From the FRENZIES of surgical mask shortages here, in Taiwan, the observations of a retired school instructor, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…
On the issues of wearing the surgical masks, everybody has a story of her/his own.
As the firstborn grandson of my best friend was born, the six members of the families not only put the surgical masks on, they’d also gone and gotten their flu shots already, worried, that if they were infected with the illnesses, they will, pass it on to their youngest. As we’d gone to share their joys of their new grandchild, we’d also, put the masks on, and washed our hands clean completely, not wanted the newborn infant to get affected or infected.
Normally when I rode out on the public transportation systems, I’m not accustomed to wearing the masks, and I’d gotten nagged by my wife often on it, because she’d believed, that it’s an enclosed space, that we’re no longer young, that we shouldn’t, bring troubles to ourselves. So I’d, respected her, and put the mask on as a precautionary measure.
But these few days, as the weather turned colder, when we’d gone out to walk to the Da-An Forest Park, I’d, put my mask on, not because of MERS-CoV, but because for a very long time, I would have inflammatory responses when I’d breathed in the cold air, it’d, infected my throat, so I’d, used the masks to block out the cold air, to not give myself a hard time.
A friend of mine, in the heat of summer, when he doesn’t have a cold, he’d gone out in a mask. He said, that there was, this psychological barrier that he’d always had, it’d made him anxious, sitting across from someone he didn’t know, and wearing the mask, helped eased his anxieties. So, even as he’d forgotten to take a mask, and, even if there are still seats available, he’d, selected to, stand at the corner of the bus, and look out that windows.
And, other issues of how the famous feared getting noted, they’d not just worn the masks, but also, the dark sunglasses too; I have a niece, whom, before she had a birthmark on her face removed, she’d, always, put a mask on her face when she goes out…………I’m certain, that there are, a ton of things that each of those of us who are, wearing the masks had that are, unknown to others.
As MERS-CoV became an epidemic, it’s already stressing us all out, the shortages of the surgical masks, if the politicians added the fuels to this fire, finger pointing toward others when they do, or don’t wear the masks, it would, only, make the rest of us, disgusted. Other than those who showed signs of infections, who are trying to protect oneself, and others from getting infected, DO give the rights to either put on, or take off the masks, to the individuals to decide.
And so, because we get ostracized (I received dirty looks from those walking around on the streets when I’d not had a mask on just a week ago???), for not doing what everybody else is doing, that’s why, we ended up, conforming, and sometimes, conforming is actually, bad for us, ‘cuz, what IF we have respiratory problems, or some other issues where we need to have our noses and mouths exposed to air, in order, to breathe, huh? Then, do all of us who have this tendency deserve to get SHOT when we’re out and about, without that surgical mask on? Or, maybe, the government should start issuing all of us HAS-MET suits, that’ll, protect us more, than those, undisinfected, surgical masks that are currently, out-of-stock already!
Life, the Obstacle Course 