Earlier in 2022, a former friend (I'll call her X) went to a get-together with 6 friends.
One day later, one of the friends (I'll call them Z), told her: "Sorry, I tested positive for #covid today, so I probably infected you yesterday. I already suspected it beforehand, but thought it was nothing. Turns out I was wrong!"
X was furious, rightfully so. How could Z have come to that meeting without warning anyone of their suspicions?
1/3
The next day, X tested negative and said "It's probably nothing, right? What are the chances that I'm really infected?" and she went to visit her parents, her boyfriend, a busy party and some meetings in the following days.
She did not warn any of them of her suspicions, she just suppressed these worries.
A few days later X tested positive. Now she had to call everyone: "Sorry, already suspected it, went to meet you anyway, didn't say a thing, thought it was nothing, guess I was wrong!"
2/3
I was already angry with X for days when she talked about her situation and I asked her how she dealt with this hypocritical fact.
X said: "I can't bear the thought that people are as angry for this with me as I am with Z. So, I decided to not be angry with Z anymore. Z couldn't help it. I'm sure people won't be angry with me now either. I couldn't help it."
I was baffled. I still am when I think back to it. The twists thoughts can take to solve negative feelings. Even so purposefully!
3/3
@begrudging_recluse Do you know if either of them wore masks when they 'suspected' it, and if not, why not? This is one thing I'm struggling with -- masking seems like a reasonable compromise between isolating and being totally reckless. But if you wear a mask only when you suspect you are infected, you are basically announcing "I really should be isolating". I've heard that several East Asian nations have normalized mask wearing when sick... but don't know the specifics of how they interact with people wearing masks.
@DecaturNature @begrudging_recluse this is really great context, thank you for adding it!
@DecaturNature
No, no masks. This took place in The Netherlands, and they have been very skeptical of masks since 2020.
The government said for a long time that there was no scientific proof for masking. Once they became mandatory (for only a short period of time) many people didn't believe it was of use because of what the government said before. It was never really adopted well and quickly abandoned.
The Dutch have strong social pressure too. If you wear a mask, you will get comments.