A passenger, at what looks to me like Tenerife South Airport, is in the gate area for their flight and they’re prepared to fly in a helmet and a mask. They are being mocked for ‘not knowing what time it is’ – that it’s six years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and they’re “like Japanses soldiers still fighting the war.” Japanese lieutenant Hiroo Onoda remained on Lubang Island in the Philippines until March 1974, continuing to fight a guerrilla war and surrendering only after his former commanding officer came and officially relieved him of duty three decades after Japanese surrender in World War II. There were others like him. It seems to me, though, that opposition to masks during 2020 – 2022 was framed as being about freedom . Anyone who objected then has no basis for complaining about a passenger’s personal protective equipment being worn voluntarily now. Airport departure lounge. 2026 and they’re still out there, like Japanese soldiers still fighting the war.…