Rationalized Distancing

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when you see your friends or family members who don’t live under your roof either one-on-one or in groups whether it be standing 6 feet apart from each other and not moving from that spot, meeting in cars in the parking lot, walking or riding bikes together on opposite sides of the street, or holding exercise classes in the street. These people are practicing creative distancing, but it is slightly different because people who practice rationalized distancing think it’s okay because they list the precautions they had taken and will argue with those who don’t agree with them—it was only five minutes, they sat 6 feet apart, we monitored their behavior, it was just a playdate, the only other place we go is the grocery store, I’m healthy, we’re all healthy. However, according to MIT research “mucus and saliva can burst from a person’s mouth at nearly a hundred miles an hour and travel as far as 27 feet.” This method of distancing is flawed, selfish, and breaks all social distancing rules.