This is the most schizophrenic societal response ever.
On one hand, you have tens of millions of people going to bars, clubs, and parties, church, gym, cookouts, hobbyist gatherings, restaurants, and so on. I mostly include activities that no one is wearing "masks" for here, to distinguish the two sides. In this group are the people whose workplaces don't make them play dress up, as well.
On the other hand, you have tens of millions of people "isolating", using only delivery services, working from home (many of us don't have the option, not that it's very tempting to me), and wearing "masks" while burning up the sanitizer everywhere they go. Frequently these people also work in some front end or corporate job which makes them wear "face coverings" (perhaps it improves aesthetics in the office).
I was wrong to be so optimistic at the beginning of summer. I'm still generally optimistic, and I've been doing my part by casually disregarding "mandates" everywhere I go (if you comply freely it's like pleading guilty - you've already surrendered), but this whole thing has taken on a cultural life of it's own. Like any polarizing issue, it now has it's own spectrum of belief systems. You have the fringes, which range from outdoor "mask" wearers who lecture others, to conspiracy minded weirdos who try to fight employees that tell them to wear a fag rag. In between you have a bunch of very confused people, kind-hearted pussies going along to get along, and cynical consumers inconsistently applying vague rules.
In the beginning I said that our overall response to this virus evidenced what I referred to as a "weakened social immune system", our lack of cohesion and connection in a post-modern wasteland manifesting itself as social chaos. I stand by this assessment, and it's worse than I initially thought. On the plus side, I really have been living my life normally, including going out partying on weekend nights (even if the bars close early). I've almost never had to involuntarily don a voodoo droplet protector in the course of my normal routine, and when I've been asked to outside of specific business (which has also been infrequently) I've just gone to the next similar retail store instead.
Still, it's gotten to be more and more frustrating as I wonder what the hell people are thinking. Huge crowds go out and breathe directly on each other Friday night, then Saturday they're expected to play pretend when they enter a Wal-Mart in the same town. An hour of driving takes you to an "open" state, no ass (face) coverings necessary, yet a bare 35 miles away there's curfews and mandates. The same atomization that's caused this disordered response is also preventing an organized pushback against idiot liability managers (aka elected officials) and their useful idiots/idiocy.
