When I see someone not wearing a mask, I feel like yelling and shaming them. But I think maybe there are extenuating circumstances, so I don’t. Are there, for example health reasons?
My niece has anxiety/panic attacks from a bad event a decade ago. She needs sedation to wear an O2 mask or anything else over her nose.
Existing thread on the topic: What medical conditions make you unable to wear a mask? - #71 by Euphonious_Polemic
I think it would be an interesting experiment to put a bunch of these anti-maskers who “can’t” wear a mask into a room with a bunch of respirator masks then introduce what they’re told is poison gas into the room–big billowing clouds of something that smells horrible. I’ll betcha five bucks right now that not one of them fails to grab a mask and get that fucker on with a quickness and keep it on for as long as you care to tell them it’s still dangerous to take them off. Video that shit and put it on YouTube so all of us sensible people trying to explain basic science to these Freedumb Chucklefucks have links to send to the morons in our lives.
There are legitimate reasons for not wearing a mask.
The important thing, though, is there are legitimate mechanisms available to those people, so that they can continue to live despite this problem. Online ordering with delivery or curbside pick-up makes wearing a mask for any significant time unnecessary. Most store managers, if approached in a reasonable manner, would probably also assign a staff member to fill out a shopping list order for you, if you weren’t able to order online.
I guarantee you, everyone who has legitimate medical issues with masks knows all about these options.
Standing in the store screaming, threatening, destroying merchandise, attacking and even killing employees? None of that is a legitimate response. Fuck those people.
Let’s assume this is true. Under the current circumstances the non-misanthropic choice is still put on a mask if you’re going to be among people, or stay the fuck at home. The virus isn’t going to cut anyone any slack because of a phobia or whatever that keeps them from masking up. If your body synthesizes too much of its own alcohol and you’re just naturally drunk all the time, you’d surely have society’s sympathy but you still wouldn’t get to drive.
Nice to see people still completely ignore the body of posts.
There are still hundreds of millions of people globally who cannot afford $2 per day. Therefore many of them cannot get their hands on a quality mask. Granted, not a health reason.
A high-filtration mask can be hard to breathe through, so people with breathing issues or anxiety might have real issues with such a mask. However, there are hardly any requirements for filtration ability in the mask guidelines. If someone has trouble breathing through a P100 paint respirator (as do most people), then a loose bandanna will be a viable alternative as far as meeting the face covering mandates in most places.
But this lax view on filtration capability means that none of us should depend on other people’s masks. Even if they are wearing a face covering, there’s no guarantee they are wearing it properly or that it is catching all of their droplets. Don’t just worry about the 6 foot distance. Someone walking through a store in a leaky mask is spreading droplets everywhere they go. Make sure your mask is well fitted and is providing the maximum filtration possible.
My niece has anxiety/panic attacks from a bad event a decade ago. She needs sedation to wear an O2 mask or anything else over her nose.
People with severe mental illness, dementia, or autism may also not be able to cope with a mask. But there aren’t really any physical conditions which would make wearing some type of mask medically impossible.
I keep hearing people say this, but I’m an overweight 62 year old cannabis smoker and since the beginning of quarantine I’ve worn a properly fitted N-95 mask at work for three hours a day, five days a week. Yes, I hate it and yes it’s a fucking pain in the ass, but I do it.
When I shaved my beard off and got a better seal it was even worse, but that’s good. I have yet to see a “Mask Asphyxiates Florida Minimart Worker” headline, and I’m sure the media would pounce on that event.