Contents Under Pressure

"We all go a little mad sometimes." So spake Norman Bates. Not everyone goes to the extremes that young Norman did, but at this time of heightened uncertainty, I can relate. Not to the whole hacking up people in a shower degree, but "a little mad" for sure.
Which may explain all these folks having meltdowns in public. Four solid months of being told what to do and where to do it has begun to affect the nervous systems of a lot of Americans. This may help to explain the outbursts of people being reminded that they need to wear a mask in public. Not a day goes by that there isn't a new viral video of someone throwing a fit in the aisles of Costco or some other retailer. No one puts baby in a corner, and no one tells Karen or Chris to cover their faces during a global pandemic. What about the land of brave and home of the free? Nobody is gonna make me wear a mask!
I am sure, given the apologies posted by clearer heads the day after, that we are not seeing the best and brightest of what our country has to offer. The tipping point for most Americans is closer than ever these days. I wonder, at times, how I might react if I was caught being rude or arrogant by someone holding a camera. I like to think that I would try and flatten the curve by including my apology right at the end of the video that would be posted everywhere in a matter of moments. Except that it wouldn't have much of a chance to go viral if I ended up admitting to my human frailties. "I have been under so much stress lately with COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter and everything our 'president' continues to burble, I am so sorry that I lost control there. How can I make it up to you?"
Views: Nine.
Speaking of our "president," I suppose I could offer up the same kind of empathy to Don Cheeto Trumpleone. I am sure that when he got it into his head to run for office he never expected all the wheels to pop off the wagon at the same time. At the same time, I should point out that the wheels might still be firmly in place if the country had been carefully managed over the past four years, but really. And then no one came to his big rally in Oklahoma. And his boys on the Supreme Court couldn't keep him from having to surrender his tax returns. And he has that sneaking suspicion that everyone is after him, he's just about right. Including members of his own party.
So, if it helps to imagine the "president" sitting down in the middle of Wal-Mart and declaring that he doesn't have to wear a mask because he is, after all, "president," please go right ahead. Just don't expect the belated apology from that guy. That's not happening.