Stay Away From Me

Last week, a colleague vented her anger about an acquaintance of hers who had completely disregarded her refusal to let him kiss her on the cheeks by means of "Hello" at a party. She said the only word for such people was "asshole" as it should not be that difficult to keep a little distance and follow a few rules in order not to completely destroy weeks of sacrifices that many other people paid a much higher price for (losing their job for instance) and brought herself on the verge of a nervous breakdown many days thanks to home office and home schooling. While I don't agree with her extreme label for such "offenders", I do feel extremely uncomfortable when I end up in situations where I feel I can't escape (potentially contagious) closeness. Until recently, I had managed to avoid shaking hands or exchanging kisses, but then I suddenly didn't and in both situations I was both annoyed in equal parts with the other party's naivety and/or denial, and my own weakness. Sometimes you feel you just can't lecture others about what is the sensible thing to do, or you (literally) don't want to be the party pooper. It's a fine balance and I definitely wish everyone decided to err on the side of caution.