James, 

Rough mask update. Note a federal judge just this week I understand issued an order lifting the mandate.

early evening Manhattan subway, 9 without masks out of ~75-80 on board. This is within the parameters I've seen the last few weeks and month or two, which surprised me because—talking my Manhattan train here, there's been no mask fall-off with the spring good weather—if anything a 1-10% increase.

Concert at msg

Several squads of cops, including a squad of horsemen, no masks outside or even on an overwhelming majority inside

Walked mask free and made a beverage purchase in moynihan federal Amtrak part of Penn. Staff unmasked. Civilian s mixed. Marked Security masked.no interaction witnessed

Signs, including electronic scrolling signs still giving notice/demanding mask wearing.

No mask on LIRR conductor while on  Outstanding. First time. 

No announcements over the pa system. These announcements were getting, to me, strangely more vehement and frequent over the last month or so. Like live, repeated announcements to still wear mask per "federal law."

Two NYPD walk the train—this is unusual, their presence at all I mean, both fully masked up.

Passengers girls, suits, mostly masked.

Btw afro Americans are split. I'd guess the majority of mask-free afro-ams are middle class or lower, but there's no consensus uniform type thing that I can detect. Like three girls who appear to be friends or peers will get in board dressed similar and be split 2:1 masks no mask or vice versa. 

With euro-ams it's more apparent to me. Like I think I can get a better read on 'class' for lack of a better word, or job or politics, even religious background. But afro-ams I'm basically clueless.

Not sure if I noted before but the afternoon construction worker crowd—significant percentages- has been blowing off the masks as soon as possible trip-wise for months now. like testing the enforcement limits. All masked up in the station but totally freeing it up at some point on the trip. like ok, I've been working one of the most dangerous jobs,  breathing fumes all day, asbestos, who knows what, now I'm drinking a beer, I'll take my chances at this point and if the guy doesn't say anything the fine

Also the 'ambiguous ethnicity' zone people—that swath from north Africa through the med and middle east to the Punjab or so, I'm guessing they're thing is just whatever's gonna help me avoid a police interaction. Like they're the ones now still most likely to—these are my impressions opinions—most likely to be doing the mask below chin or nose thing. 

Chinese. East Asian. Forget it. Still masked.

Ok, a little rough but it's been a while.

Oh, ps there are still some people wearing masks in parks.

PPS and in church, including priests.

Be well, 

Crux

Addendum and clarification:

Re the construction workers, i shouldnt’ say they’ve been ‘all masked up’ in that way which suggests all of them have been fully wearing their masks in Penn station. No, they’ve fallen off that greatly over the past several months and are one of the leading demos’ maskless everywhere. But they’re also a leading demo —apparently to me, willing to take it off on trip. I’m remembering a situation where I witnessed basically a car-load of them unmasked as the commenter train was ~an hour or more outside of the city. Unfortunately I either noted that in an a email (?) or can’t find it in my diary.

But elsewhere in my diary:

Tuesday, April 11, 2022: 

Lots a people on the Q still wearing masks; there’s an ethnic, sex thing. Asians: Almost All; ethnic ambiguous zone (no. Africa - Middle East, Stans - India Caucasians with black hair who get tans) varies, but often a guy will have it on, just off, below his chin; like, i will obey the law but cheat when i can. Whites, greater variety, but much less nose moves; if it’s off it’s all of, not there. Blacks, varies. Like whites in that some are all off, but overwhelmingly on. Mexican-central americans —women yes, men less so. By profession the construction looking guys are most off. But the big surprise is the number of announcements, vehemence, citation to “federal law” and apparently to me still high levels of mask usage —like above 80%, approaching 95% in certain circumstances like on the subway or amongst certain demo’s in confined public spaces —thought I’m not sure I’d call large parts of penn station ‘confined’ 

Friday, March 11, 2022:

....subway still masked up, but more cops and city workers doing the nose thing. [.... omission about cops] Construction workers are over it, significant percentage down, and off masked. Conductors still masked, but not really doing the look away thing. 

…

Sir Crux, a look at masking at the end of media plague seasons, over the past two years has been instructive as to the morphology of our funerary overcult. This has been a very useful social experiment.

The following observations were made between April 6 and May 1, on trains and in train stations and hotels. Both of these venues are hospitality settings, with the train mixing in arthouritarian [cerebral alert: I have tried to spell this word 9 ways, and have failed to have the computer recognize it as English, so am giving up. An eye seizure is starting.] elements necessary for managing herds of meet puppets in a mass transit setting.

April 6-9, Mass transit: Denver-Chicago

Automated Audio announcements threaten travelers with fines, felony convictions, travel banning and arrest for not masking:

-Conductors unmask when out of contact with public

-Police, Africans and Amish are not made to mask up

-Europeans, Asians and Mestizos are made to mask up

[I expect to see this hierarchy of enforcement returning with the return of masking in September and in broader contexts.]

…

After the lifting of the mask mandate

April 30, Saint Louis to Chicago

-Rural Missouri, chain eatery employment advertisements focus on smiling while masked as a prime employee value in adds that offer $500 signing bonuses for fast food clerks.

-Hotel, staff masked 100% except for bar tender, among guests only upscale Euros masked

-Hotel TV shows employment commercials for medical, educational and corporate employers that focus on 100% masking as a good behavior,

-Station, staff unmasked, passengers unmasked except for some Africans, Asians and upscale Euros,

-Train, 1 of 8 crew masked, a woman, 25% of passengers masked

-Chicago station, no staff masked, 10% passenger masking [only Asian, African and upscale Euro]

-Train to Pittsburgh, no crew masked, 25% of passengers masked [all African, Asian and upscale Euro]

May 1

-Pittsburgh station, no staff masked, 30% of passengers masked, all kinds

-Train to Philly, no crew masked, 75% of passengers masked!, the further east the more masked

I am retaining my mask supply for use on Baltimore buses, where I expect masking to be required and for the return of masking in September, which will be largely privatized and will focus on enforcing masking among Euros. The staff and crews of Amtrak hate masking and mask enforcement duty. I expect that those staff will be sent into a crisis if a new mask mandate is put into place due to The MegaDomnicron plague.

I am wondering if social justice groups like Auntqueefa might organize masking militias for NGO enforcement in the dying quarter of this year.