does a society exist where it's become acceptable to wear 'helmets' enclosing one's entire head when in public to preempt social interaction

I don't know what Douglas Coupland thinks about his writing. I've read maybe one page of one of his books and didn't think I was similar to him. But it seems like people just compare you to anyone, pretty much.

I know,' said Erin, and described how she'd lately felt depressed in a new and scary way, which Paul also had felt lately and described as a sadness-based fear, immune to tone and interpretation, as if not meant for humans - more visceral than sadness, but unlike fear because it decreased heart rate and impaired the senses, causing everything to seem 'darker.

Patriotism is the belief that not all human lives are worth the same.

If I don't like someone and I start reading their stuff, it seems like my brain will just automatically start criticizing everything that's there. It's really hard to read a book without having all this outside information telling you what to think about it.

We have been sitting here all night bullshitting and we still don’t know what to do.

You were one person alive and your brain was encased in a skull. There were other people out there. It took effort to be connected.