Living with Flat Earth people, etc., in Arizona in 2021


It's Thursday, April 29th, 2021, and on Sunday I'll have hit fourteen days since my second COVID-19 shot. My risk of getting this nasty disease will drop tremendously, although it will never be 100% (that's not how it works), and I will continue to mask and social distance as I wait for my juniors to catch up with me. And then, of course, some people never will, and I'll just have to live with them.

I've lived in Arizona, and Southern California, for all of my adult life, and I've lived with a LOT of people who don't share my beliefs. It could be something like having a different religion, or it could be the conviction that asparagus is an appropriate food for breakfast. The list goes on and on, and I've enjoyed living with these people, and have learned how to keep my distance if necessary, but it's rarely necessary. It's fascinating.

And don't worry if you yourself have never done this, I can accommodate you, too. Yes, I know that profiling is wrong, but I can make some pretty good guesses about your world view based on if you've never lived anywhere other than where you grew up, or if you're an avid reader, that sort of thing. Many people tend to always want to "stay with their own kind", whether it's skin color, or a particular cultural thing. And I've never kidded myself that I could "blend in" with different people. I would present myself, with limitations that I couldn't control, like my blue eyes, and do my best to show respect, often by trying to speak a different language, talk about their religion, that sort of thing.

There are, of course, limitations to what I'll put up with in terms of independent thinking, but it really has to be extreme, like believing that the direction that you drive on the freeway is a matter of personal choice. I also stay away from people who insist on twirling their keychains near me, as I'm convinced that when the chain breaks, the keys will fly into my face. There's really not much I can do about this, other than staying out of the way, like when someone lights up a cigarette near me.

As for Flat Earth people, I put them in the same category as people who somehow never seemed to "get it", but are otherwise harmless. I've never actually stood and listened to a Flat Earther, but I would try to keep the "what lunatic asylum did they get you of?" look off of my face. But I'm intellectually curious, and would like to try to understand what their thought process was that brought them to that place.

Yes, of course I know that the standard behavior is to always shout over these people, slam the door in their faces if they want to talk about their beliefs, and wind up with fisticuffs to prove that your world view is right. And it's what most people do, but doing that that doesn't interest me, and never has. I like living in a fascinating and colorful world, as anyone who is a regular reader of this blog knows. And if someone wants to explain, for example, what Bifrost is, I'll listen. Take me there!
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