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Original poster

If you're mask exempt, will you continue to wear a lanyard after the 19th?

62 replies

TheVampiresWife · 05/07/2021 07:54

I was going to do away with mine but unfortunately it looks as if those who don't wish to wear masks are going to be routinely labelled as selfish, idiotic 'anti maskers' and exempt people will be (as usual) lumped in with this. I'm not sure I fancy the stress/judgement of going out without one, even though lanyards are not mandatory now and certainly won't be after the 19th! Wearing one hasn't stopped the judgement from others so far but I feel as if it'll get worse, not better, post-19th.

I genuinely thought that the end of the mask mandate, when it came, would also mean the end of the division and vitriol surrounding masks. How naive I was!

OP posts:
Randominternetbitch · 05/07/2021 08:32

Only on Mumsnet, in real life most people won’t give a fuck.

gamerchick · 05/07/2021 08:37

The lanyard is going to have to be totally rebranded. It was taken over by those who didn't want to wear a mask for whatever reason.

People with hidden disabilities, who the thing was designed for so they could get a bit of extra help when out and about get ignored now.

Original poster
TheVampiresWife · 05/07/2021 08:41

@gamerchick

The lanyard is going to have to be totally rebranded. It was taken over by those who didn't want to wear a mask for whatever reason.

People with hidden disabilities, who the thing was designed for so they could get a bit of extra help when out and about get ignored now.

I stopped wearing a sunflower lanyard a while ago for this reason (I use a red one printed 'mask exempt' now). To be fair, in July last year when there was nothing in place for exempt people, there was a scramble to find a solution and this was it - my doctor told me to use a sunflower lanyard, I'd never heard of them before. The mask deniers cottoned on after that (and made everyone's life more difficult in the process).
OP posts:
finallyfoundout · 05/07/2021 08:44

So you are going to wear a lanyard for fear of other people's reactions rather then because you might need the visibility? Take it off.

I was hoping that if all the people who wore it for mask exemption stopped wearing it when we drop the mask there was still a bit of hope for the lanyard. More people know about it so the exposure and misuse may not have been altogether bad.

Original poster
TheVampiresWife · 05/07/2021 08:56

@finallyfoundout

So you are going to wear a lanyard for fear of other people's reactions rather then because you might need the visibility? Take it off.

I was hoping that if all the people who wore it for mask exemption stopped wearing it when we drop the mask there was still a bit of hope for the lanyard. More people know about it so the exposure and misuse may not have been altogether bad.

I've already said I don't use a sunflower lanyard, for the reasons you mention.
OP posts:
gamerchick · 05/07/2021 09:02

It's looking like everything is being lifted anyway. If you want to stop wearing it then just stop. I think people will slip quite easily into not wearing a facecovering as their lives go back to normal. All this aggro over it will pretty much stop imo.

Skinnytailedsquirrel · 05/07/2021 09:03

The percentage of people who are truly exempt must be extremely small...less than 1 per cent.

Original poster
TheVampiresWife · 05/07/2021 09:03

@Skinnytailedsquirrel

The percentage of people who are truly exempt must be extremely small...less than 1 per cent.
Sigh.
OP posts:
Original poster
TheVampiresWife · 05/07/2021 09:04

@gamerchick

It's looking like everything is being lifted anyway. If you want to stop wearing it then just stop. I think people will slip quite easily into not wearing a facecovering as their lives go back to normal. All this aggro over it will pretty much stop imo.
Gosh I hope so!
OP posts:
Oldtiredfedup · 05/07/2021 09:04

Haven’t worn a lanyard at all - not wearing a mask has been bad enough without advertising I have ‘an issue’

finallyfoundout · 05/07/2021 09:05

I've already said I don't use a sunflower lanyard, for the reasons you mention.

Sorry I completely misunderstood your post. When you said you were going to 'do away with yours' I thought you were talking about the lanyard. I hadn't seen your reply to the PP when I replied.

Bunnyfuller · 05/07/2021 09:07

I’m exempt due to heart problems but have never not worn a mask. If surgeons can breathe during 10 hour operations then I can manage 30 minutes discomfort in the supermarket. Never thought I would look good on life support.

Original poster
TheVampiresWife · 05/07/2021 09:11

@Bunnyfuller

I’m exempt due to heart problems but have never not worn a mask. If surgeons can breathe during 10 hour operations then I can manage 30 minutes discomfort in the supermarket. Never thought I would look good on life support.
I have trigeminal neuralgia. I wouldn't look good having a seizure, losing consciousness and wetting myself in Sainsbury's! I physically cannot wear one, hence exemption.
OP posts:
Whatever9999 · 05/07/2021 10:12

I already had a lanyard for those situations where I struggle to cope, so I'll obviously continue wearing it for that. But not for every time I pop in a shop

Whatever9999 · 05/07/2021 10:19

@Bunnyfuller

I’m exempt due to heart problems but have never not worn a mask. If surgeons can breathe during 10 hour operations then I can manage 30 minutes discomfort in the supermarket. Never thought I would look good on life support.
Good for you, although if you can wear one for 30min with only mild discomfort then I would.say you're not exempt.

On a good day I can manage a couple of.minutes before I'm stimming so badly I injure myself. On a bad day everyone else.wearing them is enough to set.me off

KB921 · 05/07/2021 10:22

Lanyards aren't purely for mask exemption anyway. Many have a lanyard and wear a mask. They had a purpose before the pandemic and are now useless for the original meaning. My son is autistic, he had a lanyard before covid. He doesn't even wear it now because everyone assumes it's only to do with being mask exempt but it's not.

gamerchick · 05/07/2021 10:29

I have trigeminal neuralgia. I wouldn't look good having a seizure, losing consciousness and wetting myself in Sainsbury's! I physically cannot wear one, hence exemption

A hidden disibility then? Which is what the lanyard is for.

I’m exempt due to heart problems but have never not worn a mask. If surgeons can breathe during 10 hour operations then I can manage 30 minutes discomfort in the supermarket. Never thought I would look good on life support

My kid is autistic and he couldn't wear them, it was awful. But he sat every day and practised because he doesn't like to be beat. It took a while but he did it. Very proud of himself he was.

Original poster
TheVampiresWife · 05/07/2021 10:33

@gamerchick I suppose you're right! I just used one to signify exemption but yes, I do have a HD (also an autoimmune disease which affects mobility).

OP posts:
Orf1abc · 05/07/2021 10:39

@Bunnyfuller If you can wear a mask then you are not exempt. Your condition does not exempt you, it's the impact of wearing the mask that matters.

Toesies · 05/07/2021 10:42

OP, I mean this kindly, take a break from MN. You aren't going to receive the validation you want here. The amount of posts you make on this subject is staggering. I'm sorry you've received some flak for not wearing a mask; I'm equally sorry you won't understand the reasons why this might occur. Take a break.

Newmum0331 · 05/07/2021 10:43

@Randominternetbitch

Only on Mumsnet, in real life most people won’t give a fuck.
Completely agree!
Original poster
TheVampiresWife · 05/07/2021 10:44

[quote Orf1abc]@Bunnyfuller If you can wear a mask then you are not exempt. Your condition does not exempt you, it's the impact of wearing the mask that matters.[/quote]
This.

People saying 'I'm exempt because I have XYZ condition but wear a mask, if I can everyone can' really hasn't helped those who cannot wear one at all. There isn't a list of conditions which confer exemption, and one person's experience of a condition may be very different to that of someone else. For example, some people with TN find face coverings helpful if their condition is triggered by wind or cold, others cannot tolerate one at all.

OP posts:
Wizzbangfizz · 05/07/2021 10:46

Nobody will care - the real world isn't mumsnet and Twitter and I look forward to being mask free. If anyone dares challenge me on it I will look forward to that conversation as well about how "selfish" I'm being Hmm

endlesscraziness · 05/07/2021 10:47

I don't get the argument of Sunflower vs a mask exempt lanyard. Anyone can buy mask exempt lanyards. I eye-rolled a lot at a young couple wearing them; chance of both being genuinely exempt are virtually zero.

Original poster
TheVampiresWife · 05/07/2021 10:48

@Toesies

OP, I mean this kindly, take a break from MN. You aren't going to receive the validation you want here. The amount of posts you make on this subject is staggering. I'm sorry you've received some flak for not wearing a mask; I'm equally sorry you won't understand the reasons why this might occur. Take a break.
I'm not looking for validation. I'm asking a genuine question - if you don't wish to answer it, perhaps ignore the thread?

The discrimination exempt people have faced is also staggering. I don't understand why disabled people/those with health conditions are vilified and abused, no. There's absolutely no justification for it. What 'reasons' could there possibly be?

OP posts: