Met a man recently that couldn't stand letting me know he knew of something I had done decades ago. He said, "You don't ...." do what he knew I did. I shall say people should not judge by what they hear. They have absolutely no idea why, how, or what was actually taking place. My answer to him is "you're right." How many of us hear the birds feeding in the bushes? How many know something is wrong when they become silent? While listening to a conversation?
Called an osprey over to us yesterday. He followed us into the sound, only to be attacked by a much larger eagle. Their being downwind from us, I screamed at the eagle to leave the osprey alone while waving my arms out like a larger bird. The eagle left and I watched him all the way to his perch a mile away. Guy I was with later said, "He called one bird over to us, then ran another bird away from him." Some birds get quite territorial, but I was not going to just watch.
My point is simple: some people do or say things for reasons we may never even think about. Reminds me of the guy that said, "What are you: blind or something?" .....to a blind person. Some masks may be shields to protect others.