COVIDPHOBIA
I was recently traveling through Ronald Reagan International Airport, navigating my way around the busy Southwest terminal. I noticed several high-top tables with plenty of outlets, perfect for charging my laptop. I grabbed the last available seat that happened to be directly across from a woman who appeared to be in her mid-30’s, wearing a mask.
When I sat down and began to plug my laptop in, her eyes widened as if she was in shock. Immediately she grabbed her charger from the outlet and scooped up her bag then sped off. I generally don’t assume why people do certain things, but this seemed to be particularly obvious that she took one look at my unmasked face and scurried away.
Now, to give her the benefit of the doubt, I did not get the chance to ask her if that is why she sped away, but it does seem like the most likely explanation. The brief interaction got me thinking . . .
Will the Covid paranoia ever end for some people?
This woman was wearing a cloth mask, about to board a flying metal tube full of other unmasked people. What was the rational that justified her effectively running away from me?
The next question that came to mind was: how do respond to people after well over two years of this? Do we treat them as though their irrational fear is normal? Is there a time when we should start speaking up?
Quite honestly, if someone wants to wear a mask, that’s fine by me. An individual’s decision to wear a mask was never something I felt particularly apprehensive about. But this interaction changed my perspective. I don’t feel concerned because people don’t see the world the way I do; I feel concerned because people now more than ever seem to be totally untethered from reality, and that can’t be healthy for a society at large.
