Throughout the past year and half as the rest of the world seemed to have descended into a collective psychosis over an annual flu bug I watched from a comfortable distance, not only in the physical sense, but psychologically as well. I began to pay attention to the developing narrative very early in January of 2020 when most people were going about their lives blithely unaware of the developing storm clouds building on the horizon.

I am not combative by nature, but generally affable and easygoing with others. As the early adopters of the masks began their paranoid devotions, I simply kept my distance and went about my business without comment. I firmly believe in the right of self-determination and that everyone has the ability to make decisions for themselves without being compelled by threats of force or other more pernicious forms of coercion. When the first mandates went into effect, I disregarded them as illogical and irrational and continued to go about my life as I had previously.