Selfishness, Privilege, and Masks

As weeks go on, I’ve seen and experienced more and more name calling. The most common current slogans are “you are selfish” or “you are privileged”.
Before you call someone “selfish” or “privileged”, check YOUR privilege.

You probably do not suffer from crippling anxiety while mask wearing, you probably do not have claustrophobia that makes it difficult to breathe when your face/mouth is covered, you probably don’t have lower breathing function resulting from being on a ventilator in the past, you, probably don’t have sensory issues, you are probably not a recovering germaphobe or hypochondriac, you probably are not an asthmatic with bradycardia, you probably have never had open heart surgery, you probably don’t have lower general oxygen saturation levels, you probably have never been sexually assaulted or raped with your mouth covered/gagged.

Even if you have somehow experienced 100% of these things and still wear a mask, you should respect and understand that others may not be able to.

Mask wearing causes some people PTSD from things of the past. These are real issues that exist and prevent many individuals from mask wearing.

These are issues that no one should have to explain. A “one size fits all” approach does not work and is not prudent. This is why I’m so passionate about this.

No one should have to explain these things ESPECIALLY to a STRANGER or retail employee, many of them are traumatic and can be embarrassing to talk about.

So to be able to wear a mask—that comes from a place of privilege. To expect that it’s easy for everyone to comply with—that comes from a place of privilege.

STOP the mask shaming.
STOP seeking to silence those of us who are sticking up for others.
STOP assuming our motives, even if it seem clear and easy to assess based on posts, comments, information.

It’s NOT okay to attempt to bully, shame, guilt, or intimidate a person into submission.

A person can believe that Covid has been over-hyped and still respect others, and STILL be unable to wear a mask. People are complex beings.