Why the hatred of masks?

[Ohchristmastreelove]

I don’t actually mind wearing one - I’ve bought several nice cotton ones from Etsy that wash and dry really well. Particularly in cold weather I would often go out with a scarf over my lower face anyway. I’ve kind of realised how grim strangers’ breath all over me in shops etc. is so I actually do feel more protected from ‘germs’ more generally wearing a mask in public.

Ok, wearing a mask when I had my hair done the other month was a bit annoying. And I wouldn’t like to have to wear one in my friend’s house when I go round (when it is allowed again! Not right now!)

But wearing a mask doesn’t make me annoyed or make me feel unwell. I honestly wouldn’t mind too much if they remained advisory for public transport etc.

I know this is an unpopular opinion!

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of restrictions I am really hating and struggling with but masks is not really one of them.

@BusySittingDown

Because they're bloody annoying that's why.

I've only got a small head so they don't fit properly. When I'm shopping and I'm trying to look at stuff they slip up over my eyes. They make my ears ache.

I'm deaf and can't lip read/hear any fucker when they're wearing one.

I will wear one without question but that's the reason that people might hate them!

I mostly meant for people who simply just don’t like wearing them or seem to find them a threat to our liberties - obviously people with certain disabilities will find the situation very difficult.

If you DHs glasses don't steam up I would hazard a guess that his mask isn't made from tightly woven enough fabric because the only way they don't fog is if your breath goes through the mask rather than be forced up.
Which obviously makes the mask pointless.

I hate them. I get hot and sweaty, and I get a runny nose. I feel like I can't be heard, so I talk loudly/strain my voice. I can't hear other people, and I struggle to have full vision with one right under my eyes. I'm constantly checking I have all three of my children in close proximity and it's just exhausting. I also have spots on my lower face, especially my chin. I'd happily throw all mine on a bonfire.

I miss wearing lipstick - can’t really do it so much with a stupid mask on.

I stand corrected - clearly masks are a terrible creation, totally pointless in reducing spread of infection and most people absolutely hate them! Not even being sarcastic - I thought some people would agree.

For those talking about impeding communication - apart from lip reading where obviously asking any question in a shop etc would be a problem, how much do you communicate when you go to the shops or go on a train etc. really? The places where you are wearing a mask, how much do you communicate usually?

They don’t fit me (I have a small head an face - so the top of the mask gets in my eyes).

I find it much harder to interact with people when I can’t see their facial expressions properly.

They make my glasses steam up.

I will stand outside in the rain rather than going into a shop with DH. I really hate them.

They make me panic.
They make my glasses steam up and then I can't see.
I'm partially deaf and I struggle to make out what people are saying.
I hate what mask policing has done to seemingly normal people.

If masks are so effective why have I got a stinking cold right now.

I can't bear them, they make me feel claustrophobic and I avoid going anywhere that I have to wear one. We've got visors to wear at work when clients come in, and they're marginally better.

There is little evidence to say they are helping - it's a placebo, nothing more. They are only effective when worn and used correctly.... that probably 0.00001% of the population are doing. Cloth ones are the worst offenders - offering fuck all protection. You need single use medical grade surgical masks, that are frequently changed for any noticeable gain.

And as for the smug holier than thou mask police, don't get me started........ I may never stop ranting.

Wearing them for a full shift they hurt my ears and my clip has broken so many times.
I can't lip read with patients so that hinders communication, they are hot awkward, hopefully work will let use visors to aid with communication.
The only positive is can't smell bad smells but that's it

I teach at a tutoring centre where I have to wear one and I do find it hard to breath when I'm talking so much. I have to keep taking deep breathes and pausing. I also struggle to read peoples' emotions and reactions. I'm also an introvert though so enjoy wearing them out and about in shops and the anonymity it gives, particularly not having to bother wear makeup as well! It makes me a bit uncomfortable how used to them my young children now are but I'm not sure why.

I hate them. I'm a very smiley person and also quite softly spoken so find it hard to communicate with people. Yes I take your point that in a shop you can get by with minimal conversation but that's quite a bleak view - I like a little pleasant small talk.

I also hate that I can't communicate as clearly with my child when we're anywhere indoors.

Finally since becoming pregnant again I'm struggling even more, inside shops I get overheated and feel dizzy wearing a mask.

I think a lot of Asian countries had the right idea for many years, wearing masks a lot more especially during cold/flu season on public transport and in shops etc.

Just seems the UK has a much higher proportion of people unable to wear them for health/mental health reasons than anywhere else...

I wear one all day at work. I accept it and get on with it. But OMG I wish I could find one that allowed me to be able to see out of my glasses properly! No matter what I try I steam up and it’s getting worse as the weather gets colder, and the mask shifts my glasses- which are varifocals, so the wrong bit of the lenses are where I want to see. - so my reading portion shifts upwards which means I can’t see the sodding stairs.
If I though I could tolerate contact lenses, I would get them - but I ended up in hospital the last time I tried them, having cut my cornea.

@HermioneWeasley

Because they’re a massive inconvenience and there’s zero evidence they reduce transmission. There’s even a theory that they cause large droplets which would otherwise fall to the ground, to aerosolise and be much more infectious instead.

Because people think wearing them makes you a superior person

By the way OP, they don’t protect you at all - if they do anything, they marginally protect others from you.

So much this. If they made that much of a bloody difference,why the fuck are rates still increasing. And it's not cos people aren't wearing them properly. They do sweet FA

Foggy glasses
Clammy face
I also have a few that suck into my nostrils when I breath which is similar to the feeling of a panic attack

Also with other people wearing them I find it hard to hear what they are saying and tell how they feel (like, are they annoyed that I'm asking them to repeat themselves?)

I'm also not convinced of their efficacy.

So I'm not a fan, but having said that, if I'm just on the bus for half an hour with one on reading or in a self service shop it's fine.

The people who say they like wearing them really? sounds like a variation of Stockholm syndrome.

I wear glasses and they are a pain, I also think they are doing naff all to reduce transmission.

@HermioneWeasley

Because they’re a massive inconvenience and there’s zero evidence they reduce transmission. There’s even a theory that they cause large droplets which would otherwise fall to the ground, to aerosolise and be much more infectious instead.

Because people think wearing them makes you a superior person

By the way OP, they don’t protect you at all - if they do anything, they marginally protect others from you.

This entire post is absolutely bollocks.

HTH.

Because I’d like to see people’s faces and smiles and reactions and feel connected as we all used to. It’s unnatural and not the way life should be lived

@Cattybumbum

If you DHs glasses don't steam up I would hazard a guess that his mask isn't made from tightly woven enough fabric because the only way they don't fog is if your breath goes through the mask rather than be forced up. Which obviously makes the mask pointless.

Um no. The breath goes through the fabric. That's the entire point. Same as an FP3 or whatever.

Same as @tootyfruitypickle

I am a big smiler, it's how I communicate and smiling and seeing someone's smile can properly lift my mood, not being able to, makes me feel down very quickly.

I hate not being able to see other people's faces, or hear them properly. I suffer from tinnitus so the muffled speaking from a mask wearer makes it harder to hear.

I feel trapped behind my mask, and it also makes my acne worse. 🙁

I’m very deaf. It’s absolutely shit not being able to see people’s mouths as they speak.

I basically have no ears. It’s shit and embarrassing at the best of times, but trying to affix a mask to my head that most people affix round their ears is humiliating and doubly embarrassing.

I do it, and I am trying my best, but the above explains my situation and answers your question ‘why the hatred of masks?’ in my case.

My glasses 😫 otherwise, don’t mind them at all. They actually help my asthma as it’s affected by cold air & I often run/walk with a scarf round my mouth & nose! I’d never considered a mask before but they help! That said, I’m horribly forgetful & it’s just another thing I fail to remember until I’m at the shop door 🥴

Also, I am accustomed to not being able to hear very well. But take away the little ability I have to do that, and take away my ability to read people’s faces and expressions, and that’s it, I’ve got a much diminished quality of experience in the community.

I’m not thick. I have an oxbridge degree. I want to participate. Masks hold me back.

I hate them with a passion. I hate seeing people in them. You cannot see their faces, cannot read their expressions. People become faceless. I cannot hear what anyone is saying. I feel very uncomfortable wearing one. I rush in and out as quickly as possible to get the wretched thing off. It is hot, claustrophobic and unpleasant.

I don't have a hatred and I thought I would get used to them over time. I get about ten minutes in one before the floor starts to feel like it's moving under me, sort of bouncing like an old style lift as it settles on a floor and I start feeling like I have to hold on to things around me to steady myself.