my brother tried to pathologize my caution

Man, I hate this shit. I was at a family gathering recently where I was the only one masked up (bunch of different households from multiple states) and my sister and dad both were like, “Why are you wearing a mask? Are you still scared of COVID?” as if being cautious about a highly infectious disease that has run roughshod over the world for two and a half years is the same as being afraid to go on a rollercoaster or something. They didn’t press me on it, thankfully; I just said “I feel more comfortable this way” and stared at them while refusing to elaborate, and they got the message. Really makes you feel crazy, though, especially when people have completely jettisoned the idea that wearing masks doesn’t just protect you but the people around you.

I’m at least able to live a mostly normal life (similar to you I avoid packed indoor settings and indoor restaurants, but those weren’t common venues for me anyway), but it upsets me that all the people with elevated risk factors who take COVID seriously are held hostage by the callous majority who can’t be arsed to just wear a fucking mask as if it’s some horrendous burden. I have some at-risk family who I’m starting to think will never be able to return to normal lives at this rate.