In my social scientist (and human being) hat… This article/report seems spot-on, at the heart of it.

The article is a New York Times report on how confused many are, some cautious, some unconvinced, some surprisingly comfortable in the cocoon of anonymity &/or safety with most people masked, at least in public. For many reasons.
This is absolutely a big deal, psychologically, for many people worldwide, at least among those who now see “the end of the tunnel” and are trying to be safe but not unnecessarily so. Working with trauma, I see it, feel it, watch it… A transition.I was in NY at the onset (months of lockdown and trauma) and now towards the end of the beginning, I finally traveled to see family in Florida, the cultural and psychological antithesis of my home town (in general).

I was busy with family, nature photography, and (first-time) fancy dining, but was ridiculed for wearing a mask (in a small convenience/gas stores, where a clerk told me “we’re Florida, we're ahead of everyone else & we’re not scared of politics”) while workers in most places - indoor/outdoor restaurants, food markets, CVS etc. drugs/sundry stores - they wore masks and Publix, Target, etc. had big signs that masks were required. I’d say maybe 1 of 10 people ignored it. Nobody enforced, a few complained.

Anyway, the CDC has now - 1 day after CNN’s Chris Cuomo excoriated the CDC head for being too cautious - issued new “guidance” saying "if you’re vaccinated, you do not need to be (overly) concerned with masks. As bombs fall in Israel, and as (allegedly) Russian hackers extort bitcoin payments from a major U.S. gas supplier, prices and hoarding rises, and television talking-heads and reports highlight the difficulty (&/or folly) of suddenly abandoning masks if one is vaccinated. As a circus proceeds in Arizona with the goal of taking us back to the good old days of Lord #Trumpvirus. And back to the “normal tourism” days of insurrection and denial of reality.

On the ride home from JFK (usually) International Airport, it was fascinating to me, observing people on a sunny Saturday afternoon just after the CDC “guidance” collided/colluded with the impending reality of summer va-ca, camp, and "normal life’… I saw a blend of behavior, some on benches reading and/or sunning, safely spaced, and about 50/50 with or without masks. (When I left New York, I’d not seen a face in months… almost 100% of people were compliant and adapted with outdoor dining, etc. So now "we" (being focused first on our own population but also keenly aware of the tragedies elsewhere and also knowing we ALL need to address a GLOBAl pandemic), Americans have "guidance’ that (more) normal life is OK again NOW - if vaccinated. Some see conspiracies &/or hoaxes, others trust science. Everybody is skeptical about the “news” and many distrust “experts” (which is sad, and dangerous).

And some have learned to like the anonymity of masks. Celebrities and victims of racism alike.
Many just want it all to end.
Meanwhile… in normal, daily news...

There’s a tiger loose in Houston still. The owner was arrested. But for murder… So sure, things are all back to normal now! Or soon?

Coming up once I decompress: Lots of nature photography including an amazing encounter with an alligator, where that viral-meme of a dinosaur-ish alligator strolling across a path was captured a few years ago and won the Internet. A scary thing: I was being followed by raccoons along this thin path, Garr fish & alligators in swamps on either side, and my path was cut off. The raccoons did a quick double-take, and I said my prayers and filmed.

It’s been a very interesting break from the past 1 1/2 years of lockdown, restriction, conscientiousness, and painful patience…

“Stay tuned”… back on the grid with Internet, it’s still a crazy world… but it may soon improve. Yin/yang. ☮️. #StaySafe

#COVID19 #psychology #sociology #behavior #naturephotography #culturalanthropology #perspective #currentevents