CW: pandemic, chronic illness, disability, medical trauma, isolation
Went to the hospital today. Not a mask in sight.
Why would there be? Pandemic’s over.
No, it’s not.
Last I checked, we stopped counting deaths every day.
… The emergency phase might be over, sure, but the virus is still out there, replicating, killing.
Yeah, but nowhere near as many.
That’s ’cause we got vaccines and immunity now.
So, it’s over.
Tell that to the dead people.
Come on, flu kills people every year. No one masks for that.
The flu doesn’t leave lasting effects. This one does.
Like what?
High chance of chronic infection, with a whole list of nasty symptoms. Disability, in worst cases.
Bullshit.
I wish. Anyone can develop this, even if you were just a carrier.
Okay, that sounds… scary.
And… It can hit anytime. Days or months after infection.
Let’s say I believe you… People only care if they die from it. No one thinks about long-term illness. Times are rough enough as it is.
I have to think about this.
Why?
I’m chronically ill and disabled, remember?
Oh… Right. That.
The pandemic’s not over for us. These last five years… It’s like I fell into a horror movie with no exit.
Yeah… that sounds rough.
Meeting people, concerts, bars, events, cinemas, parties, swimming pools—poof! Gone.
Can’t you just mask everywhere?
I already do.
So what’s the problem?
More exposure, more risk of catching it. Besides, I’m always the only masked one. You know how that feels? People stare.
So what? Fuck ’em and their stares.
It’s not just that… it’s how they stare. Scorn, hatred… Some even ask me to explain myself.
And do you?
I tell them it’s for protection. They laugh. Tell me nothing bad’s gonna happen, I’m just paranoid.
Predictable.
They’re not wrong though, I’ve become paranoid. People coughing, sneezing, breathing around me… it scares me.
‘Cause anyone could be carrying it, right?
Yeah… and no one talks about this anymore. We moved on two years ago.
Of course not! There’s so much else going on.
Fine… I’m side-eyeing the doctors though. The shit I hear from them…
Like what?
‘Masks are useless.’ ‘I work in a hospital, never mask, nothing bad happened to me.’ ‘You should expose yourself more, build up your immunity.’ While knowing my conditions don’t work like allergies.
Okay, that’s some next-level stupidity.
Dangerous. Careless.
Yeah, those too.
It’s not just about me, you know.
What do you mean?
I mean… shouldn’t we want to protect everyone? Even the vulnerable? What’s the point of society without safety?
Woah, calm down there, Marx. This is kapitalism. Don’t expect people to give up their freedom for your problems.
Is freedom so fragile a mask can undo it?
That’s just the pretext. The actual reason is convenience.
It’s just a mask.
Depends how long you wear it. Another thing to remember, carry around, put on, keep on. Too much work for no visible payoff.
But it protects them too! They can get sick. What about the children?
Oh boy… What about them?
Every day it’s ‘we gotta do this, we gotta do that to protect the children.’ Never when it really matters. Only as an excuse to take away freedoms.
People being selfish hypocrites… What else is new?
Just because that’s the way things are doesn’t mean that’s the way they have to be.
Not much we can do to change them though. Right?
There’s always something. I educate people around me. I wear a mask every time I go out.
Is it working?
My people wear masks to protect me. Maybe not themselves, but me. I take that as care.
Finally, some hope in humanity!
Yeah, but… lots of people are alone. Who protects them?
You, apparently. And others who mask.
I wish there were more.
Don’t worry. There’s always another pandemic around the corner. Maybe we’ll learn then.
Maybe. But for now, this pandemic taught me you better protect yourself, because no one else will.
Not no one. Just fewer than you’d hope.