Yesterday three of my neighbours were drinking together for VE day. They call me over to join, so I did. And I had three handshakes forced on me. I can& #39;t stop thinking about this. Not necessarily from a contagion point of view (although that is an issue)

The handshake was almost universally a gesture of trust and goodwill. I perceived the offer, which I couldn& #39;t normative refuse, as exceptionally (if unintentionally) aggressive. And the guy knew it, too. "You won& #39;t get it" and "We& #39;re all going to die one day".

Will the handshake survive this? I& #39;m conflicted. I& #39;ve long thought it a rather strange gesture, and much prefer bowing as an alternative. But white folks don& #39;t like this for some reasons, and even in the early days of COVID preferred to tap elbows or feet.

Bowing shouldn& #39;t be that alien to most of us, though. We& #39;re halfway there already: in the hallway we give each other nods. You& #39;ve seen performers bow, or done so yourself.

I& #39;m pro-bow once this blows over.