STRUGGLES
IT GOES OVER YOUR NOSE!
A candid account of how people’s poor life choices continue to fuel my anxiety, and some ways we could all think to cope with them
One apple-crisp winter's day, I was trundling along a concrete road to her nearest local convenience shop. She halts before the entrance to read one of many signs sellotaped to the shopfront, which clearly states the words “NO FACE COVERING, NO ENTRY.”
Wanting to oblige the ruling of the shopkeepers, and the law the government had placed upon them, my readied right hand flipped open my trusted handbag and took the plunge to retrieve my funky-coloured face mask.
It wasn’t until I had hooked the elastic hoops to my ears that I looked up to notice the two young women standing in front of the cashier’s counter.
They looked happy. At ease. They were laughing aloud with heads tilted back.
They both were maskless.
Walking into the shop, I took a slow lap around an island of junk food, with my sharp slits of eyes not cutting their gaze from the two until they meandered out of the shop.
Approaching the counter myself, my eyes locked with the shopkeeper’s, whose eyes were also peeping over his cloth-bouned face covering.
“Why weren’t they wearing masks?” I asked.
The shopkeeper explained that he hadn’t asked them to because of doing so previously to other customers and being stopped and shown this:
The rest of this article also explains the nature of enforcement measures that can be held against those who don’t comply. But it really only seems like these measures only apply if one is actually caught defying them.
And some people clearly enjoy the thrills that come with this chase.
I tried to stop the words from coming out. But they bounded out of my mouth like a fleet of wild horses.
I could feel my heart try to do the same as I started pacing the small area of the shop, still ranting to the shopkeeper about the ridiculousness of this, and scorning those who try to find loopholes to appease their outright pointless selfishness.
Suddenly, I froze. Both hands grasped my ears. Eyes closed tightly.
Standing there in the shop. I began to cry out loud before apologising to the shopkeeper and their assistant and fleeing the premises.
…
Emergency system shut down, eminent.
Here is something you have probably read tens, if not hundreds of times by now: this is only temporary.
Fast forward to over a year into the future, we are still listening to each other’s comforting words that may or may not be true.
Why did I have an emotional breakdown in a corner shop?
Long answer:
The lack of control I had over my life at the time was tormenting my personal well-being. But seeing just how little control I had over external situations dawned on me at that moment in a very upsetting way.
The actions of others are going to affect me, no matter how hard I tried to keep my distance and my health in check. And some people are going to completely go against my beliefs and actions — and smile ignorantly while doing it.
Something inside me gets triggered by hearing of injustices. My mind tries so hard to make sense of things that when something doesn’t compute, it needs to throw it out — usually in the form of a rant or a rambling.
This time, with everything building up inside, I definitely let my emotions get the better of me.
Short answer:
Because some people are just idiots.
Now is the point where I go on a mini-rant. Because if not here, where else can I have one?
These are the main problems I have with the way we live generally and how certain people choose to ignore them.
- LACK OF KNOWLEDGE
This is a biggie. Information and misinformation are spread just as rapidly as the virus itself. From how COVID-19 can be contracted, to the effectiveness of wearing face coverings to prevent passing it on.
And how many times does it really need to be plastered across websites, spoken by government officials, and visually shoved in our faces for people to realise?
IT GOES OVER YOUR NOSE!
Here’s how it works, as told by the World Health Organisation (WHO):
This site is also packed with useful information that still holds true to this very day. Especially with regard to differences in using medical and fabric face masks.
2. LACK OF CARE
This is what bothers me the most.
There seems to be a widespread lack of care and motivation to care for the well-being of others.
This situation alone rang sirens in my head about how individuals can easily attempt to abuse the system with its own rules and regulations, which were put in place to help people.
3. LACK OF REALITY
COVID-19 IS REAL.
Period.
Its true origins are going to be up for debate but the fact of the matter is that it exists and we are only just starting to find a more sustainable long-term solution to preventing the spread — and finding a potential cure.
4. LACK OF… everything necessary to allow everyone to feel comfortable facing the public again, pretty much.
Some people aren’t ready to return to the way things were. And more importantly, some — like me — truly believe that we shouldn’t.
I’m not ready to live in a society that turns a blind eye to people who clearly don’t see a problem with the significant lack of traits that make us all good and considerate human beings.
So… who can relate?
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Disclaimer
This article is for information purposes only and is the opinion of the writer. Please seek professional advice if required.
