The changing attitudes towards mask wearing in the U.S.


I've been retired for many years now, and there really isn't much reason for me to take an Uber, but yesterday I needed to go for a dental cleaning, so I did.

It's January 19th, 2023, and this is the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, in 2020, that I wasn't reminded to wear a mask by the app, but I did anyway. My nice cloth "Arizona wiener dogs" mask is dirty, and I didn't want to take the time to wash it and dry it, so I wore an N-95, which has been sitting around my kitchen for years.

And after my ride to the dentist, wearing it all the while (getting no comment from the driver, who wasn't wearing one), even when I checked in at the front counter, I realized that there were no more signs telling me that masks are required, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much casual acceptance I found of it. No one told me "Masks aren't required anymore!" or "Why are you wearing a mask?", they just accepted it, the way that someone might be using a cane, or having their arm in a sling.

You can also compare it to wearing a yarmulke, or having a turban on your head. I live in Arizona, and there are a lot of people who are unaccepting of other cultures, other religions, other people. And as much as I love living here, I do miss the casual acceptance of cultural differences that I saw when I lived in Los Angeles.

I have lived in interesting time, which as you know, is a curse. For most of us, the pandemic is over. But for some people, especially elderly people who may have a compromised immune system, it isn't. And of course there are a lot of unvaccinated people, who may not trust the government, but would rather not get sick. And whatever reason that have is something that I've never had any trouble accepting.

By the way, after I put my mask in my pocket during the dental cleaning, I just kinda forgot about it until later when I reached into my pocket. And maybe that's the lesson here - accept, and don't make a big deal out of people's personal choices.

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