You Can't Always Get What You Want

Some of my peers are hugely dissatisfied. 

With everything, really.

And if they aren't currently dissatisfied with something, you can be sure they will find something to be dissatisfied with. Like private businesses enforcing mask-wearing on their premises even though the governor has been bullied into saying it's okay now. Or the fact that healthcare and schools and public transit still require them. Or that we don't have in-building learning for as many hours a week as our neighboring districts. As though butts in seats in a school building is the only useful criterion for learning.

Look, folks, my kids hated distance learning, too, and they aren't particularly good at it, either. As per their usual, Abby coped and Liz complained, but they both made it this far. And although Liz is having issues even during hybrid - she has gone a bit (more) feral, lol - they are still doing okay. I like to think that this is because I was focused on how to help them cope (see below) more than I was on who to complain to and about to get things "back to normal." Normal wasn't great either.

They will get through this.

They have been through worse.

But there are a number of my peers who are so focused on their kids not having The Perfect High School Experience (or Perfect Middle School Experience, or whatever) that they are behaving poorly to other people. This is, of course, their perception of The Perfect School Experience, which is probably only loosely connected to reality even when we were not in the midst of a global pandemic.

I didn't have The Perfect School Experience.

Did you?

And if not (and I understand wanting your kids to have it easier and better than you did) why on earth do you think that the usual round of sports and dances and teenage drama as seen in the movies is The Perfect School Experience?

These people have actually threatened people, doxxed people, and tried to get people fired for not providing (their expectation of what should be) The Perfect School Experience during a global pandemic.

This is not how rational people behave.

Nor is it how ethical, moral, or reasonable people behave.

I mean, I understand vaccine hesitancy, especially when people have been bombarded with incorrect (and also correct-but-rapidly-changing) information. It's too new, or it's a different kind of vaccine, or it has a scary acronym in it that sounds vaguely like DNA, or they didn't test it long enough... these reactions I understand. I don't agree, but I can understand. Change is hard and scary and real. And that's okay.

But the people who will use those scary bits of misinformation and combine them with reluctance to mask up? Or count heads and determine acceptable losses in their own minds? Or think that death is the only bad outcome? Or even lie about their vaccination status? Those people scare me.

I've heard horror stories, too.

There are people who claim to be vaccinated so they don't have to wear masks in public spaces. They are liars.

There are people who claim to be vaccinated so they don't have to wear masks in private spaces, like their clients' homes and businesses. They are liars.

There are people who proudly say that they are not vaccinated, they won't wear a mask, and you can't make them, nanny nanny boo boo. At least they are honest.

There are somewhat more reasonable people, of course, who are uncomfortable with vaccination but are willing to mask, stay out of public spaces, and stay away from people as needed.

The thing is, though, our governor saying, "You don't have to wear the mask in most public spaces (excluding healthcare, schools, and public transit) if you have been fully vaccinated plus two weeks waiting period," is not the same thing as "Masks off, everyone!" 

And yes, I do still trust the science. I don't trust people who grasp every opportunity to willfully misinterpret it as "I do what I want."

And most businesses where people (usually other customers, not business owners) are being assholes about those of us playing it safe and wearing our masks are not public spaces in any case. The majority of them are private businesses that can still kick you out if you refuse to mask up.

And that is their right.

And honestly, their responsibility.

Maybe that's what it comes down to; people want their rights but are unwilling to behave responsibly. Duty is a thing too.

Me?

A picrew cartoon of me, a pale woman with green
eyes, brown hair with grey streaks, and 
a blue shirt & grey cardigan, wearing a
neurodivergent rainbow infinity button.

I'll be here at home when I'm not working, helping my kids with their homework, keeping them occupied by indulging their arts and crafts and online interests (Lizzy taught me to use Picrew today!), and staying away from people when I can.

And when I can't stay away? Like when I go to Abby's high school graduation ceremony? I'm going to wear the mask my friend Sharon is making me. 

I trust science.

I don't trust YOU.