A few weeks ago in Portland, my friend and I hailed a LYFT car to take us to the airport. The name of the driver who accepted our ride request was Chad. Immediately I thought to myself: this can’t be good! The name Chad carries all sorts of negative connotation these days, and we waited to find out what kind of douchebag is going to show up.
Turns out my gut feeling was correct. Soon as we enter the car we notice Chad was unmasked. While indeed the States have largely opened up completely from pandemic restrictions, federal law still dictates a mask requirement when traveling on public transportation, including taxis and ride-share. Of course, we were ready and masked up.
A small sticker on the window claims masks are not required inside the car, which is rather false. Nevertheless, we didn’t mind that Chad lacked facial covering because we were both vaccinated (with the best vaccine Pfizer has to offer). Chat did asked whether we would like for him to put on a mask, to which we declined, not wanting to risk any anti-mask tirade coming back our way.
Right on cue, Chad then started ranting about the sorry state of Portland and how the mayor has been doing such a shitty job of it. He’s not wrong: we stayed in the Chinatown area of Portland, and practically every block was littered with homeless tents. A stark contrast to the bougie apartments in the area, and the long line at Voodoo doughnuts. No wonder Portland Chinatown has a somewhat deserted feel. Who would want to come here to hangout amongst so many homeless on the streets?
To this point, we agreed with Chad. The ride to the airport was uneventful after that. He realized we were not hostile to his believed ideologies. I’m sick of mask wearing as much as Chad is, though he probably was so from the very beginning.
Portland: