People wearing the sunflower lanyard without masks

[Nosebogey]

Just wondering how you are finding it?

I haven’t been to any shops (bar once) since the mask rule came in. We are exempt but didn’t have the lanyards the time we went in. Everyone else in masks, a bit of staring but not much else. Since then though someone else exempt posted on the local faceache that she’d been approached by a man who removed his mask, coughed in her face, told her he had covid and that he hoped she died from it from not wearing her mask. It’s made me a bit nervous to try again because lots of people commented on her post blaming her for that situation . And someone else I know who lives in another area was shouted at in a supermarket by another customer for not having a mask on to the point where she had to leave the shop.

Have you found people to be quite understanding or have you had shitty/scary comments too?

[HeresMe]

I'll say it again if someone isn't wearing a mask mind your own business, and for those wanting to confine people to their home, if you are that frightened about seeing a unmasked person confine yourselves rather than them.

[ElizabethWoodviIIe]

@nether

you don't get benefits if you leave your job because you have to wear a mask to use the bus to get there

Neither do you get benefits because you cannot get to work on public transport because there are unmasked people on it.

There's no simple solution to this, as I've said before. All we can do is make sure we stay 2m apart and practice good hygiene because clearly, we both need to use the bus.

[lorn195]

@britINscotland I meant elastic .

[lorn195]

@britINscotland I wear a scarf as the electric loops interfere with my hearing aids and glasses. It's a pain though.

[britINscotland]

I have hearing loss (cochlear implant) and visual impairment too @lorn195 but I wear a mask. My issue is trying to lipread but that doesn't make ME exempt, it makes the person I'm talking to exempt.

I have a sunflower lanyard but that is mainly to let people know that I have communication difficulties, not that I can't wear one. I hate wearing one though and I hate the daily struggle to communicate.

I have a clear face mask that a family member uses if they need to speak with me or come with me.

It is concerning that anyone can get a sunflower lanyard but that doesn't mean people are faking it either. Doctors will not give exemption letters because its illegal to ask someone to prove an exemption but I think some kind of medical exemption card is actually needed. It would be more believable I think and make things easier all around.

[nether]

you don't get benefits if you leave your job because you have to wear a mask to use the bus to get there

Neither do you get benefits because you cannot get to work on public transport because there are unmasked people on it.

[HUCKMUCK]

@MummytoCSJH

I have trigeminal neuralgia and cannot wear a mask or a shield (unless they suddenly float in front of your face without being attached?)

I wore my lanyard in the pharmacy the other day and the woman working there still asked me if I had a face covering I could put on A bus driver yesterday also asked me if I had an exemption card despite these legally not actually meaning anything or being official, he had turned someone away just in front of me for not wearing a mask (though they did state it was personal preference rather than medical reasons) which I was quite shocked by. Luckily I had my lanyard but these aren't required so not sure what he would have done if I didn't have one to show him, I only got mine a few days ago!

There is an issue with the mixed way it is being policed. My BIL is a bus driver and he has categorically been told by his employer not to police it. There are notices up all over the bus and he can, if he chooses, remind people that they may be at risk of a fine, but is not allowed to ban someone from getting on his bus without a mask.

[ElizabethWoodviIIe]

@nether

We have a recently deshielded person in the family, and so would have to leave the premises, unless it were possible for minimum 2m spacing. Which generally it isn't

Your reasonable adjustment is our risk of death.

Remember that by including you, others are excluded.

I take your point and there's no easy solution to this.

However if I can't use public transport I can't get to work. If I can't get to work I can't pay my mortgage or eat - you don't get benefits if you leave your job because you have to wear a mask to use the bus to get there. Come September lots of people will need to use public transport to take children to school. And so on.

It's not as straightforward as 'stay in, get your shopping delivered'. If it were I'd be doing that, believe me.

[Spikeyball]

"The thing is, those who cannot wear a mask for medical reasons are probably just as worried, if not more, about the virus as everyone else."

Especially since some people who cannot wear masks are in the shielding group and many of the rest are clinically vulnerable.

"Because the policy is 'my mask protects you, your mask protects me'."

Masks are to reduce the spread of the virus. They are not in general public use, designed to protect any particular individual from getting the virus.

I hope those who are quick to tell people who cannot wear masks that they are putting others at risk are equally quick to tell anyone who is hugging and not staying 2m from those not in the same household. Outside of workplaces that is causing most of the spread of the virus.

[MummytoCSJH]

I have trigeminal neuralgia and cannot wear a mask or a shield (unless they suddenly float in front of your face without being attached?)

I wore my lanyard in the pharmacy the other day and the woman working there still asked me if I had a face covering I could put on A bus driver yesterday also asked me if I had an exemption card despite these legally not actually meaning anything or being official, he had turned someone away just in front of me for not wearing a mask (though they did state it was personal preference rather than medical reasons) which I was quite shocked by. Luckily I had my lanyard but these aren't required so not sure what he would have done if I didn't have one to show him, I only got mine a few days ago!

[HUCKMUCK]

@nether

I am sure most exempt people would much rather be able to wear one and protect themselves. It's a horrible position to be in, knowing you would be safer with a mask but not being able to wear one

What sort of mask are you thinking of? Because the policy is 'my mask protects you, your mask protects me'. So the unmasked are benefitting from protection from the masked, whilst putting everyone (including the masked) at risk.

And for the exceptionally vulnerable, that's not an insignificant risk (even when shielding is paused, the medical condition hasn't gone away)

So what are people with a disability supposed to do? If they genuinely cannot wear a mask - what is their alternative?

[itsgettingweird]

I wear a mask.

My ds who is autistic generally doesn't although he has and does try.

He feels self conscious not in a mask and also in the sunflower lanyard.

So he either wears his own backpack with lanyard attached to zip or I attached it to my handbag.

We haven't got the cards that attach but I do have a clear card thing and have thought about making some kind of I'd card for him (any excuse to use my laminator)

They'll always be people who judge. We get stared at when we use his blue badge.

He has a physical disability that means he may be fine when we get out but walking around can cause severe spasms and tightness - and he can't get back into the car in a small space!

[GreyishDays]

To those who are saying people can just pick up a lanyard too easily to get out of wearing a mask, I’m not sure that’s really going to happen. Not on any great scale. Are the conspiracy theorists or the cocky “doesn’t affect me because I’m young and healthy” really going to wear a Hidden Disability lanyard?

[nether]

I am sure most exempt people would much rather be able to wear one and protect themselves. It's a horrible position to be in, knowing you would be safer with a mask but not being able to wear one

What sort of mask are you thinking of? Because the policy is 'my mask protects you, your mask protects me'. So the unmasked are benefitting from protection from the masked, whilst putting everyone (including the masked) at risk.

And for the exceptionally vulnerable, that's not an insignificant risk (even when shielding is paused, the medical condition hasn't gone away)

[Drivingdownthe101]

@HUCKMUCK

The thing is, those who cannot wear a mask for medical reasons are probably just as worried, if not more, about the virus as everyone else.

I am sure most exempt people would much rather be able to wear one and protect themselves. It's a horrible position to be in, knowing you would be safer with a mask but not being able to wear one.

Masks are the latest iteration of the disabled toilet/parking space ridiculousness that has been going on forever and some people still don't get that disabilities aren't always obvious - or anyone else's business.

Exactly. I can’t wear a mask. I wish I could, because then I could go in shops/museums/libraries etc. At the moment, I won’t do any of those things because of the shaming of people not wearing them that is being encouraged.
Of course I wish I could wear a fucking mask without having a panic attack.

[HUCKMUCK]

The thing is, those who cannot wear a mask for medical reasons are probably just as worried, if not more, about the virus as everyone else.

I am sure most exempt people would much rather be able to wear one and protect themselves. It's a horrible position to be in, knowing you would be safer with a mask but not being able to wear one.

Masks are the latest iteration of the disabled toilet/parking space ridiculousness that has been going on forever and some people still don't get that disabilities aren't always obvious - or anyone else's business.

[Lougle]

People with hidden disabilities know whether they 'can' wear a mask, or whether it's just impossible.

DD1 (14) is technically exempt, but I've judged that while she doesn't like wearing a mask and it isn't easy to keep it on her (she often pulls it down), she can wear a mask. It's just a pain to try and maintain it. She had a bit of a meltdown last week in a shop, but DD2 was able to take her outside so she could take off her mask.

If at any point I felt that DD1 was getting completely overwhelmed with the mask, I would invoke her right to go maskless.

It's just common sense. If you can't wear a mask, don't. Everyone else will just have to trust that people are being sensible.

[nether]

We have a recently deshielded person in the family, and so would have to leave the premises, unless it were possible for minimum 2m spacing. Which generally it isn't

Your reasonable adjustment is our risk of death.

Remember that by including you, others are excluded.

[ElizabethWoodviIIe]

[quote HeIenaDove]@ElizabethWoodviIIe If only there was a way to give people like that the symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia for 24 hours.[/quote]
They wouldn't last 24 minutes.

It isn't called the Suicide Disease for nothing.

[HeIenaDove]

So you’re happy for them to be used freely when it’s an issue that affects your family, but not when it’s one that affects others

Its that benefit scrounger type mindset. the IM genuine but its the others the OTHERS

[HeIenaDove]

@ElizabethWoodviIIe If only there was a way to give people like that the symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia for 24 hours.

[SengaStrawberry]

@MissCherryCakeyBun

The majority of those people in the list could, like my husband, wear a face shield. He is exempt from wearing a mask as he is waiting for facial surgery for a large growth in his nose and sinus ( thankfully benign) so he wears a face shield as it doesn't restrict his restricted breathing further.
I'm very confused why people insist that they can't wear a mask and don't look at other solutions.
I totally understand these are not practical for people with some spectrum disorders but for others?

Because they don’t have to? The law permits exemptions. It doesn’t say people have to try other alternatives first x

[Nosebogey]

Well, I’m glad they didn’t require GP signatures. GPs are not infallible. What if a GP decides to be a twat about signing things based on their own beliefs? Not all GPs are as understanding as others. Not all GPs fully understand how someone’s medical condition affects them personally. We’ve seen from threads on here that some people with asthma can wear them while others can’t. We’ve seen people with medical conditions who can wear masks berate others with the same condition who can’t. What if one of those people is a GP with the power to decide who gets a signature? What it a GP decides that because all the people they know personally with a condition could manage, that means they won’t sign for anyone with that condition? What if a GP decided to override the exemption list and refuse to sign for their patients on their own personal beliefs about masks? What about people who are not officially diagnosed with a medical condition but can’t wear masks? Like victims of violence or abuse or rape?

I’d much rather too many people without exemption go maskless for no reason than have a situation where people who genuinely can’t wear them can’t leave their houses because they couldn’t get a signature from a GP.

[Drivingdownthe101]

@MissCherryCakeyBun

The majority of those people in the list could, like my husband, wear a face shield. He is exempt from wearing a mask as he is waiting for facial surgery for a large growth in his nose and sinus ( thankfully benign) so he wears a face shield as it doesn't restrict his restricted breathing further.
I'm very confused why people insist that they can't wear a mask and don't look at other solutions.
I totally understand these are not practical for people with some spectrum disorders but for others?

Face shields aren’t allowed to be used on their own in Scotland, as they’re effectively useless.