A look at how the shooting death of Brian Thompson is being used to re-ignite interest in banning masks in New York City - a move which would be a devastating blow to the disabled community.
It's not about taking action that solves the problem. It's about optics. They can be seen as taking action while at the same time catering to the base that wants to ban masks. Now they can tie those two things together with a bow and look like they're doing something while courting the votes of ban supporters.
Ain’t that the truth. While it’s never been about solving problems - I swear lately they seem to be actively trying to create problems. This will make life harder for so many people - it took no time at all once the ban passed in North Carolina for someone to be assaulted.
It’s hard enough being the lone masker - no need for them to make it harder.
As you said - this way he gets to appear like he’s tough on crime AND pander to the anti-maskers. Win win for them. Lose lose for the rest of us.
In North Carolina. Still masking😷 My housemate does too💕 So far no issues🤞 The vast majority of people really don't care. They're more worried about paying rent/mortgage and being able to afford food.
I’m glad you haven’t had any issues! I’ve spoken to people who have been stopped and harassed - so unfortunately it is happening and we want to fight the bans to ensure no one faces arrest for protecting themselves.
Its also disappointing that the first lawsuit brought against these bans for discrimination ended up being dismissed 😞
We really do. We’re more concerned with banning masks than guns - and no one seems to think that’s strange! Just like no one thinks it’s odd that we’ve just let a severe multi system virus rip through the population over and over and over again
A mask ban will not stop crime. What it will do is put a huge target on the back of anyone wearing a mask for health reasons. It's al ill advised plan made by someone who has not really thought 3 dimensionally.
I agree. It’s already resulted in at least one case of assault - a woman in North Carolina who had stage four cancer. When she refused to remove her mask in a store - she was coughed on. These bans embolden people to treat maskers badly - when many of us have already experienced verbal assault and/or discrimination for masking.
Really, if the culprit wanted to keep from being recognized, he should have shaved his eyebrows before going to the McDonalds in Altoona. His most distinctive feature was not hidden by the face covering.
The eyes tend to be the most distinctive feature. We can unlock our smartphones while wearing a mask - but if you try wearing sunglasses it won’t work.
There’s really no reason to ban masks - and yet politicians just keep pushing for it.
Yeah, it sucks that in those places with bans, my reasons of "not wanting to increase my chances of long covid" and "not wanting to be responsible for making my parents or aunts and uncle sick" are not good enough.
Exactly! We need allies in this fight because these bans impact way more people than most realize. Everyone hears ‘medical exemption’ and thinks there’s nothing to worry about - when in reality the exemptions will prevent most people from having the legal right to mask.
Never stopped wearing my mask. Won't stop. Currently masking in the office because people travel. One dude got COVID from Thanksgiving. Called in sick last Monday, didn't test positive until Wednesday, still out this week. While I was semi-comfortable for a bit earlier in the year being maskless in the office (we are only 6 people really spread out in a nice sized office; I'm basically alone in my area), with the holidays and anytime an officemate travels, my mask is back on. And I really don't see it coming off. The only sick day I've had in the past 4.75 years was due to food poisoning. And I don't think we'll see the vaccine updates coming in on the regular with the new orange administration. Displeased AF by this epic dumbf*ckery. All we can do is continue to fight. This asthmatic will always be in your corner. xo
I’m so thankful to you for continuing to mask - and I’m sorry that people are taking so few precautions that we have to worry about our safety in this way.
More and more it feels like these bans are simply another way to try and erase the memory of Covid. Masks remind people of the pandemic - and people want to forget.
Can I just say, I’m not a big fan of people? The level of intentional ignorance we are surrounded by is appalling to me. And I just can’t anymore. After November 5th, I’ve pretty much given up on about half of the population. Totally not interested in engaging. Yep, I said that. Publicly. On the internet. Where it will live forever. Completely out of fux. I’m taking that Mel Robbins “Let Them” thing to a whole other level. I see this as surviving “The Walking Dead”. I’m going to circle my wagons around people who aren’t purposefully dumb and actually give a rat’s ass about others, and we’re going to pick little corners of our world and make happy places there. Because the other side is going to implode. Like a black hole. I’m not saying others/innocents won’t be affected/sucked into it, and that truly bothers me, but they will destroy themselves. And Imma let them. We have to figure out how to create and protect our various Edens, so to speak. Because bird flu is coming, and not just for the raw milkers. We just have to be as prepared as we can be, work to help keep others safe, and wait for leopards to start eating faces. xo
That’s a very good question - it certainly doesn’t feel like freedom. Preventing someone from wearing a medical device to keep themselves and their families safe is the opposite of freedom - and it’s sad more people aren’t opposing these ridiculous measures.
I am so genuinely scared of mask bans. I have Long COVID. I caught it working in a crowded Apple Store. I live in California and know that likely our state government would block a ban on behalf of disabled people, but it is one of my many “red lines” for fleeing political violence. I hate that I have to have these conversations with my family.
A mask ban would turn me, permanently, into an ex pat.
I already struggled so deeply with depression after my long COVID diagnosis coincided with pressure at work to “move on” and unmask. I have done so much work to make my life worth living again I refuse to allow this shit to happen.
There’s going to be a huge reconning for those supporting mask bans soon with H5N1. Cynically, I don’t think people will even take it too seriously because we’re all traumatized from COVID.
That’s my concern - I don’t know what we will take seriously at this point. Maybe if symptoms were clearly visible - ie bleeding from the eyes and giant sores. Short of that I feel like people simply can’t/won’t care. Which is terrifying.
The police playing judge and jury is the most dangerous part. And you make an excellent point about dysautonomia symptoms mirroring the typical “suspicious” behaviors.
I’m 100% fine with boycotting NYC if this passes. I live an hour away and go in a few times a year. But there’ll be no love lost. I know this isn’t the point, but if we are powerless to stop this, I’ll have to speak with my wallet.
Last month I took a road trip along the West Coast (of the US) and I was pleasantly surprised that there were still people masking up at the places we stayed (I’ve never stopped 😷 and neither has my household). Pleasantly surprised in the sense that I was expecting no one to mask and was bracing for some harassment, the latter thankfully didn’t happen.
We don’t have to justify why we wear our ootd, why do we have to with our masks??
35 school shootings so far in 2024 = thoughts and prayers.
1 CEO shooting = "ban the masks!"
I’m just gobsmacked that more people don’t see how absurd this is.
I linked to studies in my article that show sunglasses obscure identity more than masks - we aren’t banning them!
These bans won’t stop crime but they will make life much harder for disabled people.
It's not about taking action that solves the problem. It's about optics. They can be seen as taking action while at the same time catering to the base that wants to ban masks. Now they can tie those two things together with a bow and look like they're doing something while courting the votes of ban supporters.
Politics is never about solving problems.
Ain’t that the truth. While it’s never been about solving problems - I swear lately they seem to be actively trying to create problems. This will make life harder for so many people - it took no time at all once the ban passed in North Carolina for someone to be assaulted.
It’s hard enough being the lone masker - no need for them to make it harder.
As you said - this way he gets to appear like he’s tough on crime AND pander to the anti-maskers. Win win for them. Lose lose for the rest of us.
In North Carolina. Still masking😷 My housemate does too💕 So far no issues🤞 The vast majority of people really don't care. They're more worried about paying rent/mortgage and being able to afford food.
I’m glad you haven’t had any issues! I’ve spoken to people who have been stopped and harassed - so unfortunately it is happening and we want to fight the bans to ensure no one faces arrest for protecting themselves.
Its also disappointing that the first lawsuit brought against these bans for discrimination ended up being dismissed 😞
We really do live in the upside down🥴
😷
We really do. We’re more concerned with banning masks than guns - and no one seems to think that’s strange! Just like no one thinks it’s odd that we’ve just let a severe multi system virus rip through the population over and over and over again
A mask ban will not stop crime. What it will do is put a huge target on the back of anyone wearing a mask for health reasons. It's al ill advised plan made by someone who has not really thought 3 dimensionally.
I agree. It’s already resulted in at least one case of assault - a woman in North Carolina who had stage four cancer. When she refused to remove her mask in a store - she was coughed on. These bans embolden people to treat maskers badly - when many of us have already experienced verbal assault and/or discrimination for masking.
Really, if the culprit wanted to keep from being recognized, he should have shaved his eyebrows before going to the McDonalds in Altoona. His most distinctive feature was not hidden by the face covering.
The eyes tend to be the most distinctive feature. We can unlock our smartphones while wearing a mask - but if you try wearing sunglasses it won’t work.
There’s really no reason to ban masks - and yet politicians just keep pushing for it.
Yeah, it sucks that in those places with bans, my reasons of "not wanting to increase my chances of long covid" and "not wanting to be responsible for making my parents or aunts and uncle sick" are not good enough.
Exactly! We need allies in this fight because these bans impact way more people than most realize. Everyone hears ‘medical exemption’ and thinks there’s nothing to worry about - when in reality the exemptions will prevent most people from having the legal right to mask.
Never stopped wearing my mask. Won't stop. Currently masking in the office because people travel. One dude got COVID from Thanksgiving. Called in sick last Monday, didn't test positive until Wednesday, still out this week. While I was semi-comfortable for a bit earlier in the year being maskless in the office (we are only 6 people really spread out in a nice sized office; I'm basically alone in my area), with the holidays and anytime an officemate travels, my mask is back on. And I really don't see it coming off. The only sick day I've had in the past 4.75 years was due to food poisoning. And I don't think we'll see the vaccine updates coming in on the regular with the new orange administration. Displeased AF by this epic dumbf*ckery. All we can do is continue to fight. This asthmatic will always be in your corner. xo
I’m so thankful to you for continuing to mask - and I’m sorry that people are taking so few precautions that we have to worry about our safety in this way.
More and more it feels like these bans are simply another way to try and erase the memory of Covid. Masks remind people of the pandemic - and people want to forget.
Can I just say, I’m not a big fan of people? The level of intentional ignorance we are surrounded by is appalling to me. And I just can’t anymore. After November 5th, I’ve pretty much given up on about half of the population. Totally not interested in engaging. Yep, I said that. Publicly. On the internet. Where it will live forever. Completely out of fux. I’m taking that Mel Robbins “Let Them” thing to a whole other level. I see this as surviving “The Walking Dead”. I’m going to circle my wagons around people who aren’t purposefully dumb and actually give a rat’s ass about others, and we’re going to pick little corners of our world and make happy places there. Because the other side is going to implode. Like a black hole. I’m not saying others/innocents won’t be affected/sucked into it, and that truly bothers me, but they will destroy themselves. And Imma let them. We have to figure out how to create and protect our various Edens, so to speak. Because bird flu is coming, and not just for the raw milkers. We just have to be as prepared as we can be, work to help keep others safe, and wait for leopards to start eating faces. xo
That's wild and terrifying. If New York bans medical masks, the entire USA would be sure to follow suit. How is this freedom?
That’s a very good question - it certainly doesn’t feel like freedom. Preventing someone from wearing a medical device to keep themselves and their families safe is the opposite of freedom - and it’s sad more people aren’t opposing these ridiculous measures.
The mayor shows his stupidity.
I am so genuinely scared of mask bans. I have Long COVID. I caught it working in a crowded Apple Store. I live in California and know that likely our state government would block a ban on behalf of disabled people, but it is one of my many “red lines” for fleeing political violence. I hate that I have to have these conversations with my family.
A mask ban would turn me, permanently, into an ex pat.
I already struggled so deeply with depression after my long COVID diagnosis coincided with pressure at work to “move on” and unmask. I have done so much work to make my life worth living again I refuse to allow this shit to happen.
Shame on the mayor for using a completely unrelated matter to push a dangerous agenda
There’s going to be a huge reconning for those supporting mask bans soon with H5N1. Cynically, I don’t think people will even take it too seriously because we’re all traumatized from COVID.
That’s my concern - I don’t know what we will take seriously at this point. Maybe if symptoms were clearly visible - ie bleeding from the eyes and giant sores. Short of that I feel like people simply can’t/won’t care. Which is terrifying.
I honestly hope the symptoms are something super obvious and somewhat disturbing, just so people can't ignore it.
The police playing judge and jury is the most dangerous part. And you make an excellent point about dysautonomia symptoms mirroring the typical “suspicious” behaviors.
I’m 100% fine with boycotting NYC if this passes. I live an hour away and go in a few times a year. But there’ll be no love lost. I know this isn’t the point, but if we are powerless to stop this, I’ll have to speak with my wallet.
Last month I took a road trip along the West Coast (of the US) and I was pleasantly surprised that there were still people masking up at the places we stayed (I’ve never stopped 😷 and neither has my household). Pleasantly surprised in the sense that I was expecting no one to mask and was bracing for some harassment, the latter thankfully didn’t happen.
We don’t have to justify why we wear our ootd, why do we have to with our masks??