A Change in Sentiment

We went out for lunch yesterday. We visited a Chinese restaurant downtown that we haven't been to in ages. The place hadn't changed one bit since last time we were there. It was refreshing to see that some things remain the same in a world where so many things are in flux. 

There are no parking spaces next to the restaurant, so we had to stroll through downtown Porto to get there. That gave us an opportunity to check out the general feel of things, and monitor the compliance towards the mask mandate.

What we saw was encouraging. People were relaxed about their masks. Some wore it strictly as prescribed, but most people wore it either incorrectly or not at all, and there was no antagonism. Couples and groups were often mixed. At least half of the couples and groups had one or more person not wearing their mask correctly, and nobody seemed to care.

The days when hobby fascists would stop and yell at people in the streets are over. The mask is becoming a personal choice thing. The agenda of fear appears to be falling apart. We passed several police officers on our way, and I saw no-one masking up in fear. Too many are ignoring the rules, so there's no danger of apprehension. The police has consistently ignored the mask mandate throughout this farce, and they aren't going to change their tune now. They wear their masks themselves because it's required by their bosses, but they let others do as they please.

There were two police officers in the restaurant, sitting at a table close to us. They were conspicuously relaxed about their masks. On leaving their table, they stood up before putting on their masks, signalling to everyone that they too are sick and tired of the thing.

Nothing would be better than a complete eradication of all fear related to the plague, because the political agenda of control relies heavily on fear. Without fear, there's no control, and there's no more pressure to take the vaccine. We're not there yet, but the change in sentiment is encouraging. Things may look very different a few months from now. The key to success in this respect is to keep repeating how harmless the plague is, and that it's no different from a regular flu, both in severity and long term effects. Everybody suspect this to be true by now. All we need to do is to mention this from time to time, and it will become a generally accepted fact.

Downtown Porto

By ho visto nina volare from Italy - Portogallo 2007, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link