To those that don't want to wear a mask...

[Iamchangingmyusername]

I've seen a lot of threads on here with people annoyed that they have to wear a mask in public.

Aside from those with a legitimate medical reason, why are some people so anti mask?

Genuinely curious. I have had to travel to and from work throughout lockdown and the introduction of masks on public transport made me feel somewhat safer. Noticing less and less people wearing them, or wearing them as a decorative chin strap.

Because it is too little too late, mask wearing should have been introduced at the start of the pandemic here, not 5 months in. Would probably saved many lives, it's also the the question, you have to wear a mask in the shops, on public transport, at the hairdressers, the hospital etc, but you don't in the pub, the office, at school, places that you will most likely be spending much more time. The only reason the government are demanding compulsory mask wearing is to make it look like they are doing the right thing, if they had done things right it should have been done months ago.

Absolutely I will stop going to the shops if masks are made mandatory, as will a lot of people. The economic fallout from this has yet to be seen but I'm sure we all have an idea which way this will go, don't we?

Perhaps we'll be an internet only shopping society. Just with regional hubs to visit goods and view them. ( Though you'd still not be visiting if we still had to mask up. obvs )

How long does everyone on this thread think they will be wearing masks for?
No bloody idea.

Oh well, I’m quite happy for those that refuse to shop, if they have to wear a mask. It means I can shop without worryI got that some selfish prick with no feeling of social responsibility, is going to increase my risk of catching it.

@LillianBland
You still don't get it, do you? You won't have a shop to shop in!
Just you wait.

Having a tantrum about wearing a mask obviously isn't remotely the same as getting an official letter off the government telling you to stay in.

I'm not having a tantrum. I've tried multiple masks but I can't find one which allows me to function whilst wearing one. I have PTSD from trauma involving suffocation. I have a letter from my psychiatrist explaining why I can't wear one. He also feels that given I was nearly sectioned during lockdown, I absolutely shouldn't be trying to desensentise myself without therapeutic input but all these mask threads have essentially told me I'm a tantruming selfish piece of shit who needs to remain away from society. Thus I'm not going anywhere including to get medication I need whilst they are mandatory because I couldn't cope with being challenged.

[quote Userzzz]@LillianBland
You still don't get it, do you? You won't have a shop to shop in!
Just you wait.[/quote]
Well, if the virus continues to spread and people refuse to wear masks or shop if they have to, it’s them who are to blame for businesses folding, not the mask wearers or the government. Imagine being so obsessed with defending your ‘rights’ that you’re prepared to let businesses go under, rather than wear a mask. That’s hardly something to be crowing about.

I'm not obsessed with defending my rights. I just don't like wearing a mask, so, as requested, I won't go shopping.

You can't mandate that people wear them and then demand that they still go shopping.

Dinosauratemydaffodils, I’m not including people who can’t wear masks due to medical, ptsd, SNs, etc, in case you think I was including you and others with similar difficulties. My you adult child can’t wear one, but she doesn’t shop, so it’s not an issue.

@NothingIsWrong

I'm not obsessed with defending my rights. I just don't like wearing a mask, so, as requested, I won't go shopping.

You can't mandate that people wear them and then demand that they still go shopping.

No ones demanding you don’t go shopping. That’s just silly.

You still don't get it, do you? You won't have a shop to shop in!
Just you wait.

But if people in droves, @Userzzz, are not going to shops because they won't adapt to change like you or try to wear masks. So be it.

We obviously don't really need shops as they are now.

Retail will happen another way. Internet Non food retail has grown 48% and your actions will drive it.

The new normal.

"just you wait"😂

@dinosauratemydaffodils

Aren't you exempt then?

shop.disabilityhorizons.com/products/ppe/mask-exemption-travel-card-lanyard-or-clip-badge/

My dad's ordered one of these to clip to his shirt.

Aren't you exempt then?

In theory but too many people don't seem to believe in exemptions. Our GP practice for example won't allow people in the waiting room without a mask regardless of circumstances.

@Dinosauratemydaffodils

Aren't you exempt then?

In theory but too many people don't seem to believe in exemptions. Our GP practice for example won't allow people in the waiting room without a mask regardless of circumstances.

Well that’s just silly, since they will be aware of their patients histories. I never thought to check with mine and my youngest is due her regular blood tests. They’re insisting because she missed her last one due to lockdown. We don’t have a car and I’m not having her stand outside if the weather is bad. I’d best check with them.

@LillianBland

No ones demanding you don’t go shopping. That’s just silly.

I assume you meant do in this sentence? People most definitely are demanding that people who don't want to wear masks don't go shopping. I am happy to comply with that.

You said it would be the fault of people who didn't want to shop with masks on if businesses failed. It really isn't. I find them uncomfortable, and it makes for a miserable experience shopping. Why would I shop for non-essentials if it's a miserable experience? The government has made rules, whether I agree with them or not, and I am adapting my life to them, like millions of other people have.

Well that’s just silly, since they will be aware of their patients histories.

Apparently it's fine because of video chats/phone calls. They are aware of my history but it cuts no ice. The GP is insisting on seeing me in person in order to prescribe sleeping pills the psychiatrist asked her to prescribe to save me a sixty mile round trip to the hospital. I admit I had a breakdown earlier in lockdown with suicidal thoughts but dh picks up all medication and hands it out one pill at a time.

Hope yours is more understanding.

Bloke posts photo of woman not wearing mask on bus while knowing diddly squat whether shes exempt or not

twitter.com/JD5665/status/1284147648618991618?s=20

I’ve posted this already but just a plea, please, for any of you who work in retail (and just any of you who will be mask-wearing) to realise that there is a HUGE issue for deaf people who need to lip read to understand anyone.

Obviously there are exemptions for people Not to wear masks for reasons of disability/medical reasons.

But I’m not sure how much awareness there is of those who will find it literally impossible to understand OTHERS in masks because of their hearing disability.

My DH is profoundly deaf. He cannot comprehend what anyone is saying to him if he can’t lip read. Other people’s masks are a nightmare for him. Out and about by himself These days he feels horribly isolated and vulnerable (and he’s a big, cheerful, six foot man). People in shops can get very irritated if they say something to him and he just doesn’t even realise they’re speaking at all let alone what they’re saying.

Obv we will both wear masks and not suggesting that anyone should be taking off theirs to speak to him.

But just to say there’s another side that obviously most people won’t be thinking of. If you do work in retail I wonder if anyone has mentioned this to staff?

I will mention this to our manager as it is an important issue.

When we are on a checkout we don't wear a mask as we have the screens, but I do think having something similar to this would be useful in a retail environment www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/news/latest-news/2019/07-10-2019-sainsburys-and-argos-announce-national-rollout-of-hidden-disability-lanyard-scheme

This issue of the difficulty for lip-readers is increasingly being raised. There are already a multitude of completely transparent masks available so hopefully it will be a matter of a very short time before retailers cotton on. Not for the love of their fellow man but because each lost customer is lost income so I honestly believe it won’t be long before shop workers, bus drivers, in fact all public facing rolls will be employing them.

Many supermarkets have already adopted transparent shields.

Really hope things get easier for you very soon.

Thank you both

@ChavvySexPond

https://shop.disabilityhorizons.com/products/ppe/mask-exemption-travel-card-lanyard-or-clip-badge/

My dad's ordered one of these to clip to his shirt.

It looks like they aren’t official and don’t ask for any sort of proof at all. You may as well just write your own!

I think that the trend away from the high street and towards internet shopping has been going on for years now and this has just accelerated it. Really, it’s just a substitution. If shops shut you will have few people working in shops but more people working in delivery - it all evens out in the end

Wearing them is mandated, liking it isn't. Like most people I will wear one wear I need to but as I find it very unpleasant will avoid doing things I don't have to. So I will go supermarket shopping but anything else will be bought online. Anyone who has problem with that can mind their own bloody business.

but more people working in delivery - it all evens out in the end except it doesn’t, you provide far more jobs from an actual store, even down to the cleaners, the window washers etc than you on with an Internet business. Advertising and marketing will also die as an industry, it just becomes data analysis to target ads. Delivery drivers are also paid very poorly. I think we should be considerably worried. I don’t actually think the high street would have disappeared thanks to online shopping, rents, parking charges etc have all sped things up, and now masks.