“It was the scariest moment of my life!” exclaimed the young woman, recalling the events of March 31. She and her boyfriend had been practicing social distancing for over two weeks. In fact, they were the first of their small circle of 30 close friends to refuse all social engagements frequented by anyone with whom they didn’t already live (in other words, Lizbeth’s parents). They proudly posted on their Snapchat and Instagram feeds that they couldn’t hang out with any of their best friends because they had to be socially conscious and stuff. They reminded everyone to think of the brave front-line workers, and were sure to like, forward or re-tweet every celebrity hashtag, posting or meme on the subject.

On this quiet Tuesday evening Lizbeth Snepst, a graduate student, and her live-in boyfriend Dexter Siwak, an artist, dog groomer, and graduate student, decided to take a walk. It was warm and pleasant with only the gentlest of breezes and they spotted dozens of other people out as well, enjoying the last of the day’s sun.

But it was then, as day turned to night and right in front of a street full of pedestrians and countless others who surely were watching from balconies and windows, that Lizbeth and Dexter saw a black man in a blue hoodie walking right towards them.

The couple froze. They didn’t know how to react! Should they do the socially conscious thing and move at least six feet away, or cross the street? Or would all those watching, judging spectators think the couple racist, privileged whites simply revealing their inherent racism? Lizbeth feverishly wondered whether, if challenged, she might leverage the fact she was one-sixteenth Salish Indian (or something) to her advantage. Dexter thought about his eighth-best friend, who was part black (or something – he liked rap music – or did they call it hip-hop now?), and whether this friend would come to his rescue if a storm of public opinion turned against him.

The black man got closer and closer as the couple remained paralyzed, weighing the merits of public safety versus a possibly overriding priority of virtue signalling. He was ten feet away from them, then nearly five, then before they could comprehend what was happening, he smiled, said “Good evening,” moved to one side and walked past, returning to the sidewalk some feet behind them.

Lizbeth and Dexter hugged tightly, and though badly shaken, nevertheless managed weak smiles for each other. And with a confidence they didn’t really feel, they attempted to shrug off the unsettling experience and jauntily resumed their interrupted stroll, their ponytails bouncing in rhythm.

Until, five minutes later, out of nowhere, they noticed an Asian woman walking right towards them.