacted me privately you fall into one of the categories above and this should address the issues beyond our personal interaction.

I believe you should get vaccinated, but I believe you should get the right to choose to have it. Just like businesses should have the right not to serve you if you aren’t or chose not to serve you if you are. I believe we have become too reliant on “authorities” to tell us how to act and how to behave. Remember “no shirt, no service”? It was clear, concise and to the point and it was an agreed upon social contract. Be careful who you empower, it’s all abstract until you are the one who disagrees

Your Pagan Friend,

Karac

Warning signs from your child about anxiety

Posted on by Karac Avalron

Another anxiety piece on the blog today. We have discussed this topic at length here and one of the many issues in the anxiety sphere is how anxiety impacts children. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a child today, when I was a kid there was no internet everywhere, no smart phones, heck we just got cable but I concede I am ancient. Now? Any news you want, framed the way you want to see it is available 24-7. I wonder do the adults in the room who create these silos of affirmation and fear consider the impact on the very young?

I found a good article here that may help you recognize in your child some of the common behaviors for childhood anxiety.

From the article: “Basically, what we have found is that childhood anxious behaviors related to social isolation and sadness appear to carry risk for developing an anxiety disorder in later life” says Mr. Monk. “In contrast, behaviors related to situational fears and anxiety around adults do not appear to carry the same risk.”

The article does give examples of said behaviors but the gist of the article is the increased isolation of younger people has increased the likelihood of social anxiety disorders later on in their adult life. We already had isolation issues due to our increased reliance on the internet but we now have Covid 19. It’s reasonable to be fearful of the consequences of Covid, it’s a serious issue. The kids? They were out of school for months, many places don’t have group activities (sports, school functions, dances) and they are bombarded constantly with fear.

The poke for millions of people = Anxiety

Enter environmental issues, social issues, body issues, racial issues, gender issues… on and on and on and on. It’s no wonder kids are starting to isolate, what else are they supposed to do? They don’t have the resources, material and emotional to handle things any other way. Yes, they do have adults in their life that are supposed to help but where are we? Online in the social justice war arguing with anon people on twitter?

Maybe that isn’t you and that’s great, your kids are still exposed to toxic levels of information that are shaping their perception of others and the outside world. We used to be able to shield them better, now? They have access to everything instantly, it’s a scary new world and they lack the experience and wisdom to navigate it. Of course their anxiety is spiking. There are no easy answers here, no matter what though you have to keep talking to your kids and providing them a safe place to talk about their fears. In the end that’s one of the best things you can do, for them and for you.

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Anxiety and Post Vaccination life

Posted on by Karac Avalron

As individuals with Anxiety the Covid 19 pandemic has been horrific. It’s not just that there is one more thing to worry about, a virus that can kill, but it’s all the ancillary B.S. that came with it. Wear a mask, don’t wear a mask, social media fights, zealous government regulations, lack of government regulations on and on. No matter where you fall on the pandemic there was anxiety and stress everywhere you looked.

We now have vaccines, something that is way ahead of schedule. Most vaccines take years to get approval, like it or not we can thank Trump for getting it produced early even though the distribution was a mess. The point here is we have a solution to the problem. What now? What happens after you get the vaccine? Is it back to normal for you? Not by a long shot…. I found a good article here That discusses the issue of reentry, which is yet another pain point for those of us with Anxiety.

From the article: “The new guidance said fully vaccinated Americans can gather indoors without wearing a mask or social distancing. It also states those people can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one household without masks, unless any of those people have an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Those people do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms. However, the CDC still urges social distancing and masks while in public or traveling.”

It’s a fairly short article with a news video report attached, it is from a local news station not a national one. The point they are making though is that despite the CDC guidelines above, everyone should still be careful. As individuals with anxiety we have to be diligent about our triggers. As an example I am not fearful of this virus as many others are but I am respectful. I wear a mask, I keep my distance, I wash my hands I am mindful of other people.

stressed-out-woman
Anxiety is still spiking around the world.

There are many, millions who think this is all B.S. they do not believe the threat is real and they are vocal about it. Just as vocal as those who rail against those who don’t think masks are important. It’s just another flash point in the social war currently being waged in western society. We are all neatly placed into “us” or “them” and depending on where you go you’re either a villain or a hero.

Of course those of us with Anxiety? We are screwed either way because now as this clears up you will be exposed to more people and their cavalier attitudes for either side. I imagine for the next year you will still see people wearing masks even though many are vaccinated. Taking a shower at the gym? That will be interesting, how will that work? When will that be allowed? On and on.

If you suffer from anxiety be diligent. Stick to your routines and if possible get vaccinated ASAP. We are in the beginning phase of reopening and reentry. I know many places already have, but with a vaccination out there (3 to be exact) more and more places are going to open up and you might be triggered. The end of this is closer, and the isolation and fear are beginning to ebb. You are doing great, one day a time. Hang in there, things are getting better.

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