Dear Prudence,
I’m a fairly liberal gay guy living in an incredibly conservative state. Some of my co-workers oppose women’s suffrage (!), think homosexuality is evil, and believe that another civil war is imminent and hoped-for. When I go to the grocery store, something like a third of the other shoppers don’t wear masks. I also see a therapist to deal with depression and suicidal ideation. Our last meeting covered how much I hate living here, since so many people don’t share my values. I mentioned being upset by how many people refuse to wear masks and how it seemed like a lack of respect for one another’s health.
My therapist asked what I thought of people who were vaccinated and didn’t wear masks, and I said the CDC says to continue wearing masks in public. My therapist said, “Oh, you believe in the CDC?” Then my therapist brought up a situation with another patient who couldn’t wear masks due to trauma and asked if I thought the same of that patient and if that patient should wear masks even if vaccinated. The discussion left me feeling uncomfortable. Is my therapist an anti-masker? Should I trust their judgment? Was I a jerk for calling my therapist’s town a place filled with disgusting jerks?
—Overreacting?