The COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything any of us have gone through. We’re in uncharted territory here, so we are bound to be making mistakes as a society.
One of those mistakes is constantly judging and shaming people for doing what they want during social isolation or judging them for feeling a certain way. This excludes behavior that harms others such as purchasing trends like buying all the toilet paper, or physically and mentally harming someone.
Some choose to stay in pajamas and not wear makeup when they work from home or spend their weekends at home, while others choose to put on a full face of glam and dress up. What do both things have in common? They’re both personal choices people make.
Neither of those things affects others. Similarly, the way people have a right to be sad or frustrated by the fact that graduations, ceremonies, vacations or whatever else have been canceled or postponed due to the pandemic.
I’m not saying any of those things trump the thousands of deaths that have resulted from this virus. But people have a right to feel a certain way. Many students are first-generation college students who looked forward to walking across the stage, they’re high school students who won’t go on to college and will never have a graduation ceremony, or fiancés who won’t experience their dream wedding.
Each of those things has a special place in people’s hearts and should be centered around great memories. I know that those things seem trivial to a lot of people. However, most people expressing concern or sadness for the canceling or postponing events don’t think their troubles are more important than people dying.
People are dealing with these unprecedented times in their own ways. We should be supporting each other rather than tearing each other down for the choices we’re making during the pandemic.
People need to respect what other people are doing, however, if they are engaged in potentially harmful acts, someone should speak up. For example, if someone isn’t following social distancing recommendations or other Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.
Those are the things we should be concerned about, the acts that will harm people and continue the spread. The things we shouldn’t be concerned about are what other people do in their own home or the sadness people feel for losing an experience that they’ll never get back.
Nicole Hindberg can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @HindbergNicole.