I’m gonna let you all know now that I have VERY strong thoughts all over the place, so now that you know that, please pause all your hate thoughts and hear me out!
I’m the last person who wants to be a Kondescending Karen on all of this. You obviously are free to live your own life, free reigns, go wild. No one should be telling you what to do, so if you feel attacked by this in any way, please know I don’t mean it in any harm.
I know I’m not the only one in the pool of people scrolling through IG Stories or through my Instagram feed and see something… different. Something a bit similar to life before Shelter in Place. It’s kind of like, once mandatory lockdowns/shelter in place was lifted, many people assumed we can run free?
But hey, remember when we were all scared AF to head out of the house, sanitizing every item, running for the toilet paper (still don’t get that one but here we are)? Did the pandemic change since then? No? I think it got worse.
But here I am still scrolling and seeing a bunch of people in huge groups, maskless, without a care in the world. Here are some examples.
You’re out with friends with your masks on
Great! Having masks on with your friends is better than no masks at all, at least. Socially distanced picnics, anyone? Count me in. NGL, I still think twice about it but at least we’re being safe, right?
You’re out with your friends with no masks on
And I’m not talking about just taking them off for the sake of a good photo. I’m talking about all up on your IG stories, partying in your backyard less than six feet apart with no one who lives in your household… K…*
*I also understand that people are now allowed their own kind of social bubble. But how does that work when everyone could have different friends in different social bubbles? I digress.
You’re hanging out with friends/family with no masks on but you all know you’ve been quarantining
This one is diff. You know specifically where everyone’s been and you’re the only people you guys see. i.e. me and my boyfriend that live in separate households Again, you’re being smart about it. But I think Dr. Fauci would still enforce masks on as much as possible and fight Future who says masks off. (omg, wow I’m freaking hilarious)
You’re going to restaurants
… I have major feels about this one. I know that it’s open, and it’s great that we’re helping businesses, but is it really worth it to sit down and risk catching COVID? Do you really need someone to serve you versus serving yourself? I still opt for taking out versus eating in. I don’t know, but something about it doesn’t sit well with me. It might have to be with the fact that some workers might not even have a say! What if they don’t want to be working, but because of the money, they have to. They’re putting themselves at risk just as much as you are.
You attended a considerable event/went out to different places, wore a mask each time, got tested right after
You’re doing it right, chief. I fully understand we’re called to attend things bigger than us (i.e., BLM protests). But, do your due diligence–quarantine yourself for 14 days and get tested.
I got in a huge text conversation with my friend about this topic, and as I said, I’m no one to stop you from living your life. But, science doesn’t fucking lie, you guys. Cases aren’t dropping. Lives are being lost.
Here’s my take on seeing this on social media
- Okay, if you’re gonna hang out with people (sans masks), at least at the very least, have the common decency to not post about it.
- If you’re VERY inclined to post about it, wear a mask at least and social distance to show you’re trying and not be inconsiderate
- Don’t be all up everyone’s ass about the pandemic and the cases and do the exact opposite and go out, disregarding everything you said. That’s what irks me so much!!!!!!
But that’s the other thing, right? Social media is so fickle because we only post what we want to show. Say you’re outside going balls to the walls, and you are getting tested, yet you only post 1/2 of that? How am I supposed to know? Again, why are you supposed to prove yourself? It’s only what I see is what I’m judging from, so doesn’t that make me f*cked up to assume?
As I said, this blog post is all over the place because I’m trying to consider all things.
Am I bitter because I’m staying at home while you guys are outside, living your best lives? Yeah, honestly, maybe. Of course, I would love to be out and about. But here’s the difference, you might have the privilege to go out, and I don’t. I live at home with my mom, I don’t wanna put my mom in jeopardy. Just thinking of that scares me.
But we can all agree…
The whole disease itself is scary. There are threads of people who caught COVID and shared their completely different experiences. I personally know at least 6 people who have/had it, all different side effects. And let’s not forget the prolonged side effects that stick with you.
You may be young, and you may be asymptomatic. In that case, great! But don’t forget you can still pass that shit along to the next person who isn’t asymptomatic. COVID is still spreading and fast.
Be safe, guys. Make great choices, not good. Get tested. Stay quarantined. Keep each other safe by staying socially distant. This disease is honestly not going away anytime soon.
