We don’t want to get sick anymore, we don’t agree with the idea of the risk being worth the reward… what reward? Being able to have a mediocre dinner at an overpriced restaurant?

It's so frustrating how hard it is to convey this to the people in my life. I was already a homebody before COVID. Sure, I'd occasionally go to the movies or to a restaurant with friends, but these were in no way vital activities for me (I'm neither a film buff nor a foodie). The thing I miss the most is probably live music, but even then I might have gone to one or two concerts per year, and I derive much greater satisfaction from playing music myself. The decision to give up these minor pleasures for an major increase in safety as well as peace of mind is a complete no-brainer for me. Obviously, the calculations will be different for other people, but even so, most people lack the understanding of COVID to truly understand the risks--one of the more insidious elements of "personal responsibility" rhetoric.

I actually managed to set up a hike with some friends I haven't seen in a while, but even now I'm thinking about how I'm probably still going to mask since we'll be in close quarters talking and moving in a group and I'm dreading the comments. I hate how I not only have to worry about my safety, but also protecting the feelings of the vaxxed and relaxed when my mere existence reminds them that there's still a pandemic going on. Well, I guess I don't have to worry about that--in fact, I really need to work on completely owning my COVID posture and not feeling like I have to convince people of my sanity or bend over backwards to make them feel better.