Would you comment on a non-mask wearer when in public?

[92miles]

If you passed a fit young person coming into a busy venue as you were exiting, and that person wasn't wearing a mask, would you say anything to them?

I wouldn't because you've got no way of knowing if that person is exempt. It is also possible the person does have a mask and had simply forgotten to slip it on. I think they will pretty soon notice others wearing masks and it will remind them if that's the case.

I've witnessed other people making comments to non mask wearers when in public though.

People did object to seat belt wearing when it was brought in. I was only young but I vaguely remember there being debate and letters in the local paper. People saying they were dangerous as they restricted their movement. I don't think people have become less compliant or resilient just we see the debate a lot more.

Peter Kay has a routine where he talks about taking his Nan shopping and her not putting her seat belt on saying, "I'll just hold it here" - the equivalent of wearing a mask on your chin I guess

Adrian Mole also talks about his dad refusing to wear one.

It's easy to look back and think everyone followed the rules.

(Not a seat belt fanatic honest, just a child of 80s!)

Also re seatbelts - there are exemptions for those, too.

With seatbelts, they are worn primarily to protect oneself rather than others. There's also an obvious and immediate risk to not doing so - most people can grasp the idea of flying through the windscreen in case of accident.

I too remember 'clunk click' etc. Before they became law the campaign was aimed at highlighting the danger of not wearing one, but once they became law, the campaign was more aimed at reminding people it was now compulsory.

In short, I don't think there's much of a comparison with masks.

I agree thatvswat belts and masks aren't really comparable. Just think there seems to be a bit of a mindset (with some people) that everyone was happy to follow rules in the past. In reality I'm sure all new rules had people kicking back against them at the time, whether it was seatbelts, rationing or whatever.

About seatbelts and masks.

Ds can't undo a seatbelt but he can pull off a mask.

Although he can't undo a seatbelt he can pull it off his shoulder ( and doesn't understand why he shouldn't) and has been known to slide out from under it to 'go for' adults in car when upset. Therefore he has to wear a safety harness in cars. I don't think there is any way of 'harnessing on' a mask and it would surely be questionable thing to try given the resulting distress that would create.

"I imagine all those exempt from mask wearing would turn down NIV when required if they contracted covid?
Or didn't like the feeling of a tube down their throat."

My son would resist all that. He needs sedating for any medical treatment. How lucky you are that you don't have the same difficulties.

@ArblemarzipanTFruitcake

This is a case of the can't-be-arsed/anti-mask brigade making things difficult for the genuinely exempt.

Precisely

Oh don't be such a child, maybe your son is one of the very few exempt?

I'm saying there are very few, not none

I wouldn't in public. Had a few rows over the phone about it at work. Though the selfishness of the general public never ceases to amaze me.

I did see an old man say 'Oi! Mask it or casket' to a group of young lads in the co op that made me giggle

Someone said something to me a few weeks a go. I was outside on a windy day on the edge of a park / wooded area. It was obviously a ridiculous request because we have never been asked to wear masks outside but it made me absolutely FURIOUS. All I did was get out my mask to show I have one (as in, one I will wear when required) but I wonder if I should have said something.

@TomAllenWife

I imagine all those exempt from mask wearing would turn down NIV when required if they contracted covid? Or didn't like the feeling of a tube down their throat.

IMHO very few people are exempt, and large family groups, middle aged men & teenagers in groups can't all be exempt.

Very few people will tell you their exemption because they know it's a crock of shit

It's also ironic how the majority of those 'exempt' are the ones most at risk!!!!

PUT YOUR FUCKING MASK ON

If you need ventilation, you're placed in an induced coma. You don't know what's happening to you. Things like TN attacks or PTSD triggers don't really apply when you're unconscious.

I can't put myself in a coma every time I get on a bus or go to Sainsbury's, unfortunately. Soz about that.

That said my condition does sometimes render me unconscious from the pain - perhaps you'd like to pop a mask on me while I'm out of it? I mean you'd have to step over the mess - I sometimes lose control of my bowel or bladder when I go unconscious - but by all means try!

@TheVampiresWife see response below!

"Oh don't be such a child, maybe your son is one of the very few exempt?
I'm saying there are very few, not none"

What a mature initial comment and response.

I imagine all those exempt from mask wearing would turn down NIV when required if they contracted covid?
Or didn't like the feeling of a tube down their throat.

@TomAllenWife that's what you said.

Also, your response simply reinforces how immature and lacking in empathy you are, which was already evident from your first post.

@WhiteXmas99

Round here everybody is exempt - whole groups of exempt young people, whole families of exempt mixed age people, whole groups of exempt people exiting the pub etc

I would not say anything though as at best I would get I would a mouthful of abuse.

This is the same here.

There are genuinely exempt people. Either easily recognisable due to lanyard/age/health condition. Or if it's not obvious but they're mask less either alone or in a group with masks then it's safe to assume they're exempt so no need to say anything.

Then you have the families/groups/unpleasant/stupid people, who have decided either they're all immune, covid is fake or are "exempt"

There's no point at all saying anything there as likely to be verbally attacked.

I for one am grateful that the exemption rule exists.

It would be easy for me to get an exemption letter from my GP or Psychiatrist and I think my Access card would be proof enough anyway.

But.

I wear a mask for as long as it it tolerable and I'm lucky that I work from home mostly and most places I shop and visit it's easy to either get outside for fresh air or to step somewhere quiet to take a mask less minute or two.

If I had to work in one all day then I would need to get an exemption I think. But I don't question or begrudge anyone who can't wear a mask or needs a break from theirs.

I commute on the train. Half of the time the of majority of people on my carriage are 'exempt'. The majority of them aren't exempt really, they are selfish and only care about themselves. No, I wouldn't be say anything because I've heard how that can be pan out. Also, I genuinely feel for those who are exempt.

@MrsDeaconClaybourne

I agree thatvswat belts and masks aren't really comparable. Just think there seems to be a bit of a mindset (with some people) that everyone was happy to follow rules in the past. In reality I'm sure all new rules had people kicking back against them at the time, whether it was seatbelts, rationing or whatever.

Yes, I think there were people who claimed wearing a seatbelt breached their human rights or whatever (see the Adrian Mole example referenced by pp).

But the introduction of seatbelt law was a more gradual process - of course there was a date when it became compulsory 'overnight', but campaigning had been going on for years beforehand to persuade people it was a safety-essential. And there was a 'staging' of going from when front seat belts were an extra you had to pay for in a new car, to it being compulsory for all new cars to be fitted with them.

It was also quite some time before they also became compulsory in the back seat, so any anti-belters could've sat legally, if dangerously, in the back. They weren't even fitted as standard in the back when front belts became compulsory - I remember my dad retro-fitting rear seatbelts to the car he'd bought new in 1982.

It was far more common for drivers simply to forget to put their belt on as it hadn't yet become an automatic thing you did when you got into your car for everyone.

Masks became compulsory in a very short space of time, with no history of wearing them on an advisory basis - and mask-restrictions have of course been on and off since the start of the pandemic. There's been no (for want of a better phrase) boiling of the frog as there was with seatbelts and the benefits are far easier to argue against in the circumstances.

For avoidance of doubt I am both pro-mask and pro-seatbelt!

@Underhisi

"Oh don't be such a child, maybe your son is one of the very few exempt? I'm saying there are very few, not none"

What a mature initial comment and response.

Indeed. My dd won’t go to the doctors at all. Hence arriving on holiday one year to discover she had a serious infection she hadn’t told me about for fear of The Doctor, requiring immediate antibiotics. We had travel insurance but sadly she was unable to even be in the hospital long enough for them to make the call to the insurers. The doctor came out to see her (thankfully!) prescribed antibiotics and I paid over £200 on my credit card until I could get back to the U.K. and spend hours on the phone with the insurers retroactively claiming.

I’m really quite disgusted by some of the attitudes on here - from people who no doubt genuinely believe they’re good, kind and righteous.

rationing or whatever

As for rationing, there was a thriving under-the-counter market throughout WW2!

No I wouldn't because they are not compulsory and you don't know peoples situation. Fwiw I do wear one but there has the the odd occasion I forgot to put one in my bag and expected someone to say something g

There is no way I would confront anyone for not wearing a mask because:-

A) I have no idea what their medical reasons might be for not wearing one and it’s also none of my business. My DS is 17 and is autistic and has quite severe sensory issues. To look at him you’d never know so on that basis I try not to judge what other people can or cannot do.

B) Where I live giving someone a hard stare out or confronting someone is likely to result in a slap or worse, so it’s best to keep any thoughts to yourself. It boggles my mind that anyone would potentially put themselves in harms way just to give someone the benefit of their opinion.

@StPaulandTheBrokenBones

There is no way I would confront anyone for not wearing a mask because:-

A) I have no idea what their medical reasons might be for not wearing one and it’s also none of my business. My DS is 17 and is autistic and has quite severe sensory issues. To look at him you’d never know so on that basis I try not to judge what other people can or cannot do.

B) Where I live giving someone a hard stare out or confronting someone is likely to result in a slap or worse, so it’s best to keep any thoughts to yourself. It boggles my mind that anyone would potentially put themselves in harms way just to give someone the benefit of their opinion.

Well, the hard starers won't be doing it to the people they think are likely to slap them if they notice. It'll be the much easier targets.

No, none of my business.
Where I live mask compliance is really high, small seaside town with a large elderly population, even the high schoolers troop out with their masks still on.