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.

Not sure what the point of this post is.

You wouldn’t. It hasn’t happened by you, or to you. You’ve heard some people have said it’s happened to them.

What else are you looking to add to the story? Because it just seems goady to post this.

No. Just mind your own business

@LumosSolem

I disagree, there are many laws people are forced to comply with even if they disagree. Some of those impinge on liberty - the case of masks in interesting and similar to wearing helmet on motor bikes or mopeds or steel capped boots in certain work places as these might irritate some people. People are faced with choices all the time - at the end of the day there are many other laws that people don't like which need to comply with. I honestly think that if it is believed that that masks should be worn then all those over what ever age is deemed reasonable should be mandated to do so. In many countries masks are compulsory for all - they don 't listen to exemptions and don't grant them and people comply. I believe we need to have a more clear cut approach to many issues - if there is a law then compliance is required.
That said - I am not advocating masks - but I do believe it should be all or nothing, too many exceptions as this is approach is one that people use and thereby creates division

Half the UK seems to be frigging exempt so it would be time consuming to challenge them all, plus it's fucking boring listening to the dullards droning on about whatever the fuck they reckon is wrong with them, so, no.

Someone did to my autistic dd in a supermarket. A huge man suddenly ordered her to put on a mask in loud, bossy, aggressive tones and terrified her. I said very loudly and clearly “she’s exempt as she has autism and you really shouldn’t be forcing people to share personal medical information about themselves in this way..”. I was wearing a mask, so was her sibling. We were clearly together as she was holding my hand - she’s a teenager but still does sometimes. You’d think wouldn’t you that anyone with a modicum of intelligence would have looked at our family group and assessed that something more was going on?

@OldHip

Half the UK seems to be frigging exempt so it would be time consuming to challenge them all, plus it's fucking boring listening to the dullards droning on about whatever the fuck they reckon is wrong with them, so, no.

This!

Of course not.

I wouldn’t say anything but I would keep my distance. And I would hope that that person would keep their distance as well.

No...nothing to do with me. I really don't care what others do and am not paranoid

I take the Tube, so if I commented on non-mask wearers, I would be there all day.

I absolutely wouldn't. Two members of my current household are exempt and wear the lanyard. The rest of us wear masks.

Depends, not in general public but we ask people if they need a mask as it's now a requirement if they come into the shop and aren't wearing a lanyard, some say I'm exempt (I don't believe them but we don't say anything) some take a free mask and most get a mask out of their pocket/bag

The reality is 99% of people can wear masks - seem to manage just fine in other countries! The government should have issued exemption cards rather than thus free for all where up to 30% or so seem to think they are . I want out of this pandemic!

@LondonWolf

We have two autistic DD's, one with severe lds and they wear masks. It took weeks of coaxing but now they wear them fine. Worth trying

@BoredZelda

Not sure what the point of this post is.

You wouldn’t. It hasn’t happened by you, or to you. You’ve heard some people have said it’s happened to them.

What else are you looking to add to the story? Because it just seems goady to post this.

Wasn't intentionally goady. I recently saw a young woman bully another young woman by pointing out she should be wearing a mask before she entered the building. It wasn't said in a helpful way, but in a sarcastic, passive aggressive, them-and-us kind of way and I felt really sorry for the young woman not wearing a mask. I also feel sad at the thought that this is what some people have come to. Basically, they wear a mask, presumably this barrier makes them feel righteous enough to verbally attack random people in public. I suppose I was seeking reassurance that most people do not assume badly of others before they know the facts behind the non-mask wearer.

I don't wear a mask because I don't want to. Technically I'm exempt but I wouldn't wear one either way.
Would love someone to say something.
Makes me laugh how the judgey people also stopped wearing there's for the months it was lifted. Covid didn't go anywhere.

@gogohm

The reality is 99% of people can wear masks - seem to manage just fine in other countries! The government should have issued exemption cards rather than thus free for all where up to 30% or so seem to think they are . I want out of this pandemic!

Government issued exemption cards? With what resources? I’m assuming you would want these to be verified by a Dr, they haven’t got time for that which I’m assuming is at least partly the reason it hasn’t been done.

I've taken to wearing a baseball cap pulled low so that I don't have to see masks so wouldn't have a clue if an ablist idiot is giving me a stare.
Unfortunately seeing people in masks has an unfortunate tendency to remind me of the horrible confused moment when DS was born and I didn't know if he was dead or alive after a long exhausting labour and being rushed into an operating theatre without explanation before I ended up alone in HDU. Add in (diagnosed) auditory processing issues and removing the ability to lip-read while distorting speech and it all makes for a pretty stressful environment.

I've been to the GP several times since the 1990s about hyperventilating in humid conditions but they've never taken action. Being caught up in a crush in a nightclub 20 years ago also did not enamour me to the feeling of not being able to breathe. I remember the moment of understanding how people were crushed to death in Hillsborough as I was crushed up and bracing myself against the DJ box while the crowd surged forwards, struggling to keep on my feet and not getting knocked to the floor to be trampled.

I tried various face coverings and gave up after it all escalated to the point of a sensory overwhelm where I tore my face to bleeding in the supermarket last winter because of the feeling of my damp breath tickling around my face in a visor.

I am otherwise young and physically healthy and often in sportswear so I'm sure there have been many dickheads who quietly failed to recognise that within British law I fit the definition of significant distress, but at least none of them have dared embarrass themselves to my face.
They probably would have difficulty identifying my 11yo's autism and sensory processing disorder too. At least he's small and young-looking so should avoid being bullied by sanctimonious twats.

There's no point in trying to go to the GP to investigate if I'm neurodiverse like DS. If I had tried in 2020, I'd still be on waiting lists now.

I tried my best to wear a mask for a PCR for the minimal time. I stripped my coat off in 5⁰C so that I didn't get that awful panicky heat surge. I kept the lanyard on so it was clear why it was so difficult for me to leave the vile thing alone while trying to work out what the marshal was mumbling about. There was less sensory input than a supermarket but it was still a hideous few minutes.

Masks (not the fear of Covid) have caused me to restrict too much of life already by swerving places where they remove the pleasure of the activity, and I am so tired of squandering good years of my life when they are not guarenteed, particularly after suddenly losing close relatives in their 40s & 50s.

I'm within the law to not wear masks so just let people like me be, and stop escalating the distress with petty judginess, it really does make it worse. Exemption really can't be judged on appearences.

Thank goodness we don't have ablist blanket laws that make DS and I prisoners in our home. That would not be a healthy outcome, and I'm not sure if I'd survive it, certainly not unmedicated anyway.

I did accidentally forget to put the mask on when I went into a shop. The sales assistants were lovely as they didn't directly speak to me but two of them came to stand close to me and started having a conversation about someone they knew who had Covid. This acted as a trigger-reminder for me, at which point I quickly looked up, apologised and put the mask on.
I wonder if that might be store policy, anyway, it worked without upsetting anyone.

Division over masks @twelly ? Really shows how bonkers things have become.

I still stand by there would be no issue if some people could just mind there own business and perhaps weren't sanctimonious arseholes. The issue lies with those who are unable to see past the end of their own noses.

You would really prefer rape victims and those with genuine medical reasons to suffer, under a blanket rule of mask wearing for everyone? Or would you prefer those vulnerable to covid to suffer if the rule was that no one wore masks? Because surely the fact that the majority do is much better for them? To me, your suggestion of blanket rules with no nuance shows no common sense, reason or balance.

@SummerBluez

I don't wear a mask because I don't want to. Technically I'm exempt but I wouldn't wear one either way. Would love someone to say something. Makes me laugh how the judgey people also stopped wearing there's for the months it was lifted. Covid didn't go anywhere.

It was 'lifted' because COVID did, in fact, go somewhere. Case rates were far, far lower than they are now. That's why they brought it back.

Which part of that is difficult to understand?

We truly are fucked as a society if people think it would be better to have the kind of enforcement and control seen in China.

^ this

"the case of masks in interesting and similar to wearing helmet on motor bikes or mopeds or steel capped boots in certain work places as these might irritate some people."

It is nothing like similar. Ds will never ride a motorbike and will never wear work boots.
The only way he would keep a mask on is by being kept sedated. It goes far beyond 'irritation'.

Tbh I've not seen anyone being challenged about not wearing masks so you're probably fretting about nothing.

The only mask related aggro I've witnessed was a burger faced bifter yelling at me for wearing one in the supermarket. (Gist was they're pointless and I'm stupid. So that was nice.)

@onlyafleshwound

Covid cases going down didn't mean it had gone anywhere!
And cases are shooting up to record numbers now masks are back. It all makes a great deal of sense.