Discussions

We have all including my self found ourselves looking at what others are doing during this pandemic and judged them. Either thinking that they have gone over board, or that they are being selfish, that they are taking it to serious or not serious enough.  
 
People have even gone out of their way to try and humiliate and shame those who they see doing things or handling things differently then they would.  
 
We have been in this pandemic now for a few months. Longer than I personally thought it would last and it sounds like it is expected to stick around for awhile yet.  
 
At what point though are we going to stop judging those around us? We can not continually go through our daily lives judging the actions of others. Everyone handles crisis different and this pandemic has brought some sort of a crisis into every home. Its not just The virus which can make you sick and be potentially fatal, people are undergoing financial crisis as well as a social not being able to see loved ones and friends along with the stress of just not knowing what the next mandate will be.  
 
But let’s set that aside for a moment people. No matter what side of the scale you stand on with this virus wether you thinks its over blown or not taken seriously enough (or some where in the middle) Let’s remember we are all people. We all deserve respect nobody knows what the person next to them is going through. There could be many things. But it is not our job to judge those around us, especially now. Instead let us show respect and dare I say LOVE to those around us.  
 
Wether you think this virus is over blown or not taken serious enough giving people 6 feet of room isn’t very much space even if it adds a few minutes to your day having to wait back a few minutes. It is an easy way to show everyone respect and show then you care about them.  
 
We don’t need to be making assumptions as to why a family if 6 or so is all in a store shopping just assume they have to be there. Give them a smile and keep doing your thing. I am sure the situation is more stressful for them then it is you.  
 
Sure maybe you saw someone not wearing a mask but maybe they have a health reason not to, maybe they don’t have one, maybe they choose not to wear one. Give that person space and assume they have a Good reason. Don’t make up a reason for them.  
 
This “new normal” takes time to get used to we have not been doing it that long and we all have a desire to go back to the way things where. So when you see people not social distancing assume they forgot... (I forget sometimes it is easy to get caught up sometimes) but all it takes is to politely Remind people and ask for some space.  
 
We do not need to judge the actions of others especially since we do not know what is going on with them or their reasons behind their choices. But we can and should be trying to help our neighbour, check in on people that we know are alone or in need, be polite to those around us and showing respect to everybody.  
 
We do not all have to agree on everything but if people can respect and LOVE those around them that would be a big start. We are all just trying to navigate this “new normal” some how and bring some of our old normality into our everyday life.  
 
Stay safe, show respect and help out.

I think the license plate judging has died down a little bit since we became the plate probably subject to the most judgement potential over the last month, but re out of province plates I know for a fact that rental car companies legit rent out vehicles with plates from all over the place depending on where the vehicle was inbound from. You just never know where they’re from in those cases, from a local driver with a loaner vehicle to someone that had to fly in for very personal reasons such as a funeral.  
 
Because there’s a very real chance that our ability to stomp on this outbreak is tied to widespread following of the new rules that start tomorrow, the anger-fear connection is going to make it human nature to want to reflex to judgement. If you let it that anger will eat at you at a time when you’re going to need as much of yourself as you can get.  
 
It’s a cliche, but this is one of those times when “be the change you want to see” truly applies. There’s been great progress in mask proliferation over the past couple weeks, a person can help keep it going by wearing a mask proudly if they find themselves in a situation where it might feel socially awkward and where they’re outnumbered by wide open faces. Part of what’s holding masking back from taking that final step to being even more universal is some just not feeling comfortable with how they look in certain environments. The ‘orange’ restrictions tomorrow will help, just as having people willing to step outside of their own comfort zones and set an example where we need it the most!