I had quite a revealing conversation today with a co-worker. I had noticed that he is one of the very few who still opens windows and doors for ventilation and refuses to put down his mask even though the large majority of the "now we are all vaccinated, let's have fun together again, and not care about the infection rates any longer, corona is over, let's smile at each other, we have vaxxed ourselves free"- faction lives in the naive illusion that their protection will last forever and always and that's why it is only fair and just that they do not have to catch up on the latest corona developments.
There was an e-mail going round from the boss asking that everyone lets him know about their vaccination status. This sudden turn had unsettled me quite a lot, like so many things, that later turned out to be empty threats without any legal effect. So, I approached the aforementioned coworker, rather desparate than bold, and asked him how he would interpret the "asking" in the boss's email. I had prepared myself mentally to be disappointed and shamed and put down again, but surprisingly, my colleague without any hesitation whispered "so you are also cautious"? And this "also cautious" sounded to me like a secret code or key that kind of opens the door to another world of sane people, which was our inner world, because we started talking nonstop and excitedly for almost half an hour like confidants of the very first hour, like members of the resistance during the war. And there seem to be some more whose names he didn't mention. I felt so relieved afterwards! We both share a strong feeling of alienation, disbelief and consternation in the current atmosphere of a blunt lack of sceptism and moral self-righteousness and it was very liberating to talk about it with someone who still seems to be all right in the garret.
And with regard to this e-mail, no, we interpret the "asking" as a request or wish and not a mandatory demand.