More fun on the VCB. I've been in two minds about writing about it, as it's tough to do so without identifying people and the funny idiosyncrasies they have on there, with their green screens and backdrops. I can't tell you without breaking the THINK test - and although it's neither untrue (T), unhelpful (H), nor uninformative (I), it is perhaps unnecessary (N)... and I do worry about it being unkind (K).
They're all keen on masks though. And they're all keen to point out that they've all been wearing masks out to the shops since lockdown began. Very keen.
This is the new rule now - in a couple of weeks we'll be fined for going to the shop without a face mask. Fined and shamed with each glance across the aisles.
It's reminded me how much the advice and the science have changed. At the beginning, there was some inconclusive discussion about whether masks did anything at all; now they're the law of the land.
Similarly, there was a thing about the virus taking a toll on the over 70s - still true of course, but there are many many more cases of younger people contracting it, and having a rough time. A few months ago, I think most youngsters imagined themselves pretty much asymptomatic at worst.
There are also people who've recovered but still have ongoing issues - that wasn't known at the beginning. It's a pretty horrible thing this virus. And there's much more we didn't know, and still don't know, that might change our behaviour again. It's always good to keep up with the latest.
One thing that did emerge on the Virtual Coffee Break today though, was the point about wearing masks to protect others. It occurred to me that this lights up a subtle difference between the whiners who believe it infringes their rights, and the wearers, who don't want to accidentally spread a deadly contagion. The VCBers agreed.
By the way, did this happen with seatbelts? Were there people who refused to wear them back in the early 80s because they were so restrictive of their liberty?
The subtlety is in the art of putting your fellow humans ahead of yourself. I don't want to catch it, not just because it's horrible and I might die, but also because I might not know I've got it, and I could so easily pass it on to someone. The mask is for your protection first, mine second. I found myself resolving to think that way from now on.
I wonder what the world would be like if we all thought like that?
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