... Am I being too sensitive?

Hi everyone,
today was the first time I’ve ever been in a situation where I clasped my hands together and tried not to lose my temper, even verbally.

I was standing in line at the checkout; because of COVID, I’ve become very sensitive when people get too close to me.

An older couple got in line behind me and stood so close that they were almost touching me.

Me: “Excuse me, could you please keep a little distance?”

Him: “Ha, everyone’s going to die in December anyway.”
Her: “But honey, only the vaccinated ones.”
Both: “HEARTY LAUGHTER”


I’m usually pretty quick-witted, but I was speechless.
Where is all this headed?
I just had to get that off my chest.

Warm regards, and stay healthy.
Petra

I feel the same way when I take the bus to my daughter’s place at lunchtime and it’s packed. I really struggle with so many people.
I’m glad I hardly ever need to use public transportation.

Dear Petra, 

I feel exactly the same way. I try hard not to get into it with stupid people, but every 10 times or so it still bursts out of me. 
The other day at the pharmacy, a young woman was standing right behind me too, and I turned around and snapped at her aggressively, "Can you get any closer? Should I give you a piggyback ride?" I must have sounded very hostile, because she immediately jumped back. When I was done and wanted to get past her, she jumped back out of the way and almost squeezed herself into a shelf; I think she was really scared of me. Then I felt sorry again and just said very timidly, "Thank you." It's a difficult time, and I can't understand these unconcerned (or less concerned) people. Even without coronavirus, I already have enough other anxieties. The ignorance in this matter simply leaves me speechless. 

Besides, weren't the vaccinated supposed to die back in October? Do we all have to die every 2 months now? 
I find what coronavirus is bringing to light about people just as frightening as coronavirus itself. Ignorant people, egoists, fools, and so on and so on—human abysses are opening up there!

I hope you've been able to calm down again. ♡

Even before the pandemic,

I couldn’t stand it when people got “too close.” I would’ve come up with something—I’ve still got my quick wit.

When someone gets too close to me, I turn around, open my jacket pocket, and say, “You’re still much too far away from me—hop in here, then you’ll be really close to me.” It helps and gets the laughs on your side, but unfortunately there’s still no cure for stupidity.

Love, Inge

I’m usually quick-witted too, but by now I’m scared that these nutcases might actually lash out. That’s why I try to control myself. That woman at the pharmacy was just unlucky because I’d had an argument with my family beforehand and was already furious. 

I’m worried that at some point I won’t be able to control myself anymore. Everyone’s nerves are slowly fraying. 

My neighbor is afraid of getting sick, but she works in a restaurant without a mask. When I pointed out that it’s illogical to spend hours in an enclosed room with strangers, she just said, “It’s allowed, and I’m vaccinated.” I didn’t say anything else. What’s allowed and what common sense should tell you seem to be two different things! 

There are also unvaccinated people who are careful, just as there are vaccinated people who think they have a free pass. That’s why we should probably divide people into the cautious and the careless; that makes more sense.  

There’s a woman working at the supermarket whose nose is always sticking out; only her mouth is covered. Because otherwise she can’t breathe. But she seems to have come through the pandemic unscathed so far. 

I can’t stand it (anymore) when someone gets too close to me either.
I’m very direct in those situations, but always polite, and usually say: “Excuse me, but you probably don’t know what 1.5 meters looks like, do you?!” That makes people feel challenged in their supposed 😂 intelligence, and they politely keep their distance.
I don’t bother with COVID deniers and vaccine refusers anymore. They’re simply incapable of grasping what’s going on. And they won’t get it until it’s hit them (or their loved ones) really hard. For most of them, that’s as sure as amen in church 🙄
We’re vaccinated; the two older kids over 12 are vaccinated; the baby is (presumably) vaccinated through my breast milk; and the little girls will be vaccinated in December.
We’ve also received our booster shots as far as possible.
And other than that, the only thing that helps is to keep your distance from all risk factors and to stay away from “dissenters” 😉.

Yeah, just be extra careful. Social distancing, mask 😷 of course, wash your hands, and stay away from all the a...h...s.
Then we’ll be fine, hopefully. 

About the 1.50 m, we’re wondering whether we should lie down in between as a substitute for the measuring tape.
After all, that’s our height.

When someone’s right on my heels, I always ask if they’re looking for a ride. But I have to admit that since the pandemic started, I haven’t had to complain about that yet—we obviously live in a more than pleasant neighborhood.
Everyone keeps a proper distance as much as possible, only one person at a time goes shopping, no one has been fighting over toilet paper—everything’s very calm and disciplined.
I haven’t been to downtown in quite a while now—not even before the pandemic. Since we moved to the outskirts of the city a good 10 years ago, I’ve been enjoying the benefits of a somewhat more relaxed, rural lifestyle more and more; this is especially noticeable right before the holidays.
Shopping in downtown Cologne before Christmas used to be a real nightmare; out here, it’s much quieter and, above all, more peaceful.

Good evening at this late hour,

you’re all not alone with this “distancing” problem and masks halfway down on people’s chins.
Unfortunately, I have to take public transportation (train and the bus in the evening).
The bus is often very crowded, but it’s manageable—everyone’s wearing masks and being disciplined. However, on the tram, there are often students or teenagers who harass people and don’t wear masks themselves. Sometimes it gets really below the belt.
No one’s given me any trouble yet, but it’s still annoying.
Because of these COVID deniers, the whole thing is dragging on even longer. Where is all this headed? There’s no respect left.

Recently, someone threw butyric acid at two testing stations here in our area, and then the police showed up.
It’s just not fun anymore. Christmas markets are closed—a piece of our quality of life is being taken away from us.
You just have to be careful not to get clobbered.
In the evenings, my husband always picks me up from the stop because you never know who’ll get off with me and follow me.

have a wonderful Advent season, everyone—a little distraction does us all good.

Good morning......

I’ve just been reading your posts very carefully and have come across quite a few things here that sound a lot like what’s going on in my life.
I have to admit, though, that I only decided to get vaccinated after a lot of thought, simply to avoid social pressure. Still, before getting vaccinated, I was much more afraid of that than of actually getting COVID-19 myself—that was because a young man (30) from my daughter’s circle of friends developed pericarditis three days after getting vaccinated and is still struggling with it.
My family and I have been fine since getting vaccinated; it’s been quite some time now, and we’re all fully vaccinated.
Yeah, social distancing—I could tell you a thing or two about that. Most of the time, it’s the over-70s here who want to help me read my shopping list, so I tell them more or less politely that I don’t need their help—I have my reading glasses with me.
On vacation, we had to take the bus and train, and I noticed how crowded the trains were, so we had to take rapid tests every now and then—for our own safety.
But even before the pandemic, I really didn’t like people crowding in on me, and since a shopping cart had once hit my heel pretty hard, I’ve felt that way anyway.

Nevertheless, I wish you all a peaceful Advent season; let’s just look ahead and not give up hope that a “normal” life will be possible again.

Unfortunately, the “not wearing a mask at all or only wearing it halfway” behavior is also common among adults.
I myself only go out wearing an FFP2 mask now.

I feel exactly the same way about the vaccine as Ines does right now. Somehow, I’m actually more afraid of the vaccine than I am of COVID-19. I haven’t even had a cold since the whole COVID-19 pandemic started, and I’m afraid the vaccine will weaken my immune system.
And I really don’t like how this whole thing is being handled—all the pressure being applied and how people are being divided into vaccinated and unvaccinated. I’m a vaccine skeptic, not an anti-vaxxer—you always have to make that clear because if you’re unvaccinated, you’re immediately labeled a contrarian or a nutcase.
I’ve always had very little contact with people anyway—just at work and when I go shopping.
I can’t stand big events anyway, and I always wear my mask; I was already keeping my distance even before COVID-19.
I’ve now made a vaccination appointment because we have to get tested every day for work, and I don’t want to keep doing that forever.

No!!!!! You’re definitely not too sensitive....
I sometimes ask if anyone wants to “cuddle,” too...
But I’ve never been spoken to like that at the checkout! It’s unbelievable what some people get away with.... It leaves me speechless—I wonder where they left their common sense....
I myself only go shopping every 14 days now, and once a week to dog training (outdoors, 5 people, and since we all have the same “crazy” dogs, we keep a looooooot of distance—the theory part is online). What I miss is the knitting group—there are about 10–14 of us, but sitting inside and chatting right now… no way!
I’m so glad I live out here in the countryside—at least there’s a little respect here. I don’t need to go into town at all, and I wasn’t going there even before the pandemic. Just a quick trip to a specific store, sure—pop in for a moment and head straight back home. 

You’re absolutely not being too sensitive, Petra!

It’s terrible how humanity has changed during this pandemic. Aggression is the order of the day. You’re more likely to get snapped at rudely than to have someone say “hello.”

I’ve already described elsewhere how I was accosted. And if you dare to point out that someone’s mask is sitting under their chin or under their nose, you’ll soon need pepper spray. I have no idea where this is all headed.

We were recently at the supermarket in Stade. At the checkout was an elderly gentleman (probably in his mid-80s), and behind him were three boys, whom I’d guess were between 10 and 13, jostling for position. They were shoving each other back and forth, with their masks under their noses, of course. The elderly gentleman asked them very politely to please keep the proper distance. Their response: “Grandpa, shut up.”
When my husband stepped in, I had to hold him back—he would’ve taken them up on their “want a punch in the face” offer.

I really hope we can finally get this whole situation under control and that things return to a bit of “normality.”

Best, Marlies

It’s really creepy. I’ve always said that even before COVID, I never sneezed or coughed in anyone’s face, and I never hugged complete strangers or got too close to them — that can’t be so hard, can it? Yesterday I managed to get a booster appointment for my husband and me (after our family doctor said we could check back in May...)

 Take care of yourselves, stay home voluntarily as much as possible, and knit or crochet — it’s calming.
Love,
Margitta from Die Kleine Strickerei

That’s exactly it—people like that certainly couldn’t behave themselves even before the pandemic.
After almost two years, this whole thing is really getting on my nerves; it’s not like all the other problems have gone on vacation during this time, but there’s no point in getting upset. If I start running around like a madwoman now, it won’t make things any better.

Veronika, but sometimes you really just want to give them a good smack, even though it won’t do any good.

Oh my gosh! “Shut up, Grandpa!” Phew. I pray every day that I don’t lose my temper over something like that! It just boils right up inside me... 

I had my hands full trying to hold my husband back, Anja. It wouldn’t do any good if he went after those **** after they threatened to beat him up.
I felt so sorry for the old man. Luckily, those **** didn’t harass him outside as well. I think I would’ve taken them on if they had.

I would’ve had the store manager called right away and had those little ******* banned from the store. 🤬

There were two cashiers at the register (one was being trained), and they just looked at each other and then carried on as if nothing had happened. The **** come from the so-called **** (that’s not my expression!) and the father of one of them is apparently something like the **** there. Nobody there takes action that quickly, and even the businesspeople seem to have “reservations”...

Phew—somehow I’m shocked by how some young people are talked about.
Yes, some of them misbehave.
But that’s usually a reaction to the behavior of one adult or another (including parents).

People complain about young people’s disrespect, but rarely see that they aren’t exactly treated with respect either.

That may well be true, Marlene. In this particular case, however, there was absolutely no reason for these **** to pick on the frail old man. He politely asked them to keep a proper distance because he was afraid—1. because of the lack of distance and 2. because of their shoving.
These **** definitely learned their behavior toward others at home...

Let me put it this way: what goes around comes around... If you act disrespectfully, you’ll get it back in a language you apparently understand.
I also have a neighbor (he’s 30 now; I’ve known him for 15 years) who’s always demanding respect—very loudly, at that—but only wants to receive it, not give it in return. Now I don’t talk to him anymore. 

Please don’t use swear words.
I’ll replace them with ****.
If you want to vent, feel free to do so, but this is going a bit too far here. Please tone it down a bit, thanks.