When I first came up with the acronym BCD (bonehead comment of the day), I never realized that it would be so versatile. Or at least the C in it. Today, it again revolves not so much around a comment as it does a command.
Yesterday evening, the University of Not-Bielefeld followed the provincial decree to downgrade the obligation to wear a medical mask inside its buildings to a recommendation as of February 2nd. Although this has happened far later than most anywhere else in Germany, I don’t have a problem with this, having always been on the more cautious side of corona. No, rather than the arguably late timing of it all, it was the inarguably weird timing of the implementation that had me wondering.
For instance, why not repeal it immediately instead of three days in the future? Do we all need to somehow prepare ourselves mentally for this or something? Does corona get even less dangerous in those three days? And will we still get thrown off the campus for trespassing (no joke!) if we get caught without a mask on until then?
And then there’s the odd date: Thursday, February 2nd. Not the start or end of a week or even of a month for that matter. (Although it is technically the end of the workweek for many here in the University given how empty the place is on Fridays.) Could it have something to do with Groundhog Day perhaps? You know, letting the bottom of your face finally emerge from its “burrow” to predict when the pandemic might end?
One thing is certain though. I’m really curious to see what many of the faces actually look like compared to how my mind has been filling in the details over the past three years …
The Blog About Fog 