FON – Fear Of Nignog.  (I could have used another word that starts with an “N,” but I like “Nignog” better.)

How often I see the terror in people’s eyes, mostly women, when they see me as a threat.  I do not have to do anything to be a threat except to be in their general vicinity.  I am not that close to them and keep my social distance, but my social distance is not good enough.

Who knows what their FON is telling them?  
That Nignog is going to rob me!
That Nignog is going to rape me!
That Nignog is going to give me Nignog germs, and I’ll turn black and die!

Whatever their FON tells them, the people get up and move away from me.  Some move far away and out of sight, but most move further away and carefully watch me with their eyes full of fear.

The other day I got on the subway.  I felt someone staring at me after I sat down.  It was a brown woman who was wearing a Saree with a hijab.  She was sitting about 6 feet (2 m) away from me.

 I tried to ignore her stare, but it was so intense.   I thought, “Okay, lady, by the time I count to ten, you will get up and move away.  One, two, three–”  She moved a further 10 feet (3 m) away.  Once she sat down, she used both hands to pull up her hijab to cover her face mask and cheeks.  All you could see was her fearful eyes peering over the hijab carefully watching me.  Her face mask was not strong enough to protect her.  Her hijab would stop the Nignog germs that traveled 16 feet (5 m) to infect her.

How much harm was she causing herself by breathing in her exhaled air held in my her face mask and hijab?

She never stopped carefully watching me until she got off the subway several stops before my stop.

She removed the hijab from her face once she got off the subway.  She felt safe because she knew that Nignog germs did not know how to get off subways and follow people.