Mask rules

For close to two years the Spanish population have been waiting for someone to finally lift the ever more ridiculous mask wearing rule. People who were wearing masks at work would meet outside or simply walk to the bus stop together mask free. Children who were perfectly healthy and who were touching each other continuously, as children do, had to wear the horrifying mask of shame for no other reason than to be born in the wrong year. What grown-ups, whether parents or teachers or strangers, have done to our children is a crime of unimaginable cruelty. We have destroyed two years of their lives, years we often relish as being among the best of our own existence. That is sadistic. You know you are going to hurt them, and you do it anyway. You know the masks were not fit for purpose, that was openly stated early on, yet you accepted the rule when it came along. Whenever a rule changed or a new one was implemented, you simply obliged, considering the rule of law always above human relations. Mummy loves you, honey, but the law says she must punish you with unnecessary mask wearing. We must always follow the law, remember? Mummies are not allowed to protect their children from the law.

 

As a teacher and a neighbour, I’ve seen a lot of children suffering. For two years, they were not allowed to have normal relationships, to breathe freely, or to see faces. Out of the blue, they were forced into a different way of life, full of restrictions, with strange and cruel rules such as distancing yourself from your friends, which never seemed to make any sense. Suddenly, their youth was taken away from them. And it lasted two long years. Remember how long two years seemed when you were at school? Think about that if you haven’t already. Their youth was stolen. These children’s brains must be seriously impaired. And we did it. We let it happen. We screwed them over. So, how do you think they feel?

 

On holiday in Madrid, we saw a remarkable number of middle-aged couples with one or two masked teenagers in their wake. And while the lonely ones looked as if they were being hauled off to the nearest slaughterhouse, the pairs often seemed quite lively, though only among themselves. Whatever life still had to offer to them, it clearly did so within a hostile environment. Back in class, the girls initially kept their masks on, though hanging below the nose so as to be able to breathe again. The boys did show their faces, and they were disappointingly ugly. I am not going to describe them here, but let it be said that the girls noticed too.

 

Overall, Madrid was pretty mask obedient, less than a week before the priorly notified lifting of the main sanctions. On the metro, nobody opted for the below the mouth wearing style that has become quite generally practiced in Barcelona recently, a trend I pride myself in having been one of the early adopters of. Also, in bars the ridiculous practice of sporting a mask while walking past tables, only to tear it off immediately once being seated, was still enforced with gusto. As welcoming as cafes generally are in the nation’s capital, even at this late moment the mask laws still ruled supreme. Whatever the activity one engaged in, hugging friends and strangers alike, being at work or simply embezzling money, the mask had to be worn at all designated times and locations. We don’t poke fun at humiliating rules here, remember? I guess it is the price you pay for living near the centre of things.

 

It's not only teenagers who love wearing their mask with an unhealthy desire. There are the adults who have always believed that their society was the best possible, if not perfect, and that government, with all its flaws, ultimately speaks the truth because it was chosen by the people and is there for the people. They have been the most fanatical in upholding the various lockdown measures – always keeping distance, washing their hands continuously, sporting masks even in the confinement of their own cars - and feel betrayed now that so many measures have been eased. Double masked and with a straight back, their heads held up high, they angrily walk past all the mask- and carefree losers who so desperately need fun in their lives. See them sitting in the sun, having drinks and snacks, laughing with friends! They, on the other hand, are not afraid to be afraid and hate their circumstances. They feel well-prepared for the necessary hardships that are inevitably coming our way. Bring on the new rules, chastise us with well-deserved punishment. We are ready to give it all up for new unpleasant realities.

 

It's surprising to see how many of these covid fanatics – covidians in the tongue of the infidels – are left leaning. I always thought that left in the West was a mostly libertarian affair, giving people the means to have their own unique experience, something like that, certainly since the unproven convictions of the twentieth century after the fall of the Soviet Union started watering down to become today’s cultural Marxism. Yet, it seems the covidians are more of the Stalinist type, ready to slay all those who oppose the mask if only in the deepest of their dreams. They really feel superior in a sadistic kind of way.

 

One week in, many people are still expressing their joy at being freed from the horror of being a stranger to neighbours and friends (while torturing their children at the same time). So, I asked around: what are you going to do if the mask rule is reinstated. You clearly hate it a lot, don’t you now? It’s a difficult answer for most. They never want to wear the damn thing again, ever, and they know it’s not childishness but their soul calling, that you just can’t live your life wearing masks, that life is about something else, and you know it is true and you really wish you could be free, but you also know that in fact you can’t. You cannot change the world on your own, so there is no sense in stepping forward. We need someone crazy enough to actually step forward, so we can all be early adopters and help humanity moving on from the present madness. So, that’s what everyone is waiting for. The new messiah. First public appearances should take place before Pentecost if one hopes to make it through revolution month. In the meantime, many would likely follow up renewed regulations. You know, it’s the law, and remember, it’s probably only temporary, more than two years it can’t last, just like the last time. There’ll be life after that, perhaps.