Benefit of the doubt

I find it strange that I stumbled upon two posts just this week making fun of people who wear face masks when they're alone in a car. That's just not a topic about which many people blog, but two people on Hive found it worthy of mentioning and took it upon themselves to call people who do that "special" (in a derogatory way) or "idiots." 🙄

One-eighth of a mile (0.2 km) from my closest market is a gasoline station ("petrol" station, for those more familiar with UK English). On a recent trip to get food, I decided to stop on the way home and fill my car's gas tank. Not seeing any sense in removing my face mask for that short jaunt, only to have to put it back on again, I left it on as I drove that short 0.2 km distance. Thus, I might easily have been one of the "idiots" or "special people" that were mentioned.

Whatever happened to giving folks the "benefit of the doubt" that their behavior, though it might seem strange, has some rationale? The old adage, "you can't judge a book by its cover" might also apply here.

So, yeah, driving with a mask on and nobody else in the car? Maybe that person is only going a short distance and getting out of the car again.

That supposedly vapid, "air-headed" chick you see taking a selfie at the pump while putting fuel in her car...? Maybe she's actually collecting data on fuel prices (in a creative way) for her Master's Thesis in Economics and will detail the intricacies of fossil fuel price fluctuations based on the nuances of the geo-political climate of the past decade. The spreadsheet & charts she is compiling will blow your mind. In short, maybe not an air-head after all.

The weird "bonehead" you saw at the airport turning his shoes upside down before putting them on again after going through a security checkpoint...? Maybe he served three tours of duty with the military in a location where scorpions were common and his strange habit originated out of a necessity of survival. Thank a veteran, don't mock him as an idiot.