Shouldn't the anti-mask trolls be out enjoying their best life? Why are they here on social media?

 I know I've asked this jokingly.   But if you want to know the psychology behind this there is an actual answer.   

Here is the problem.   The anti-mask trolls are narcissists and narcissists need supply.   And that supply is drying up in the real world.   

Yes, they bullied most of the population and the government out of commonsense public safety health measures, but that created a new problem for them.   A lack of in person people to bully.    Because so many caved to peer pressure to stop masking and so many others opted to protect their health by avoiding indoor spaces (staying home from events, ordering online, etc).    

And now with the majority out in public unmasked they don't know who to pick on.   With the nice maskers now preferring to stay home more there is a higher chance the person they pick on will be another bully.   Picking on a random person has become more of a gamble.   

But they still went out for their fix.   After all there are low paid in person works to bully.   Except when the anti-mask trolls got to their destination, they found two things.   

One: These workers have now become irreplaceable because thanks to lack of COVID measures there aren't enough people willing to work bad jobs for low wages. So, basically the workers don't care if they are unhappy and complain.     

Two: Due to the difficulty in getting low paid workers, the worker they hoped to bully had been replaced by a machine.   Congrats the checker they used to bully is now themselves!   The self-checkout can really care less if you yell at it.   Nor can you get it fired.   

So, back to the internet they went looking for victims to get their supply fix.   And this is where I give you advice-don't feed the trolls.   Report them, block them, print screen and send it to their employers, but truly do not be their supply.   

  About the author: Rachelle Kaufman is an author who would rather not have long term damage from COVID.   She prefers nature, gardening and her COVID careful friends and family to hanging out in public among anti-mask bullies.   For more info on her books please visit Amazon.com: Rachelle Kaufman: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle 

 I originally posted this to my Facebook page and decided to post this here too.   In large part because I felt like my similar post was meaningful to so many and hearing that I wasn't alone was really helpful to both me and others:   

I'm guessing some people have been wondering about my absence from a certain synagogue. The reality is I haven't gone somewhere else, I've just become completely non-religious. If I am being completely honest, the reason for this is the immense pain I've felt from being excluded over the last half year plus.

This weekend is a perfect example of why this is. A weekend to celebrate "inclusion" while so many have been excluded due to either being disabled or disadvantaged; or even just choosing to not take the risk on becoming one of these by contracting COVID.

"Inclusion Shabbat" is being followed up by having a celebration/processing ceremony in regards to the pandemic. A celebration that originally referred to the pandemic as being over before the wording was quietly changed, but still reflects that a raging pandemic is in the past.

A ceremony that is being called "stepping back in". Yet, so many were never able to step back in. And yet there were those of us who stepped back in, only to have to step back out as restrictions were eliminated with the only safe option being to sit behind a computer screen and watch everyone else gather. The pain of this which for me personally has pushed me far away from religion. At a synagogue that has tons of money and resources and could have provided for everybody. And this was pretty much never acknowledged by anybody except the others who have been excluded.

Let me tell you something from the perspective of those who aren't so privileged. 1. We can't process the "trauma" because ours is ongoing and we are just trying to survive. You can't process when you are in survival mode. 2. If you truly think being bored at home for a few months was "trauma" then perhaps you should consider what life is like for those who have now been stuck at home for years because people won't do the simplest and smallest things like wearing a mask.

So, if you are wondering where I am or why I am gone it is because the religious community choose to exclude me. I do think situations sometimes exist where one group of people is excluded to make another happy-and that is life-and we should just admit it. And lying to people who are being excluded and constantly talking about inclusion only adds to the pain. Those of us who have been excluded know it. Being gaslighted like this about it is toxic and I've chosen to take a step away from this toxic environment.