I lost a friend from middle school because of his morbid covid fear. We used to talk once a week or so long distance (he doesn’t have a mobile device or computer). He gets all of his news from the alphabet networks. Tried to tell him most of what he was hearing about the pandemic was BS, and he exploded. He hung up on me and we haven’t spoken since. That’s been months ago. I think a lot of these people who would ordinarily vote Republican, voted for Biden because of this non-stop fearmongering by Fauci and the media.
And the incessant Trump bashing on the media, people started to believe their lies and just wanted Orange Man news to go away.
I can count my close friends on one hand. That's my choice. I've never felt the need to have more than that. Once a month I used to meet an old co-worker of mine and her husband at the casino near me. They live about an hour away. When the lockdown started, the casino was closed. When they started to reopen, they required masks, and social distancing. I told my friends I wouldn't be going back to the casino until they didn't require masks anymore. My friends would call periodically to see if they could get me to change my mind, but I wouldn't back down. They'd go, and perform like sheep. They even got the vaccine, but it was because they want to be able to continue traveling overseas. At least that was their excuse. I'm glad I stuck to my guns, and never met them, because I wouldn't have been nice to be around, and might have said things I'd have regretted later. It's been since March 2020 that I've been there.
They called me two weeks ago as the casino lifted their mask restriction for vaccinated people. I told them to let me know if they had to show their papers upon entry. My friend called me last week to say they didn't have to show proof of vaccine which is good. Unfortunately, her husband is now in the hospital for surgery to implant a stent for a blockage near his heart. They couldn't put the stent in during the catheterization procedure because of that. Haven't heard from her yet, so hopefully, no news is good news.