“I politely asked her to wear it and told her I was immunocompromised. She rolled her eyes, held the mask in front of her face without actually putting it on. She leaned across me to hit the button, even though there was another set of buttons on the opposite side of the elevator. This felt like a deliberate attempt to violate my personal space and ensure I knew just how unhappy she was that I asked her to mask. As time went on and more people bought into the comfortable lie that COVID was over, it became harder to access safe medical care. Fewer and fewer staff were complying with mandates; eventually mandates were dropped altogether in favour of “mask-friendly” policies.”
“A Plea to Maskless Healthcare Workers from Vulnerable Patients If you see a mask - wear a mask. Better yet - wear a mask all the time and show us you understand that we're still IN a pandemic. We are depending on you to keep us safe - please don't betray that.”
“‘Everyone dies someday! Get out and live!’
I’ve lost count of how many people have said this to me. People who assume I’m ‘choosing’ to stay home in bed or who think fear of Covid is the only determining factor to my not socializing more.
This is NOT a choice 🧵/1”
More than half of people who took a survey have said they've been harassed or threatened in public for wearing a medical mask. They're harassed at work, at home, and even in hospitals.
What It's Like to Wear a Mask: A Survey on Discrimination