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Mental Health and Swimming During Covid

swimmer451

My masters swim group has aquired a new "permanent" member.  He is a transplant to Florida from the Chicagoland area. He has very strong far right political beliefs and has no inhibitions about voicing them to anybody that is around. Several times this past winter when many of us would show up in the pre-dawn hours for swim practice, he would be out in the dark parking lot yelling at us to "put our diapers on".  Yes, he is a groan man standing out in a dark parking lot yelling at early arriving swimmers that are wearing masks to "put our diapers on".  I mentioned this to coach and he said he is familiar with this guy and that the man is harmless.  He just has strong opinions.  I expressed my concern that this guy is verbally aggressive and I wondered outloud that I hope he doesn't have a gun in his car.  The response that coach recommended and that I have been using is to ignore him. My guess is, between the pandemic and the current political environment in the USA, it is probably safe to say that in the past 12 months nearly everyone has been stressed. But all the same,, I wonder, what kind of adult does this behavior?  Is he sane?  Is ignoring him really the best approach to take? Does he have a gun in his car?  I am putting this out to the general masters swimming community.

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  • Your coach is right. Just ignore. A dialogue even with the best of intentions is giving this fellow what he wants. Someone's attention. Everyone has been affected in some shape or form by this past 14 months. Some more than others. For what it's worth, many people harbored some genuine anger over the masks which became a highly politicized topic. Now it's the vaccines.

    Anyway, if he's a swimmer maybe that common thread will create some semblance of normalcy while you're swimming. Hopefully he's not in your lane, but that said, what do his lane mates say?  Do you see them banter with him? If so, then you may be able to get a better read on his behavior. Some people are just naturally brash, and with zero compunction to put that behavior in check, especially when they're disgruntled about life in general. he could be harmlessly venting with no idea that he's coming across as a nut job. At the end of the day, your coach is aware, and he surely would know how to handle in case he sensed something was seriously wrong. Swim happy - and thankfully, we don't need to wear our face diapers in the pool. :)   

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  • Your coach is right. Just ignore. A dialogue even with the best of intentions is giving this fellow what he wants. Someone's attention. Everyone has been affected in some shape or form by this past 14 months. Some more than others. For what it's worth, many people harbored some genuine anger over the masks which became a highly politicized topic. Now it's the vaccines.

    Anyway, if he's a swimmer maybe that common thread will create some semblance of normalcy while you're swimming. Hopefully he's not in your lane, but that said, what do his lane mates say?  Do you see them banter with him? If so, then you may be able to get a better read on his behavior. Some people are just naturally brash, and with zero compunction to put that behavior in check, especially when they're disgruntled about life in general. he could be harmlessly venting with no idea that he's coming across as a nut job. At the end of the day, your coach is aware, and he surely would know how to handle in case he sensed something was seriously wrong. Swim happy - and thankfully, we don't need to wear our face diapers in the pool. :)   

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