I am so tired of being the only person wearing a mask.
I know I am not the only one, but it's so rare to see one.
Sometimes there are people who have one, but it is somewhere below their nose -- maybe all the way down to their chin -- and I don't understand why they bother.
Let's not forget that COVID denial started as allegiance to Trump. Yeah, I know a lot of people who didn't vote for him aren't wearing their masks either. What is your excuse?
No, it's not comfortable. My nose itches, and sometimes people have a harder time understanding me. So what?
Wear a damn mask!
It's not even just for COVID. Whooping cough is on the rise. Yes, if people hadn't gotten weird about vaccines that probably wouldn't be an issue, but here we are.
Maybe we don't care about kids anymore. I mean, a third of the preteens that contracted long COVID are still not recovered after two years and there is immune system damage.
Wasn't it enough to decide that old people don't matter?
Wear a damn mask!
Speaking of old people, I remember last year having this discussion with one of the workers in my mother's memory care facility. She has gotten COVID twice. She hasn't gotten it each time it has gone around, there tends to be a round of new infections for every holiday as family members bring it in.
Thanksgiving down; Christmas and New Year's still to go.
Wear a damn mask!
What really gets me is when we decided that people of color don't matter. It was the draft all over again.
It makes sense; existing health disparities lay a groundwork that something wreaking havoc with your immune system will make worse.
We should be ashamed for the existing disparities. We should be ashamed that we had accepted them before and that the past four years haven't changed anything.
Wear a damn mask!
https://www.medical-and-lab-supplies.com/
People have died. I am still grieving two mutuals. They were smart, kind, dynamic, caring people, and they are dead. Repeated COVID infections triggered other conditions and after long fights they lost.
I know lots of other people have died, but their deaths claw at me.
Wear a damn mask!
They were both Black women.
Are you mad about the election? Maybe we shouldn't have let so many people from the demographic that voted 91% for Harris die!
Wear a damn mask!
There are other people I am afraid I will lose. There have been some close calls. For the record, they are not Black, but they aren't white either. Funny how that works.
Wear a damn mask!
One thing that those still living have in common is disability.
There is a large population of disabled and immune-compromised people out there who keep having to say "no" to optional activities and then have great risk with the things they can't refuse because we are not doing our part to protect them.
They are human beings. They matter.
Wear a damn mask!
Over 7 million people have died. There are currently over 700 million cases. Not all of them will die, but they won't all recover.
I have seen the havoc that has caused in health care and a lot of job areas in general.
Do you remember the backup it caused with morgues? Do you doubt that there are workers who have PTSD from that?
Wear a damn mask!
I have been very lucky. I have only gotten it once, despite masking. I have also had fewer colds and less issues with my allergies.
I am also immune-compromised. If I do contract it again, it won't be good. It might kill me.
The funny thing about that is that I still don't really wear a mask to protect myself. There is something very human about it, but I don't think about me being at risk. I mask to protect others and to show my values; then it protects me too.
Wear a damn mask!
I know the people who aren't wearing them aren't thinking about the risks and the deaths they are contributing to, but that's the problem, isn't it? If it's not happening to us, how important can it be?
Of course, the funny thing about disability and risk in general is that it changes.
You may be healthy now, but disease can change that. Aging has a huge effect.
It's worth protecting yourself, but it is vital to care about and look out for others.
Wear a damn mask!
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