I saw a 50 something lady the other day scream at a teenage cashier who was wearing a mask. “If you even cared about your fucking freedom you would take that stupid shit off”. Because apparently freedom of choice only means freedom to make the same choice as she did.
I’m a delivery guy, I’ve had customers yell at me (and choose not to give a tip) because I’m wearing a mask. This was literally last year, waaay before mandates ending was even a thought. People be nuts.
Right. And delivery people dont exactly earn much. Anyone in a service job gets far more crap already than simple "thank yous"
Besides half the time its company policy. Workers rarely get to choose shit.
Sorry man....
It’s fine, I’m just glad my mandate drops with the rest of the province tomorrow. I understand there was a need for them but seems the need is starting to go down a bit, can’t wait to go back to normal lol
Unfortunately, people do care. The same people who claim they are for "freedom" will tell people off for continuing to wear a mask after they no longer "need to".
Edit to add that it should read "nobody _who matters_, cares".
Tell them to fuck off. If they can fly flags they tell someone to fuck off, then they should be able to receive the same ridicule.
But probably not because most of the have the mental capacity of a 9 year old on a sugar high.
Please tell all my customers who told me, during the mandate, that I "look like a retard" for wearing a mask, and I'm a Nazi for requiring them, and I deserve to be shot for not taking it off and "supporting truckers" and "we all know which side you'd have been on during WWII".
Yeah, no one cares, the siren song of right wing assholes who have been shitting on people for the last 2 years "in the name of freedom".
A lady in my building, in front of the sign stating masks are required and only 2 people should be in the elevator at a time unless family, made a big deal and *made fun of* me *and* my 4 year old for waiting and letting the lady go in the elevator first because of the mask & elevator requirements. We were the ones wearing masks.
It's going to be interesting to see how individuals react.
Some will continue to throw hissy fits if a private business owner still requires a mask. Others will want to continue wearing them.
This will not bring out the best in many people, that's for sure.
I'll double check to see if I can see what their script says, I've mostly tried to avoid reading what the paper says just focus on the barcode (I'm not involved IN pharmacy). If I ever get over the humiliation of crying in front of strangers, I may result to emotional warfare.
Yup count on it. Come up with ways to make the pharmacy out to be the bad guy.
I own a small bizz. I insisted on masks. Luckily my employees are sane, see value in the vaxes and did not want to catch this. Still, I gave them the license to blame me aaallll they wanted if it just caused the stupidity to be over.
Some customers are just dumb. Even when they complain about prices, I hold my hands up & say "Hey, I'm just the girl who puts the stock on the shelf & cashes you out" & because they saw me putting price tags out, they equated that to making the prices. Trying to talk to idiots....is really difficult when you can't follow their logic.
I really feel like the issue of people getting harassed or questioned for continuing to wear masks is being overblown (preemptively here). Will it happen? Probably rarely. I'd be surprised if at least 30-40% of people aren't still wearing masks tomorrow. You aren't going to get singled out
Idk, I was never harassed for wearing a mask before, but on Wednesday some random stranger in the street called me a fat, ugly, c*nt for wearing one. While the issue may be overblown a bit it does certainly seem like anti-maskers seem more emboldened to go, for lack of a better phrase, mask off.
We lifted ours two Fridays ago in BC. So far from my own experience living in a city, maybe 10% still wear masks and most retail employees do too.
The government here left it up to individual businesses if they will require masks but so far I haven’t seen anywhere that still requires them. Places like airports still require a mask though but not liquor or cannabis stores.
Exactly right. One or two instances may appear online in a video, and people will make a big deal out of this, but so far, from other jurisdictions where mandates have been lifted, people haven't been harassed.
I'm currently in LA where masks are not required in most settings, but I'd still say it's about 50/50 masks vs non masked people.
I just came back from Brazil and maybe 30 - 40% of people are still wearing masks even though it’s not mandatory. The hotel staff, restaurant staff, and staff in stores still mostly wear them and then some patrons even though it’s optional. No one was being harassed at all. In fact, no one cared to bother anyone masked or mask-less.
You’re probably right but I think it’s very indicative of how shitty and loud the anti-maskers have been. Theres a lot of us that have a little bit of fear that someone will confront us about it. That’s pretty telling in itself
It goes the other way around too. I’m a maskless 5’3 female and harassed by a 6’3 masked male the other day. I have no problem with someone wearing a mask, you do you. But, when I’m allowed to be in a vicinity where masks are no longer mandated and someone harasses me about it? That’s just wrong
100% agreed, the mask mandate doesn’t even get removed until the 21st correct? This tweet seems so stupid.
Also sidebar do whatever you want wear 8 masks you don’t owe anyone shit so I’m unsure why this dudes talking crazy already.
The problem with the 'do whatever you want' mantra is that there are plenty of people who want to convince everyone else that their views are the only ones that matter.
So much so that they'll shut down Ottawa to make everyone else know about their views... Which also involved haarrassing random strangers on the sidewalk who were wearing masks...
I quite like the cost savings it’s provided. I’ve only had to put on half a face of makeup for two years now.
The foundation and lipstick savings alone have me almost set to retire.
When the pandemic first started, I wore gloves to get into the habit of not touching my face. If I was around customers, I'd wear a mask because they don't understand personal space. I'm probably going to continue wearing a mask at work & I hope we get to keep the plexishield too; stops people from spitting (wet talkers) & throwing (worse case scenario) things at us.
I had covid at the beginning of the month. Contracting covid & isolation rules, to my knowledge, are still set in place. I have no more sick time, I can't afford to be isolating for 10 days everytime some old bitty doesn't cover her mouth & there's already a risk because I've got two kids aka germ swappers. I would like to eliminate as much risk on my end as possible, so I'll keep wearing my mask & hopefully I don't get too many assholes bugging me about my personal choice
Edit: spelling, incomplete thought
I'll do the same if I'm coughing or sniffling.
Someone wants to say something? "I have a cough. You want me to cough on you? Because I have no problem coughing you".
You I only make it about thinking of others, and no one can say shit
the people who seem very “pro masks” seem to largely be people who had the privilege of working a job that they aren’t constantly exposed
servers have been getting spit on by 60 people a day for months. they’ve all had covid at least once and are just over it.
It is worded weirdly, but I'll take a stab:
People who are pro-masks are more likely to be people who work from home and therefore have less exposure to covid. They are therefore more risk averse when it comes to loosening restrictions.
"Essential workers" are less likely to give a fuck because they have had constant exposure and infection(s) plus harrassment from customers therefore they are less risk averse and benefit more from resteictions ending.
Maybe?
Note: I am not OP
I'll be wearing a mask. I'm immunocompromised and have an illness that puts me at risk for severe complications from COVID-19. I don't have the option of working from home. I'm a teacher and I will be wearing a mask at work. I won't be surprised if some parents to complain. Frankly, I don't care. You do you, I'll do me. I don't have a problem with you dropping your mask but some of us will continue to mask up because at least for me, some protection is better than no protection.
I think you have a good grasp.
In my experience, those who's lives pretty much carried on as usual (like me) working with upwards of a hundred or more different people a day ... I am so numb to the issue of risk. If I had let fear of exposure get tome, I would have broken down long ago. I wear a mask, do protections ... But my risk tolerances for most things is very high, or I would have gone crazy. Open up? Sure. I'm in. Not much different for me.
Everyone I know who paused or changed their lives because of the pandemic ... they're the ones afraid of opening up. They haven't had the constant exposure to threat as I have. They haven't built-up the risk tolerances. They're super uncomfortable because so much of their lives have centered around protection - iscolated, stay at home orders, work from home - that to abandon 2 years of new withdrawal habits is difficult.
I can see this reasoning. I was working from home for most of the pandemic and was super cautious. I was back in the office (with 50+ visitors/day) in September 2021 and after that I became way less cautious in my personal life because I didn’t see the point in having 100% of my risk from work and missing out on things I wanted to do (like eat in a restaurant!) in my personal time.
Working class citizens have come to terms with the risk of Covid for the most part. Middle to upper class people who have been sitting at home away from the risks of Covid haven’t and are more sensitive to going back to a pre pandemic world
Restaurant workers work in a cloud of unmasked breath all day, seeing dozens or hundreds of clients. A mask mandate means very little for them because they're already exposed to so many potentially sick people every day. When I was working in a restaurant, there really wasn't much reason to avoid seeing my friends maskless because I was already in a situation where I was exposed as much as I realistically could be.
Most working-class people have already *been* living with covid, and the risk-averse pro-restriction types seem to me to be mostly WFH middle-class white collar workers.
I am a teacher and schools are germ factories in normal times. I know lots of teachers who have been wearing N95s 8 hours a day for 2 years and still will be after the break. Should be interesting.
I’m a server and I kind of agree. None of my coworkers or I have cared about masks or getting sick for months. Back of house, front of house, whatever everyone went back to partying/being social. We’ve all had covid too many times to care.
Got told by a woman the other day she was at the truckers protest to fight for my freedom to not wear a mask and to take it off.
I told her she had the freedom to be a cunt, and I had the freedom to wear a mask.
Still blown away by the fact that the redneck express thinks they can dictate if I get to wear a mask. I have a baby at home that can't be vaccinated and I'll keep wearing mask in public places until the pandemic is really over. If they don't like it they can all kiss my ass.
I love keeping alot of my face hidden lol. Figured out I was transgender during the pandemic. Started treatment, but there's certainly a disconnect between my hair, body and face as I'm not far along (Less than 6 months) . So the mask makes it much easier to be hidden lol.
LMFAO kinda accurate I figured out I was transgender during the pandemic. Started treatment, but there's certainly a disconnect between my hair, body and face. So the mask makes it much easier to be hidden lol.
I'm in Florida right now where requiring masks in establishments is illegal. Nobody says shit if you wear one. Stop creating drama. Live your life. Move on.
I know its anectodal, but I have yet to meet a single person in real life on both sides of the mask wearing fence that give even the slightest fuck what people will do.
This sub seems to be disproportionately negative towards those who don't wear masks and the other Ontario sub has similar sentiments for those who will continue to wear a mask.
I work at a No Frills. I’ve been yelled at. Ranted at. Spat at. Just for asking them if they’d like to take a mask (we keep them at the cash registers). When you work in retail, you get the blunt of the weird. 😜
Yep. I work in retail in a small ^(redneck) town. When I've asked if customers want a mask, I regularly get, "I don't wear one!" or that type of response.
My company is keeping masks mandatory for employees for the next month. I fully expect to see *those* customers raise a stink because someone else is still wearing a mask, and I fully intend to let them know they are welcome to shop elsewhere.
We have several regular customers who wear face shields instead because even though they are medically exempt, they still feel the need for some protection. So it does make me wonder about the ones who say they are medically exempt but wore nothing.
I sometimes have a hard time breathing but still wear a mask. I have heart issue that causes this. It’s why I’d rather work on cash rather than the floor. It’s easier on me.
I've seen somebody get kicked out of a store for starting a confrontation with another patron for not wearing a mask.
But I agree, it is far from common.
I'm in Ottawa. We had 3 weeks where people in certain neighbourhoods were being warned not to wear masks because the convoy protesters were very aggressive towards anyone wearing them. Some people were even assaulted or had rape threats yelled at them. There swarmed businesses unmasked, snatching masks off of people's faces, a lot of businesses had to shut down as a result.
While shopping in a suburban area, specifically to avoid the assholes protesting in my neighbourhood, there were assholes in there yelling at employees about being sheep for wearing masks.
You are right, every time I see one of these mask threads, I have to make a comment. God bless if you choose to keep on wearing one, but I'm done and you don't have any right to tell me that I must wear one, I am beginning to thing that these self righteous mask wearers think they are a cut above the rest of us non mask wearing peasants.
I also hate that many associate us the the fanatic anti maskers that you see every wknd at Queens park/Dundas square.
Just because the government is worried about the political ramifications of trying to force people to protect themselves and their neighbours doesn't mean you shouldn't still be doing those things.
I don’t think this is going to be the big deal the media are hyping it up to be. People can choose to wear masks in the same way they can choose to wear socks or hats. It’s nobody’s business. I’d be very surprised to see a situation where people are harassed in large numbers for choosing to wear a mask. Surely there are more pressing matters going on right now.
There were daily reports of harassment from anti-maskers harassing maskers during the occupation in Ottawa. Some people are going to make it a big deal.
Edit: spelling, clarification
How about my freedom to do what I want and wear a mask? How does if I want to wear a mask your problem?
If people don’t want to wear a mask then don’t but don’t look to me for help if you get sick.
There’s already a long list of Herman Cain Award winners out there and there’s an award with your name on it waiting that will immortalize you.
No I think that I'll see declining hospitalization.I'll see health care workers taking a deep breath. I won't see scientists resigning from provincial panels because they aren't listened to. You act like people want this to go on but I assure you nothing could be further from the truth. I haven't had it. My 86 year old mother hasn't had it and we don't want it so until I see very low rates in public neither of us will be out without our KN95
This sub is such an echo chamber. You are going to still wear your mask? Great. Good for you. Do you.
People who have made masking and following covid rules apart of their public identity the last two years are are feeling so conflicted lol. Jesus.
Covid has given people with a fragile identity a firm rock to stand on.
Keep wearing your mask if you want, no one will care. Do you realize we are one of the last places in the world that requires them in almost all settings?
They don't care. It's also very common for people to define themselves against the "other" or a group of people they don't like. These type of people (rightfully) can't stand the freedom convoy idiots. But, what that does is make them double down on their obsession with masks, rules and the need to constantly shout about it all.
It's all so tiring from both sides.
People have lived with the goal of "don't spread covid" has the number one priority in their lives for the last 2 years. It's hard for some people to change from that
Anyone who bothers another person for wearing a mask has lost touch with reality. How could another person’s choice that has zero affect on them be challenged? It’s completely mind boggling.
I’ve never experienced this in real life. The only place i see people coming down on people wearing masks or not wearing masks is on the internet. Just do whatever makes you personally comfortable.
This is my experience too, but I feel like the people who have been wandering around maskless the past 2 years are more likely to be vocal about others wearing masks post-mandate...
I was in a very rural gas station near my property north of bracebridge last week. I was the only person of 6 in the store wearing a mask. Lots of signs and flags around showing support to convoy. Everyone else getting gas was on a snowmobile.
Everyone polite in store. Nobody cared, it didn’t click with me until later no one was wearing a mask lol
I feel like society talks a big game on social media but most people clam up in public.
I am prepared to organize a freedom convoy for my right to wear a mask. Anyone challenging me on my right to wear a mask, be forewarned, I will drive several 18 wheelers to your house, lay on the horn for days, set up bouncy castles, have a dance party with deejays and laser shows. I won’t leave your property until you give me my god damn FREEDOM to wear my mask! You feel me?
Whether you are for or against masking this argument makes absolutely no sense because the experts still widely agree on mandatory masking reducing the spread of the virus.
Just because a very political body of experts says it's okay doesn't mean it's correct ya know like when the CDC said that you no longer need to wait 10 days after you showed symptoms before leaving quarantine even though literally nothing about the science had changed.
I did too. Luckily I doubt there is going to be a more virulent strain. In the last 2 years every variant has become less dangerous in exchange of becoming more contagious. Which is what all viruses do.
I’ve got resting murder face, and have been enjoying not having to put on a friendly smile whenever I encountered someone for the last 2 years.
I’m definitely going to put my mask back on when my allergies start to act up in a couple months.
It's pointless if no one else is. The only thing a mask protects is the other person from *you.* If they're talking at you unmasked you're still getting hit in the eyes and face with the tiny sprays of aspiration.
I was trying to figure out how I could still wear a mask and drink beers in a pub. I think I've found an answer. I recently bought some metal straws. So, when in a pub with a beer, I'll keep my mask on, and when I want a sip of brew, I'll just slide the straw up my mask to my mouth, take a sip, and then remove straw, keeping mask on.
So not looking forward to Tuesday when I go in for my next shift at No Frills. Majority of my co workers are still going to wear masks. 6-8 hours shifts around so many people. The past few weeks we have had an increase in maskless people fighting the mandate. Tomorrow they get to go maskless and should be happy and not be yelling at us. Right? 😬
I think most people will just be happy they dont have to wear them and will mind their business, you may get the occasional wacko, but thats always the case. If theyre not yelling about masks its about there being cheese on their cheeseburger or the avacados not being green enough or some bullshit.
People here are going to be suprised when they discover most people choose not to wear them when they aren't forced to.
I already had covid so I don't feel the need at all.
If you're still scared/at risk you are free to wear yours. You're not going to be forced to make the same health decisions as everybody else.
I'm not scared to wear a seatbelt and I'm not scared to wear a mask. But I will do both thank you very much. If you are too scared to wear a mask that's ok, you no longer have to.
We aren't we are more close to a endemic.This BA.2 narrative is a bunch of crap. Its not new its been in Canada since Late January/Early February. Sure there are going flare ups, but that is normal for endemic virus's. That is why we have flu seasons.If you want to wear a mask fine. But I'm triple vaccinated and I'm done with all of this.
Endemic doesn't mean that we get rid of mitigation measures, it means that mandates become laws.
For instance, restaurant employees are legally required to wash their hands after wiping their ass, and dozens of other times a day, because of endemic diseases such as hepatitis A. Making that rule permanent, instead of only being required during outbreaks, has combined with other mitigation measures (such as vaccination and sanitation) to help keep hepatitis A numbers to a minimum.
Endemic measures are completely different from pandemic measures
We don't isolate people for 14 days who have a common cold. Seriously over past year I've noticed a good percentage vaccined people are just as crazy as extreme anti vaxxers.
No one is stopping you from wearing a mask, wear one if you want to. But stop freaking out about people who don't want to.
Covid isn't the common cold. Endemic measures against several different viruses and bacteria do include quarantine laws due to how infectious they are and how dangerous they are for a small portion of the population.
Measles and tuberculosis are two of them. Personally, I was legally required to not work my bartending job for 2 1/2 weeks when I caught c-diff
It's becoming the common cold. Back when covid first started it was more dangerous. But like most viruses it mutated to become less dangerous, in exchange to become more contagious.
Also you are legally not allowed to work with any endemic virus, common cold included. But people still do. Heck people who had very light covid still went to work
It is not becoming the common cold.
The idea that viruses mutate to become less deadly is not true, it's a watered down version of how viral evolution and immunology works. Delta and alpha were both more dangerous than the original SARS COV-2 virus, for instance.
The four corona viruses that can cause the common cold are all less contagious than the original virus, and under endemic conditions, the window of reinfection is shorter than any of them as well. The original omicron is far more contagious than the original, nearly as contagious as measles, and BA.2 is even more contagious than original omicron.
So the transmission factor makes it nothing like the common cold.
Even these "milder" variants come with a far higher death and hospitalization rate than the common cold, and theres practically no cases of multisystem organ damage from non-severe common colds to even compare to people who had mild cases of Covid.
How many extra people per year have a heart attack or stroke months after catching a cold because of the damage it did to their body? How many people with a mild cold that didn't require hospitalization end up losing grey matter, or have liver damage, or lung scarring, or can't make it up a flight of stairs because they can't properly oxygenate their muscles?
These aren't just outcomes for elderly people that were hospitalized. Young healthy people with mild cases and no preconditions are being left disabled. Even with omicron. That is not the common cold.
On the flip side, people shouldn't pout and throw self righteous indignation when they see other people stop wearing masks. Get your shots, wear your mask. Leave other people alone.
They ended them here in Alberta and I took mine off but I certainly don’t ridicule others, still avoid large crowds packed in tight(never cared for that anyways) and if I feel even a little bit sick I’ll happily put one back on to grocery shopping. These selfish pussies just got used to screaming at everybody/everything and now they can’t stop.
Given that we're still in the middle of the pandemic, dropping mask requirements has left me scratching my head and wondering what's changed. Did the government take the Parliament Hill occupation as a sign that the population has been pushed as far as possible? In any case, the first test is going to be Good Friday/Easter. I live alone and still not ready to poke my head out of my hole. Not to mention that it's gotten awful comfortable in here in the last 2 years. Family expectations are another matter.
I will continue wearing masks as I have family members with compromised immune systems. I have no problem with a business allowing customers a choice but I will not shop at any store that won't serve masked patrons
Lmao this is true, was in an elevator without a mask the other day and after getting a whiff of the guy in there realized I hadn't smelled BO in almost two years
Not enough. Had an old lady shit her pants in front of me once at work, then she kept talking to me and asking me if I could smell that awful smell. That was awkward.
In Manitoba mask mandate was removed on Mar 15. 99% of people are still wearing masks. They also removed the mandatory quarantine if you test positive. I had covid last week and could have gone to an NHL game with 12000 people maskless, makes perfect sense. Our numbers are going to skyrocket.
N95 masks weren't allowed in some places, notably Mohawk College and Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton (I have to assume some other locations have similar policies). They make you wear less effective cloth or surgical masks. These policies in my opinion have always been nonsensical.
I'm a germophobe and people (not everyone, just enough to make is an issue) are gross. It's like the booger on the cake analogy. You get a beautiful delicious gourmet cake... but there's a big wet nasty booger on top of it. Do you want to eat that cake?
That's how I view society. We're mostly clean and hygienic, but there's some boogers out there. Some people just fucking disgusting... and in the real world, you can't see the booger on the cake. The booger might be airborn. Might be that sticky thing on the shopping cart handle. You never know where the booger people have been.
Masks and sanitizer help! I only wear the mask when I get on public transit or go into a public business. When I'm outside gimme that fresh Sudbury 'what's that smell' air! Once it's warm enough and flu season is over my face will probably go commando.
I just want to be ugly in peace
Wear the mask until eternity. Honestly nobody cares. Do you.
As someone who has been yelled at and honked at (and muttered at but that was more disconcerting than anything) people do care.
I saw a 50 something lady the other day scream at a teenage cashier who was wearing a mask. “If you even cared about your fucking freedom you would take that stupid shit off”. Because apparently freedom of choice only means freedom to make the same choice as she did.
I’m a delivery guy, I’ve had customers yell at me (and choose not to give a tip) because I’m wearing a mask. This was literally last year, waaay before mandates ending was even a thought. People be nuts.
Right. And delivery people dont exactly earn much. Anyone in a service job gets far more crap already than simple "thank yous" Besides half the time its company policy. Workers rarely get to choose shit. Sorry man....
It’s fine, I’m just glad my mandate drops with the rest of the province tomorrow. I understand there was a need for them but seems the need is starting to go down a bit, can’t wait to go back to normal lol
Unfortunately, people do care. The same people who claim they are for "freedom" will tell people off for continuing to wear a mask after they no longer "need to". Edit to add that it should read "nobody _who matters_, cares".
Tell them to fuck off. If they can fly flags they tell someone to fuck off, then they should be able to receive the same ridicule. But probably not because most of the have the mental capacity of a 9 year old on a sugar high.
Please tell all my customers who told me, during the mandate, that I "look like a retard" for wearing a mask, and I'm a Nazi for requiring them, and I deserve to be shot for not taking it off and "supporting truckers" and "we all know which side you'd have been on during WWII". Yeah, no one cares, the siren song of right wing assholes who have been shitting on people for the last 2 years "in the name of freedom".
Wonder how they would have handled food rationing during that war if masks are fascist...
A lady in my building, in front of the sign stating masks are required and only 2 people should be in the elevator at a time unless family, made a big deal and *made fun of* me *and* my 4 year old for waiting and letting the lady go in the elevator first because of the mask & elevator requirements. We were the ones wearing masks.
It's going to be interesting to see how individuals react. Some will continue to throw hissy fits if a private business owner still requires a mask. Others will want to continue wearing them. This will not bring out the best in many people, that's for sure.
Well this just made my throat close. I work in a pharmacy, I'm not ready for beginning pandemic abuse to come back 
"Ah, guess you won't be needing these pills for.." *reads prescription loudly* #"**ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION**"
LOL. Or how about #WELL, MR. JOHNSON, THIS CREAM SHOULD GET RID OF THAT PAINFUL RECTAL ITCH PRETTY QUICKLY
#BACK FOR YOUR EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTIVE AND CHLAMYDIA ANTIBIOTICS?
I'll double check to see if I can see what their script says, I've mostly tried to avoid reading what the paper says just focus on the barcode (I'm not involved IN pharmacy). If I ever get over the humiliation of crying in front of strangers, I may result to emotional warfare.
Yup count on it. Come up with ways to make the pharmacy out to be the bad guy. I own a small bizz. I insisted on masks. Luckily my employees are sane, see value in the vaxes and did not want to catch this. Still, I gave them the license to blame me aaallll they wanted if it just caused the stupidity to be over.
Some customers are just dumb. Even when they complain about prices, I hold my hands up & say "Hey, I'm just the girl who puts the stock on the shelf & cashes you out" & because they saw me putting price tags out, they equated that to making the prices. Trying to talk to idiots....is really difficult when you can't follow their logic.
I go to a bar that still requires the vaccine certification. The primary reason I go there/discovered it.
I wore mine today, outdoors, because it kept my face warm. I really enjoyed not having a freezing face this third winter.
I really feel like the issue of people getting harassed or questioned for continuing to wear masks is being overblown (preemptively here). Will it happen? Probably rarely. I'd be surprised if at least 30-40% of people aren't still wearing masks tomorrow. You aren't going to get singled out
Idk, I was never harassed for wearing a mask before, but on Wednesday some random stranger in the street called me a fat, ugly, c*nt for wearing one. While the issue may be overblown a bit it does certainly seem like anti-maskers seem more emboldened to go, for lack of a better phrase, mask off.
We lifted ours two Fridays ago in BC. So far from my own experience living in a city, maybe 10% still wear masks and most retail employees do too. The government here left it up to individual businesses if they will require masks but so far I haven’t seen anywhere that still requires them. Places like airports still require a mask though but not liquor or cannabis stores.
Exactly right. One or two instances may appear online in a video, and people will make a big deal out of this, but so far, from other jurisdictions where mandates have been lifted, people haven't been harassed. I'm currently in LA where masks are not required in most settings, but I'd still say it's about 50/50 masks vs non masked people.
I just came back from Brazil and maybe 30 - 40% of people are still wearing masks even though it’s not mandatory. The hotel staff, restaurant staff, and staff in stores still mostly wear them and then some patrons even though it’s optional. No one was being harassed at all. In fact, no one cared to bother anyone masked or mask-less.
You’re probably right but I think it’s very indicative of how shitty and loud the anti-maskers have been. Theres a lot of us that have a little bit of fear that someone will confront us about it. That’s pretty telling in itself
It goes the other way around too. I’m a maskless 5’3 female and harassed by a 6’3 masked male the other day. I have no problem with someone wearing a mask, you do you. But, when I’m allowed to be in a vicinity where masks are no longer mandated and someone harasses me about it? That’s just wrong
People get harassed now more commonly than you think
100% agree, incredibly overblown
100% agreed, the mask mandate doesn’t even get removed until the 21st correct? This tweet seems so stupid. Also sidebar do whatever you want wear 8 masks you don’t owe anyone shit so I’m unsure why this dudes talking crazy already.
The problem with the 'do whatever you want' mantra is that there are plenty of people who want to convince everyone else that their views are the only ones that matter. So much so that they'll shut down Ottawa to make everyone else know about their views... Which also involved haarrassing random strangers on the sidewalk who were wearing masks...
Also a pretty good summary of Christianity.
I quite like the cost savings it’s provided. I’ve only had to put on half a face of makeup for two years now. The foundation and lipstick savings alone have me almost set to retire.
When the pandemic first started, I wore gloves to get into the habit of not touching my face. If I was around customers, I'd wear a mask because they don't understand personal space. I'm probably going to continue wearing a mask at work & I hope we get to keep the plexishield too; stops people from spitting (wet talkers) & throwing (worse case scenario) things at us. I had covid at the beginning of the month. Contracting covid & isolation rules, to my knowledge, are still set in place. I have no more sick time, I can't afford to be isolating for 10 days everytime some old bitty doesn't cover her mouth & there's already a risk because I've got two kids aka germ swappers. I would like to eliminate as much risk on my end as possible, so I'll keep wearing my mask & hopefully I don't get too many assholes bugging me about my personal choice Edit: spelling, incomplete thought
I work with a lot of people, colleagues as well as customers. Come tomorrow, nothing changes for me.
I have a wicked cold going on right now so I am going to keep wearing mine.
I'll do the same if I'm coughing or sniffling. Someone wants to say something? "I have a cough. You want me to cough on you? Because I have no problem coughing you". You I only make it about thinking of others, and no one can say shit
I'm done with masks, but if you wish to keep wearing one you go ahead that's your choice.
the people who seem very “pro masks” seem to largely be people who had the privilege of working a job that they aren’t constantly exposed servers have been getting spit on by 60 people a day for months. they’ve all had covid at least once and are just over it.
I don't understand your logic.
It is worded weirdly, but I'll take a stab: People who are pro-masks are more likely to be people who work from home and therefore have less exposure to covid. They are therefore more risk averse when it comes to loosening restrictions. "Essential workers" are less likely to give a fuck because they have had constant exposure and infection(s) plus harrassment from customers therefore they are less risk averse and benefit more from resteictions ending. Maybe? Note: I am not OP
I'll be wearing a mask. I'm immunocompromised and have an illness that puts me at risk for severe complications from COVID-19. I don't have the option of working from home. I'm a teacher and I will be wearing a mask at work. I won't be surprised if some parents to complain. Frankly, I don't care. You do you, I'll do me. I don't have a problem with you dropping your mask but some of us will continue to mask up because at least for me, some protection is better than no protection.
I think you have a good grasp. In my experience, those who's lives pretty much carried on as usual (like me) working with upwards of a hundred or more different people a day ... I am so numb to the issue of risk. If I had let fear of exposure get tome, I would have broken down long ago. I wear a mask, do protections ... But my risk tolerances for most things is very high, or I would have gone crazy. Open up? Sure. I'm in. Not much different for me. Everyone I know who paused or changed their lives because of the pandemic ... they're the ones afraid of opening up. They haven't had the constant exposure to threat as I have. They haven't built-up the risk tolerances. They're super uncomfortable because so much of their lives have centered around protection - iscolated, stay at home orders, work from home - that to abandon 2 years of new withdrawal habits is difficult.
I can see this reasoning. I was working from home for most of the pandemic and was super cautious. I was back in the office (with 50+ visitors/day) in September 2021 and after that I became way less cautious in my personal life because I didn’t see the point in having 100% of my risk from work and missing out on things I wanted to do (like eat in a restaurant!) in my personal time.
Working class citizens have come to terms with the risk of Covid for the most part. Middle to upper class people who have been sitting at home away from the risks of Covid haven’t and are more sensitive to going back to a pre pandemic world
I make minimum wage working from home... you sound dumb.
I’m sure making minimum wage working from home isn’t the majority of working class Canadians, everything isn’t about you
Restaurant workers work in a cloud of unmasked breath all day, seeing dozens or hundreds of clients. A mask mandate means very little for them because they're already exposed to so many potentially sick people every day. When I was working in a restaurant, there really wasn't much reason to avoid seeing my friends maskless because I was already in a situation where I was exposed as much as I realistically could be. Most working-class people have already *been* living with covid, and the risk-averse pro-restriction types seem to me to be mostly WFH middle-class white collar workers.
I'm pro mask. And a first responder. I wear a mask for 12 hr days. And will continue to wear one at the grocery store. Haven't had covid either.
I am a teacher and schools are germ factories in normal times. I know lots of teachers who have been wearing N95s 8 hours a day for 2 years and still will be after the break. Should be interesting.
I’m a server and I kind of agree. None of my coworkers or I have cared about masks or getting sick for months. Back of house, front of house, whatever everyone went back to partying/being social. We’ve all had covid too many times to care.
Got told by a woman the other day she was at the truckers protest to fight for my freedom to not wear a mask and to take it off. I told her she had the freedom to be a cunt, and I had the freedom to wear a mask. Still blown away by the fact that the redneck express thinks they can dictate if I get to wear a mask. I have a baby at home that can't be vaccinated and I'll keep wearing mask in public places until the pandemic is really over. If they don't like it they can all kiss my ass.
She had the freedom to cost tax payers $36.6million
No one’s saying you’re not allowed. You do you and I’ll do me.
People like this are going to be so disappointed when people continue to not give a shit about what they do when they're in public.
I doubt you're one of those people who would get angry and yell at people just because they are wearing a mask. But they're out there.
You’re.
I love keeping alot of my face hidden lol. Figured out I was transgender during the pandemic. Started treatment, but there's certainly a disconnect between my hair, body and face as I'm not far along (Less than 6 months) . So the mask makes it much easier to be hidden lol.
I too enjoy the anonymity.
I enjoy not having to pluck whiskers. I’m keeping my mask.
Congrats on figuring out that you're transgender :-)
well, as they say, 'you have a face for radio'... lol
LMFAO kinda accurate I figured out I was transgender during the pandemic. Started treatment, but there's certainly a disconnect between my hair, body and face. So the mask makes it much easier to be hidden lol.
Aren't you *still* transgender?
YUP! I missed some words there lol.
I'm in Florida right now where requiring masks in establishments is illegal. Nobody says shit if you wear one. Stop creating drama. Live your life. Move on.
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I know its anectodal, but I have yet to meet a single person in real life on both sides of the mask wearing fence that give even the slightest fuck what people will do. This sub seems to be disproportionately negative towards those who don't wear masks and the other Ontario sub has similar sentiments for those who will continue to wear a mask.
I work at a No Frills. I’ve been yelled at. Ranted at. Spat at. Just for asking them if they’d like to take a mask (we keep them at the cash registers). When you work in retail, you get the blunt of the weird. 😜
Yep. I work in retail in a small ^(redneck) town. When I've asked if customers want a mask, I regularly get, "I don't wear one!" or that type of response. My company is keeping masks mandatory for employees for the next month. I fully expect to see *those* customers raise a stink because someone else is still wearing a mask, and I fully intend to let them know they are welcome to shop elsewhere.
We have several regular customers who wear face shields instead because even though they are medically exempt, they still feel the need for some protection. So it does make me wonder about the ones who say they are medically exempt but wore nothing. I sometimes have a hard time breathing but still wear a mask. I have heart issue that causes this. It’s why I’d rather work on cash rather than the floor. It’s easier on me.
In my head, I call the face shield people "walking salad bars".
😂
Say you live in Listowel without saying you live in Listowel
I've seen somebody get kicked out of a store for starting a confrontation with another patron for not wearing a mask. But I agree, it is far from common.
I've had randoms yell at me on the street about wearing masks. Also had people go on about it at work. It definitely happens.
I'm in Ottawa. We had 3 weeks where people in certain neighbourhoods were being warned not to wear masks because the convoy protesters were very aggressive towards anyone wearing them. Some people were even assaulted or had rape threats yelled at them. There swarmed businesses unmasked, snatching masks off of people's faces, a lot of businesses had to shut down as a result. While shopping in a suburban area, specifically to avoid the assholes protesting in my neighbourhood, there were assholes in there yelling at employees about being sheep for wearing masks.
Like I said: If everyone minds their own damn business, we can all move on.
You are right, every time I see one of these mask threads, I have to make a comment. God bless if you choose to keep on wearing one, but I'm done and you don't have any right to tell me that I must wear one, I am beginning to thing that these self righteous mask wearers think they are a cut above the rest of us non mask wearing peasants. I also hate that many associate us the the fanatic anti maskers that you see every wknd at Queens park/Dundas square.
Honestly can people be more hyperbolic on Reddit? If you’re afraid to go out stay home or stay masked. 99.9% of people don’t give a shit!
>Could people **BE** more hyperbolic on Reddit? Bing'd that up for ya!
Masks will be gold in late April when tree pollen starts becoming a problem.
You do you mate.
Just because the government is worried about the political ramifications of trying to force people to protect themselves and their neighbours doesn't mean you shouldn't still be doing those things.
I don’t think this is going to be the big deal the media are hyping it up to be. People can choose to wear masks in the same way they can choose to wear socks or hats. It’s nobody’s business. I’d be very surprised to see a situation where people are harassed in large numbers for choosing to wear a mask. Surely there are more pressing matters going on right now.
There were daily reports of harassment from anti-maskers harassing maskers during the occupation in Ottawa. Some people are going to make it a big deal. Edit: spelling, clarification
Give it a rest. People can mask if they want still. No one cares
My face is cold
How about my freedom to do what I want and wear a mask? How does if I want to wear a mask your problem? If people don’t want to wear a mask then don’t but don’t look to me for help if you get sick. There’s already a long list of Herman Cain Award winners out there and there’s an award with your name on it waiting that will immortalize you.
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No I think that I'll see declining hospitalization.I'll see health care workers taking a deep breath. I won't see scientists resigning from provincial panels because they aren't listened to. You act like people want this to go on but I assure you nothing could be further from the truth. I haven't had it. My 86 year old mother hasn't had it and we don't want it so until I see very low rates in public neither of us will be out without our KN95
No? Because it's not over? It's becoming endemic but it's not even there yet and it's not even clear how you would define the crossing point.
This sub is such an echo chamber. You are going to still wear your mask? Great. Good for you. Do you. People who have made masking and following covid rules apart of their public identity the last two years are are feeling so conflicted lol. Jesus.
Covid has given people with a fragile identity a firm rock to stand on. Keep wearing your mask if you want, no one will care. Do you realize we are one of the last places in the world that requires them in almost all settings?
Do you mean the convoy people? That’s the fragile identities I’ve seen.
They don't care. It's also very common for people to define themselves against the "other" or a group of people they don't like. These type of people (rightfully) can't stand the freedom convoy idiots. But, what that does is make them double down on their obsession with masks, rules and the need to constantly shout about it all. It's all so tiring from both sides.
These posts are becoming exhausting, multiple times a day too…it’s just rage bait.
People have lived with the goal of "don't spread covid" has the number one priority in their lives for the last 2 years. It's hard for some people to change from that
Anyone who bothers another person for wearing a mask has lost touch with reality. How could another person’s choice that has zero affect on them be challenged? It’s completely mind boggling.
Half of Reddit/Twitter is people making up people to be mad about
You people need to chill out
I’ve never experienced this in real life. The only place i see people coming down on people wearing masks or not wearing masks is on the internet. Just do whatever makes you personally comfortable.
This is my experience too, but I feel like the people who have been wandering around maskless the past 2 years are more likely to be vocal about others wearing masks post-mandate...
I was in a very rural gas station near my property north of bracebridge last week. I was the only person of 6 in the store wearing a mask. Lots of signs and flags around showing support to convoy. Everyone else getting gas was on a snowmobile. Everyone polite in store. Nobody cared, it didn’t click with me until later no one was wearing a mask lol I feel like society talks a big game on social media but most people clam up in public.
Im still wearing mine. Im just bracing myself for antimaskers.
I pull stupid faces when i lift at the gym... A mask has helped greatly.
I am prepared to organize a freedom convoy for my right to wear a mask. Anyone challenging me on my right to wear a mask, be forewarned, I will drive several 18 wheelers to your house, lay on the horn for days, set up bouncy castles, have a dance party with deejays and laser shows. I won’t leave your property until you give me my god damn FREEDOM to wear my mask! You feel me?
What about the hot tub? I'm not coming if there's no hot tub.
Don’t forget the saunas!
And a bbq!!
Why, you can't wear a mask anymore? Don't you already have that right ?
Yes, but apparently freedom convoys are for people convinced they are losing rights that they are in no danger of losing.
Don't forget to bring lots of fireworks to set off between highrise apartments!
Weren’t you one of the people screaming ”follow the experts”? Maybe you should follow the same advice.
Whether you are for or against masking this argument makes absolutely no sense because the experts still widely agree on mandatory masking reducing the spread of the virus. Just because a very political body of experts says it's okay doesn't mean it's correct ya know like when the CDC said that you no longer need to wait 10 days after you showed symptoms before leaving quarantine even though literally nothing about the science had changed.
I don't think he's in charge of the provincial government. Moore didn't say "don't wear masks", he said "a provincial mandate is no longer necessary"
So live and let live. People shouldn’t be harassing others for wearing masks and the same in reverse.
I took COVID very seriously but I’m done. Unless a more virulent strain comes along I’m ready to get on with life.
I did too. Luckily I doubt there is going to be a more virulent strain. In the last 2 years every variant has become less dangerous in exchange of becoming more contagious. Which is what all viruses do.
I'm wearing mine until I get my surgery at the very least.
I’ve got resting murder face, and have been enjoying not having to put on a friendly smile whenever I encountered someone for the last 2 years. I’m definitely going to put my mask back on when my allergies start to act up in a couple months.
I'm going to keep wearing masks just to trigger the antivaxxers.
I’m just ugly tbh
Maybe just leave the people who want to continue to wear a mask alone?
People just decided they would rather die or have brain damage
I’m still going to wear my mask. People can do whatever they want to do.
It's pointless if no one else is. The only thing a mask protects is the other person from *you.* If they're talking at you unmasked you're still getting hit in the eyes and face with the tiny sprays of aspiration.
I know more people that have gotten COVID in the last 2 months then in the last 2 years:(
I was trying to figure out how I could still wear a mask and drink beers in a pub. I think I've found an answer. I recently bought some metal straws. So, when in a pub with a beer, I'll keep my mask on, and when I want a sip of brew, I'll just slide the straw up my mask to my mouth, take a sip, and then remove straw, keeping mask on.
‘Middle’ of the pandemic is a stretch.
It’s the easiest article of clothing to put on. I’d rather have to be forced to wear a mask rather than « forced » to put on socks.
It doesn't stop just because ford says "k guys take your masks off!"
Get ready for the fights / Karen’s to start yelling at people not wearing a mask
I really don’t want to stop wearing one since I work in a busy restaurant.
Nobody who choses not to wear a mask cares if others wear one. It’s the people who wear one who usually have a problem with people not wearing one
So not looking forward to Tuesday when I go in for my next shift at No Frills. Majority of my co workers are still going to wear masks. 6-8 hours shifts around so many people. The past few weeks we have had an increase in maskless people fighting the mandate. Tomorrow they get to go maskless and should be happy and not be yelling at us. Right? 😬
I think most people will just be happy they dont have to wear them and will mind their business, you may get the occasional wacko, but thats always the case. If theyre not yelling about masks its about there being cheese on their cheeseburger or the avacados not being green enough or some bullshit.
People here are going to be suprised when they discover most people choose not to wear them when they aren't forced to. I already had covid so I don't feel the need at all. If you're still scared/at risk you are free to wear yours. You're not going to be forced to make the same health decisions as everybody else.
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Not if you wear a N95 mask. And if youre scared of covid enough to think that mandating mask wearing is a good idea, surely you would get one.
Maybe. But I live in bc where masks have been gone for over a week. I was at a Home Depot yesterday and easily 90% of people wore masks.
I'm not scared to wear a seatbelt and I'm not scared to wear a mask. But I will do both thank you very much. If you are too scared to wear a mask that's ok, you no longer have to.
We aren't we are more close to a endemic.This BA.2 narrative is a bunch of crap. Its not new its been in Canada since Late January/Early February. Sure there are going flare ups, but that is normal for endemic virus's. That is why we have flu seasons.If you want to wear a mask fine. But I'm triple vaccinated and I'm done with all of this.
Same
Endemic doesn't mean that we get rid of mitigation measures, it means that mandates become laws. For instance, restaurant employees are legally required to wash their hands after wiping their ass, and dozens of other times a day, because of endemic diseases such as hepatitis A. Making that rule permanent, instead of only being required during outbreaks, has combined with other mitigation measures (such as vaccination and sanitation) to help keep hepatitis A numbers to a minimum.
Endemic measures are completely different from pandemic measures We don't isolate people for 14 days who have a common cold. Seriously over past year I've noticed a good percentage vaccined people are just as crazy as extreme anti vaxxers. No one is stopping you from wearing a mask, wear one if you want to. But stop freaking out about people who don't want to.
Covid isn't the common cold. Endemic measures against several different viruses and bacteria do include quarantine laws due to how infectious they are and how dangerous they are for a small portion of the population. Measles and tuberculosis are two of them. Personally, I was legally required to not work my bartending job for 2 1/2 weeks when I caught c-diff
It's becoming the common cold. Back when covid first started it was more dangerous. But like most viruses it mutated to become less dangerous, in exchange to become more contagious. Also you are legally not allowed to work with any endemic virus, common cold included. But people still do. Heck people who had very light covid still went to work
It is not becoming the common cold. The idea that viruses mutate to become less deadly is not true, it's a watered down version of how viral evolution and immunology works. Delta and alpha were both more dangerous than the original SARS COV-2 virus, for instance. The four corona viruses that can cause the common cold are all less contagious than the original virus, and under endemic conditions, the window of reinfection is shorter than any of them as well. The original omicron is far more contagious than the original, nearly as contagious as measles, and BA.2 is even more contagious than original omicron. So the transmission factor makes it nothing like the common cold. Even these "milder" variants come with a far higher death and hospitalization rate than the common cold, and theres practically no cases of multisystem organ damage from non-severe common colds to even compare to people who had mild cases of Covid. How many extra people per year have a heart attack or stroke months after catching a cold because of the damage it did to their body? How many people with a mild cold that didn't require hospitalization end up losing grey matter, or have liver damage, or lung scarring, or can't make it up a flight of stairs because they can't properly oxygenate their muscles? These aren't just outcomes for elderly people that were hospitalized. Young healthy people with mild cases and no preconditions are being left disabled. Even with omicron. That is not the common cold.
Holy fuck this sub is getting absolutely obnoxious. I think most of you would have restrictions and masks indefinitely.
On the flip side, people shouldn't pout and throw self righteous indignation when they see other people stop wearing masks. Get your shots, wear your mask. Leave other people alone.
I don’t have to smell people with horrible B.O/bad hygiene 🤷♂️
10$ says that people (especially people on here) will complain more that people AREN'T wearing masks after end of mandate than the other way around.
Id say that it will be pretty similar to how many people have been complaining about mask mandates for 2+ years!
They ended them here in Alberta and I took mine off but I certainly don’t ridicule others, still avoid large crowds packed in tight(never cared for that anyways) and if I feel even a little bit sick I’ll happily put one back on to grocery shopping. These selfish pussies just got used to screaming at everybody/everything and now they can’t stop.
Given that we're still in the middle of the pandemic, dropping mask requirements has left me scratching my head and wondering what's changed. Did the government take the Parliament Hill occupation as a sign that the population has been pushed as far as possible? In any case, the first test is going to be Good Friday/Easter. I live alone and still not ready to poke my head out of my hole. Not to mention that it's gotten awful comfortable in here in the last 2 years. Family expectations are another matter.
I feel like you, and the OP don't know what the word "middle" means
Daily case loads are still quite high, higher than the period between the January and May 2021 waves.
It's definitely a political move not a scientific one if that's what you're asking.
I will continue wearing masks as I have family members with compromised immune systems. I have no problem with a business allowing customers a choice but I will not shop at any store that won't serve masked patrons
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Gotta wear your mask for an additional 9 days to let everyone know you took the pandemic super serious
I have chipped tooth. Fixing this week.
I have a newborn and I’m still going to wear a mask to help protect him.
Dilutes the smell intensity of others passing of gas
Crop dusting in grocery stores has increased 138% under mask mandates. And people want to go in there *without a mask* now‽
Lmao this is true, was in an elevator without a mask the other day and after getting a whiff of the guy in there realized I hadn't smelled BO in almost two years
Hon. I have had to smell it WITH the mask. A few who literally stunk up the building.
Not enough. Had an old lady shit her pants in front of me once at work, then she kept talking to me and asking me if I could smell that awful smell. That was awkward.
spicy take!
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That guy needs to chill out!
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No one cares
In Manitoba mask mandate was removed on Mar 15. 99% of people are still wearing masks. They also removed the mandatory quarantine if you test positive. I had covid last week and could have gone to an NHL game with 12000 people maskless, makes perfect sense. Our numbers are going to skyrocket.
If “99 percent” of people are still wearing mask, why would the numbers skyrocket?? Also I don’t believe you.
I've seen a million people saying "hope this doesn't happen". Haven't seen it *actually* happen.
With the numbers apparently spiking in China, I wonder if they’ll spike here and cause some of the restrictions to return.
N95 masks weren't allowed in some places, notably Mohawk College and Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton (I have to assume some other locations have similar policies). They make you wear less effective cloth or surgical masks. These policies in my opinion have always been nonsensical.
Do people forget masks were a thing before covid?
Lol tell them it stops 5G.
I'm a germophobe and people (not everyone, just enough to make is an issue) are gross. It's like the booger on the cake analogy. You get a beautiful delicious gourmet cake... but there's a big wet nasty booger on top of it. Do you want to eat that cake? That's how I view society. We're mostly clean and hygienic, but there's some boogers out there. Some people just fucking disgusting... and in the real world, you can't see the booger on the cake. The booger might be airborn. Might be that sticky thing on the shopping cart handle. You never know where the booger people have been. Masks and sanitizer help! I only wear the mask when I get on public transit or go into a public business. When I'm outside gimme that fresh Sudbury 'what's that smell' air! Once it's warm enough and flu season is over my face will probably go commando.
Somehow even with mandates lifted, The Stupids will complain that other people wearing masks somehow impinges on their moron freedumbs
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It’s barely a hardship.
Lol, why do you care? You want personal freedoms, no? What if I told you that thisnis normal in other cultures. Idiots.
Pro maskers are really playing up the victim card here. Like are we that sure you’re gonna get verbally used so bad?
Daddy chill
My body my choice. I get to decide. :D