Driving friends during the pandemic
Q: How do you turn down a friend or acquaintance asking for a ride in your car?
A: In response to this question, many people will come up with reasons to get out of giving the ride — going in the opposite direction, errands, no gas, etc.
Why should you have to make up excuses for something you don’t want to do? We do this because saying no is difficult for most of us. The fear of being considered mean or rude paralyzes us and forces us into saying yes. We need to learn to worry more about ourselves and less about what others think of us. A true friend will not hold this against you.
Someone is asking you for a favor. Honesty is the best policy. Simply tell the person that you can’t.
Thanks to ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, this question should be asked less and less. COVID-19 has made this much easier because the answer is “I can’t; for your safety and mine, I’m practicing social distancing.”
A:We are coming up on the two-month mark of social distancing (for most of us), and we’re all wondering if and when we’re going to show symptoms. Look your friend in the eye via FaceTime/Zoom and say, “Nope.”
If friends or acquaintances cannot understand your position, they’re not taking this pandemic seriously enough. And frankly, they don’t have to understand it, but you have to make the boundary for yourself and others.
But, if friends are disabled, immunocompromised or elderly, and need safe transportation for basic needs, consider asking if you can run the errand for them. Wear gloves, maintain your 6 feet, bring whatever they need to the doorstep, come home and light everything on fire. (Or wash it. I guess.)