We're having a fine spring day in Portugal, with a strong sun and temperatures pushing 20C. It's the perfect day for a walk, so I went out in my eccentric outfit, with my umbrella open to protect my head against the sun.
Again, I was proven right in my thesis. The outfit deflected attention away from the fact that I'm wearing my mask under my chin. No-one commented on me wearing my mask wrong. But three random strangers asked about my umbrella, to which I replied that it isn't an umbrella but a parasol. My response was both unexpected and logical, so they started laughing. What else could they do? This kind of unexpected logic is after all the nuts and bolts of all jokes.
One guy who wasn't wearing a mask himself called out a friendly good day as he passed me by. This was particularly pleasing because one of the great strengths of Portuguese culture is the friendly manner in which complete strangers interact with each other, and I've noticed that this has been greatly reduced after mask wearing rules came into effect.
I suspect that one of the more sinister motives behind the mask wearing rules is the desire to stop people from interacting in this friendly manner. There is a desire to divide and conquer. They want us confused and angry rather than happy and polite. Seen in this light, the random interactions I encountered were all little victories. There was no antagonism, only light hearted chatter and curiosity.
.jpg#/media/File:Sun_(Earth_POV).jpg "Sun") |
| Sun |
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