the-exercist:^ Found on FacebookThere are absolutely situations where a person may have difficulty w
the-exercist:^ Found on FacebookThere are absolutely situations where a person may have difficulty wearing a mask for long periods of time. It’s not unheard of for masks to trigger panic attacks, anxiety, or sensory problems. These are issues that exist, and it isn’t always possible for people to push their way through them by just forcing themselves to wear a mask anyway.HOWEVERIf you genuinely feel that you are unable to wear a mask while in public, then it is your responsibility to practice additional precautions in order to keep others safe. Wearing a mask is not the only necessary practice here.If you need to go grocery shopping but cannot wear a mask, then you should:Use grocery delivery services, such as Instacart, so that you do not go out in public and expose othersOrder groceries online and take advantage of curb pick-up services, so that you do not leave your car or enter the storeCheck if your area has community volunteers who will purchase and deliver your groceries for free, allowing you to stay home without paying additional moneyThere is no reason for anyone to be grocery shopping in public without a mask. If you choose to do so, then strangers are fully within their right to call attention to you and criticize your actions. Stores are also within their right to kick you out and ban you from their property. You’re behaving irresponsibly and you are actively putting hundreds of people in danger. It’s possible, and necessary, to criticize anti-mask actions without falling into ableism. People can have trauma that affects their ability to wear a mask. Masks can trigger panic attacks or asthma attacks. Universally denying these things does not help anyone. Instead, it throws disabled people under the bus by refusing to acknowledge the specific difficulties they’re facing during this pandemic. Instead, we need to address the arrogance and irresponsibility that anti-mask groups are harboring when they both refuse to wear a mask and refuse to take further precautions. -- source link
#covid-19#ableism