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heard_communityI was inspired to create this community after seeing a friend say this morning
There's a huge cognitive load to continuing to wear a mask/try to distance when the people around you aren’t. Humans are such social creatures that many of us find it difficult to stand out and while some people don’t have a choice but to be visibly different, some of us who aren’t used to sticking out so much might benefit from some social support to carry on masking when society all around us is pushing this message that “the pandemic is over.” I'm thinking especially of people who might be new to being a visible minority. It sure can be tiring! Even scary, or just offputting. Many of us have been there pre-pandemic, maybe our whole lives. There might be tips we can share, but just validating these experiences as difficult can be surprisingly helpful (I was surprised anyway!).
Even if you don't see many masks besides your own, even if you're feeling abandoned by your government, you're not alone. Let's get together, let's talk and let's listen and try to help each other.
I am not looking forward to being the weirdo in a mask who won't eat or drink indoors, when everyone else is busy pretending we're "back to normal" and ignoring the no-longer-monitored disease silently spreading everywhere people congregate. But I'd rather that than a heart attack in my forties, or fatigue for the rest of my life.Obviously I quite agree with that conclusion, but the first sentence got me thinking...
I have already been that weirdo (I don't know when I'll next be able to eat or drink indoors; beyond two near-unavoidable times, it hasn't happened since March 2020) and there sure aren't many of us in real life! Which is fine for me, I'm used to being noticeably weird (for being fat, queer, foreign, disabled, trans/at least sending off weird gender vibes, etc.), but a lot of people are going to be new at this.Someone suggested starting a Dreamwidth community about it, so I have!
I'm wondering what I can do to support that; like a guide for How to Be Okay with Being Weird in Public, or an online group...because while I'm being The Only One in the Shop Wearing a Mask, I know from my internet friends that there are actually a substantial amount of us. And an online group can't help that IRL weirdness, but it might be helpful to people to know there are actually a bunch of us out there, and we can support each other.
There's a huge cognitive load to continuing to wear a mask/try to distance when the people around you aren’t. Humans are such social creatures that many of us find it difficult to stand out and while some people don’t have a choice but to be visibly different, some of us who aren’t used to sticking out so much might benefit from some social support to carry on masking when society all around us is pushing this message that “the pandemic is over.” I'm thinking especially of people who might be new to being a visible minority. It sure can be tiring! Even scary, or just offputting. Many of us have been there pre-pandemic, maybe our whole lives. There might be tips we can share, but just validating these experiences as difficult can be surprisingly helpful (I was surprised anyway!).
Even if you don't see many masks besides your own, even if you're feeling abandoned by your government, you're not alone. Let's get together, let's talk and let's listen and try to help each other.
