If you saw a pregnant woman pull down her mask for a few moments, would you confront her?

[ShutUpAlex]

Had a woman confront me today I’m a supermarket for pulling my mask down for a few gulps of air. Suddenly felt very faint and breathless and just needed to suck in a few deep breaths, then returned the mask to my face.
Woman confronted me, accusing me of putting the whole store in danger and how people like me are the reason we are in this situation in the first place. She hadn’t confronted anyone else wearing lanyards, just me.

Was I being unreasonable? Should I have just left the store? Or was she being OTT.

[itsgettingwierd]

She's batty.

Perhaps if you feel the masks are becoming too much consider a shield? (They aren't as effective so that's personal choice)

Rates are so low currently that if a supermarket has (eg 100 people) statistically only 1-2 of those will have covid. As as most people with it are isolating it's actually lower!

[ilovesooty]

@WorraLiberty

Woman confronted me, accusing me of putting the whole store in danger and how people like me are the reason we are in this situation in the first place.

Did she really?

I would have to assume she had an issue with her mental health.

So would I. However pro mask wearing you are, no one behaving normally would confront someone like that, let alone if it was obvious they were struggling.

I don't believe all the 'I'd have told her to fuck off' crowd though.

[Sometimeswinning]

Which mask do you wear? I find the disposable ones the best to wear. I have breathing issues and never suffer with these ones.

[Christmasfairy2020]

Just been to.cleethorpes today and not one person wore one is shops or toilets etc. It was lovely been so free. I'm vaccinated anyways and where I live they are vaccinating mid 30s at moment. Nice to see life returning to normal id ignore her

[Judystilldreamsofhorses]

Really trivial in comparison but I am desperate with hayfever at the moment, despite prescription medication - I have had to pull down my mask and blow my nose several times. The alternative is sniffing which is likely to make me cough, so I figure this is the lesser evil. Luckily no-one has said anything.

[XenoBitch]

I would have to assume she had an issue with her mental health

No, don't make excuses for this woman and try to say she must have some mental illness. She is an asshole. Being an asshole is not a MH issue.

[ShutUpAlex]

Yes I wear the disposable ones. I have a load left from when I worked in healthcare.

[BashfulClam]

Response to this type of fuckwittery is ‘stop making a tit of yourself and piss off!’

[Changethetoner]

It would have been awful if you had fainted, so no, you were not unreasonable to take a proper breath of air.

[btwwhichonespink]

People like this only challenge those they think they can bully. I often take mine down for a breather or even wear it under my nose if i'm feeling weak (health condition) but I have the demeanor of 'come on if you think you're hard enough' while I'm doing it. Woe betide the busy body that has a go at me.

We shouldn't even be wearing them now. There are few cases, low transmission and they don't do a great deal to stop a virus spreading anyway. I think all pregnant women should be exempt regardless unless they want to wear them. When I was pregnant both times I had severe anaemia and could barely breath even without a mask.

[Roodicus21]

She was an arsehole! I'm not pregnant but sometimes need to pull the mask to breathe properly for a second.

[ilovesooty]

@XenoBitch

I would have to assume she had an issue with her mental health

No, don't make excuses for this woman and try to say she must have some mental illness. She is an asshole. Being an asshole is not a MH issue.

I don't think it's an excuse. I believe almost no one in a normal state of mind behaves like that.

[Iwantanap]

You could have said either
Im going to be sick and made some wretching noises for good measure or
I feel really unwell. Since you're so concerned I'll sit down and you can do my shopping... thought not, well mind your own if you don't want to help

[Cottonheadedninymuggins]

She saw you as vulnerable to make herself feel big and important, what a cow.

I have had to do it to let my dog know that it was still me with him sat outside the vets cos every so often I got a "what the fuck?" look from him whilst we were waiting for his appointment 🤣

I've also pulled my mask down and breathed in a few times in the middle of a supermarket because it was too fecking hot and I have a medical condition where I overheat constantly and sweat heavily. I generally have to swap my mask three times. I once got a woman like the one you are talking about sat something similar to me because id removed my mask that was visibly wet on my nose and mouth after antibacking my hands to wipe my face with a facial wipe to put a clean and dry mask on. I clearly had the new mask in my hand to do so and she still had a go. She didn't believe me that a wet mask was worse than no mask and still had a rant until a shop worker essentially shooed her away. (the condition already causes anxiety from people staring when it's deep winter, your bright red and sweating profusely and not wearing a coat. Some ranty woman was only making it worse!)

Tl;dr - self appointed covid monitors who only target those who they see as vulnerable to boost their smug self importance aren't worth a second thought 😘

[GabsAlot]

No of course I wouldn't say anything to you. I did ask someone to step back though in a queue they were right on top of me no need

[Newestname001]

@PicsInRed

She did this as she perceived you as vulnerable and she's a bully.

YANBU.

Yep this! There are times, under stress, I've needed to do the same. 🌹

[Doghead]

FFS

[Tooshytoshine]

She was completely unreasonable.

The correct response to a pregnant woman taking off her mask and looking a bit peaky is "are you okay?" "Can I get you anything?" "Do you need to sit-down?" Some people are so obsessed with the threat (to them) of covid that they forget about thinking of others (and I say this as an absolute covid rule follower).

Hopefully, as the restrictions ease, the fear will subside and we will all remember how to be excellent to one and other.

[Italiangreyhound]

She's bats, I would walk off while she is speaking.

[LBXXX]

Tell her to fuck off if she’s that uncomfortable then she can shop elsewhere. 😂

[Moonface123]

Sadly l see this day in and day out in my job. It is all fear driven. Yesterday l was in Dobbies garden centre and two men started shouting swearing and becoming extremely aggressive, due to one accidentally getting too close to the other.
She just sounds like an interfering busy body, zero empathy, and l bet if you had been a big burly man she wouldn't have uttered a word. Don't give it another thought.

[laidbacklife]

Utter nutcase. And wholly ignorant too. Ignore her.

[KnittedJimmychoos]

Oh gosh you poor thing 😥. No I bloody wouldn't!!

[partyatthepalace]

Crackers. Being charitable lockdown has sent a lot of people a bit bonkers.

[littlepattilou]

As a few posters have said, it's funny how it's only ever WOMEN who are targeted, and never men. Other women have a go at them, and MEN have a go at them, but no-one seems to have a go at a man.

Probably because they know a man is more likely to say 'fuck off you nosey cow.' Then again, as this thread illustrates, some women will say that too. I would, in situations like this, and I have done. I have a couple of friends who are the same as me too.

My one friend (I'll call her Lisa,) is disabled and has a blue badge, and she is 45, but looks more like late 30s. She has had nosey people (usually women,) scowling at her, because as she looks young-ish, and isn't in a wheelchair, she obviously isn't actually genuinely disabled.

One nosey woman glared at her one time (2 years ago,) and Lisa said 'what are you giving me evil looks for?' The woman said 'you are in a blue badge zone, with no blue badge, and are clearly not disabled anyway.' The badge WAS in the window, the stupid woman just didn't see it.'

Lisa lifted it up and waved it in her face. 'There you are, my blue badge in all its glory, with my face on it LOOK! Do you want to see my letter of entitlement to DLA and ESA too, and a doctors note confirming my disability, you fucking nosey cow!'

The woman went flame red, and skulked off like a scolded chicken, but fuck me it was a priceless moment.

Hopefully the woman will think twice before sticking her nosey beak in where it isn't wanted again!

And no, it doesn't follow that someone is 'not in a normal state of mind' if they confront people like this. As @XenoBitch said, some people are just opinionated arseholes, who think they have the right to police other people. People need to stop making excuses for people, when the only thing wrong with them, is that they are bloody rude, obnoxious, entitled, and opinionated!