Masks

[WestLondon333]

Hi,

This is my first post so please be kind. I know this is a "delicate" subject but I thought this might be a good platform to ask people to please think twice before being angry when they are out.

I just want to say that not everyone that doesn't wear a mask is a "selfish bastard", some people have very serious health issues.

Let me give you my example... DH has terminal cancer which unsurprisingly come with shortness of breath as well as a hundred other things. We are trying to live as normal a life as possible for our children but are seeing increased anger towards DH who can only wear a mask for short periods of time as he cannot breathe properly.

I don't know if anyone else is seeing a general decline in kindness from people but I am seeing it more and more and even if this post makes just one person stop and think before saying something unkind to someone who may really be in trouble with their physical or mental health (or both!) then I'll be a happier woman.

I've been aggressively challenged. I've had cancer and have been left with lymph node issues and chronic fatigue. When I'm struggling, I get breathless and my blood pressure drops. I wear a mask when I can.

I think the none mask wearing should have been issued with certificates, as we were shielding letters, or even a text. Likewise toilets and seats could have been made available to those who have medical needs.

If i see someone without a mask i assume there's a reason. It's those who do not wear them properly that are annoying.

The exemption cards were available to everyone to download.
I see this as yet another government cock-up.
Can you imagine if blue badges relied on people’s honesty to not abuse a system set up to benefit those with disabilities?

YANBU at all.

I work in public transport. Our policy at work is not to ask. It's for the police and enforcement officers to check the exemption of our customers.

One incensed customer asked me if my employer planned to have a Name and Shame page on their website for non-mask wearers. I as politely as I could not very politely said this breached all kinds of GDPR and Equality laws and to reign his neck in.

This pisses me off so much, and I’m sorry your dh and you have to go through this.

Covid has brought out the absolute worst in some people, who have always thought they were better than everyone else, and now have an actual excuse to be a twat because of ‘da rulezzz’.

I know it’s easier said than done, but just ignore if you can. Getting frustrated or upset seems to fuel these maniacs.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and new year

I just wish those with valid exemptions would do their utmost to not spread their germs around (often shouting loudly that they have an exemption)

eg:
On a bus, having a shouted half hour conversation with someone sitting about four seats away & through the open space by the door, where several people were shouting.
Man in Boots, politely asked by shop assistant to put a mask on, shouting that he was exempt and he didn't like the way he'd been spoken to (and browsing hair gel, so not a medical emergency)
Woman in gallery, shouting at a security card that she had an exemption from about 15m away
Families traipsing around supermarkets en masse, no masks, all shouting at each other and blocking the aisles.

And agree with PP above on those that have masks, but think the major imperative is to cover their neck.

*several people were shouting

several people were standing

Everyday
You come across a lot of shouting people.

I don't shout, say anything or stare at those who are not wearing masks but neither do I believe that every single one if them is exempt.

I very rarely see anyone without a mask so when I do, I assume they are exempt.

I wish people would just live and let live with the mask issue. I wear one but have loved ones who can't for health reasons and I'm sick of them being harassed by shop staff

letitgohome I really disagree people should be forced to wear something that publicly identifies they have a medical issue. I see very few people without masks and given the way most people, including me, use them - repeatedly, on and off again, in pockets etc I'm not convinced they are terribly effective anyway. My dad struggles due to claustrophobic feelings though he can manage for short periods ( is also CEV). I've given him a sunflower lanyard but he feels very self conscious. Perhaps it would be kinder to just mind our own business?

I just shop and go. I never notice who is and who isn't wearing a mask. I want to get in and out of anywhere quickly. I think some people want to pick fights with somebody, anybody, and masks provide that outlet. We have to take it on trust that where people can they are trying to comply, not assume that everyone not wearing one is faking it.

But don't get me started on celebs going abroad on holiday out of Tier 4 and claiming business reasons......that really winds me up.

I don't berate or challenge anyone without a mask. However I did want to, when on a bus last week. I am very unsteady on my feet due to a stroke in June this year and also awaiting knee replacement surgery. I use a walking stick and need to sit in the priority seat on the front row on the bus. There is a sideways facing seat directly in front of it and has a cross above it and Not In Use clearly marked. This guy came and sat in it, no mask on and started shouting to others on the other side of the bus and those behind me. I either had to put up with being sprayed by him or move. So I moved, then had to struggle further to the door to get off later.

I'm more angry at people not wearing them properly or not sticking to social distancing.

Because for everyone with genuine issues there are 3 who take the piss.

I always assume there is a reason and I would never hound somebody, it's wrong on many levels and helps no one but I must admit when i see and entire supermarket filled with people and less than half either not wearing masks or have them under their nose then yes i get really angry inside as all of them can't possibly be exempt

I don't 'go shopping' anymore. I haven't been in a shop and neither have my DC since a week before Christmas. I wore a mask properly when I did. I just don't believe that everyone not wearing a mask is exempt. A large amount of those wearing one wear it under their nose, around their chin, groups of teens shouting and screeching around the shop wearing them under their chins/hanging it off their ears. Not to mention the disgusting amount of masks disposed of on the street because people can't be arsed to walk to the bin. It just makes me cross and I don't feel safe. Deliveries for everything here.

It's not being kind to mind your own business if you see someone beating a dog is it? So why is it ok to ignore people who could be spreading a virus that kills or harms many? It's mostly people who don't believe in the restrictions making it more dangerous for those at risk. That's unkind

I would be exempt but I wear it anyway

I'm sore you've thought of it but can your husband wear a scarf or a snood instead. A scarf can catch much of the breath as such without directly making actual contact with the face and is a visual cover too. Better than nothing.

I find it bizarre that those coming into the hospital are more likely to wear a mask than those in the supermarket. The only patients not wearing them are those with dementia or extreme respiratory conditions. Sadly for those with genuinely exemptions there are a large number of people who won’t wear them because they don’t find them comfortable (which is like a seat belt - nobody finds them comfier than not wearing them but we wear them for safety). My children rarely wear masks because I don’t take them to shops but many people seem to (with two adults). I’m sure behaviours will be analysed in years to come. If they can gobbily tell someone they’re exempt due to anxiety then I don’t think they understand anxiety. But that makes everyone disbelieve everyone who is exempt and that isn’t fair.

Some people are very afraid. They are particularly afraid of people without masks. That fear leads some people to shout or glare when perhaps they shouldn't.

My mum has had a total laryngectomy due to cancer, she doesn't need to wear a mask because she doesn't breathe through her nose or her mouth. She's obviously been shielding for a long time and took her first trip out to the shops only a few weeks ago to get some christmas shopping. She had her sunflower lanyard and her exemption card as well as a card that says 'I cannot speak but I can understand you'. She was so aggressively challenged by a man for not wearing a mark, shouting and swearing at her and getting right up in her face. He told her she was 'at it' when she held up her cards, she even pointed out her lary tube and he kept shouting at her. He said she deserved to catch covid and die. She was so scared and traumatised that I had to go pick her up and shes not been out her house since.

People are fucking awful OP and I'm so sorry that you're having to deal with this crap as well