Virtue signaling during COVID-19 May 2021


A term that I had to learn during the outbreak of COVID-19, in 2020, was "virtue signaling". It's a sarcastic term aimed at people who go out of their way to show that they're self-righteous. And like everything else people do, it's open to wide interpretation, depending on how a particular person views the the world.

Apparently I've always been that guy. And the extent to which it irritates people depends on how strongly they feel about whatever I may do that might make them feel foolish. Those types of people have always been around, and always will be. They'll see me wearing a bicycle helmet, or eating veggies, and they'll think "Ha! He thinks he's better than me!" But my virtue signaling has never been intended for them, it's intended for different people.

The man that I wanted go grow up to be was the kind of person the bad guys just hated, but everyone else could trust. I've stood tall, with a steady gaze, and am quick to smile. But of course outside appearances can't always be trusted. Go take a look at the incredibly evil bad guy that Henry Fonda played with his honest face and blue eyes in "Once Upon a Time in the West".

I live in Arizona, and yesterday I was pondering how to continue to send a clear message that I care for strangers, and people who might have weakened immune systems, and especially children, and I decided to go on "virtue signaling" with a mask when I'm around strangers. Of course, with my friends who are vaccinated, they already know me, so I don't need to mask up.

These are strange times indeed, when wearing a mask is like wearing a white hat.

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