the world really has become so much more hostile towards neurodivergent and deaf people - really anyone with communication difficulties and disabilities, particularly invisible ones - throughout this pandemic. even social justice advocates and/or leftists have become really hostile in these last six months and it’s just… it’s exhausting. i can’t talk about how painful mask-wearing is without someone “progressive” telling me that i have to wear one. i know i do! and guess what? “this is extremely difficult for me” and “this is extremely important to do” are statements that can, y’know, co-exist. they are both true.
and it’s not like i don’t understand why this is happening. As I understand it, the series of events has gone something like this:
masks/PPE became mandatory in public (with laws and regulations varying around the world, of course) to inhibit the spread of the virus
certain groups – largely older, upper-class white people, celebrities, and the more affluent – refused to wear masks. In America, this had a very political undercurrent that spread via the internet; these people acted like being forced to wear masks was a violation of their rights, or like it was some sort of… political statement? not to wear one?
Aforementioned groups start saying things like they can’t wear masks because it’s uncomfortable, feels weird, makes breathing hard etc. Others claim that there’s no point in wearing masks, since the virus “only” kills the elderly and chronically ill (yikes). Misinformation and false news spreads about how masks lower your blood oxygen, stop your breathing, and other such bullshit.
Everyone with a shred of moral decency has to work twice as hard to be socially responsible. You wind up with this schism, where on one side you have people refusing to wear masks and making false claims about them to further their own agendas, and then there’s people making genuine good faith efforts to be socially responsible.
It becomes common to see savage take-downs on Twitter where some old white guy says “Wearing masks makes it impossible to breathe” and someone else replies saying “Tell that to the doctor who wore one for four hours to deliver my baby”. These get screenshotted and shared around the internet to widespread approval.
People who genuinely struggle to wear masks get shunted out of the conversation. It doesn’t matter that we try to do our part, everyone is suddenly so keen to be Woke and Responsible™ that just saying “Wearing masks isn’t easy for everyone” gets you attacked. Nobody seems to want to listen.
Earlier in 2020 I tried to talk about this and got slammed with the expected “uh yeah everyone can wear masks sweetie. if you don’t want to wear one just don’t go out”. But you know what else I got? A flood of asks and replies from people thanking me for talking about it, because either they or members of their family had the same/similar struggles, and felt like they couldn’t talk about it. That still resonates with me. And when I say “resonates” I mean “I start tearing up because there is nothing worse than being told by a supposed ally that your pain is inconvenient or doesn’t matter”.
So just…. be a bit more empathetic, please? Yes, be aware of misinformation. Yes, continue to challenge those who refuse to wear masks for selfish reasons. Yes, do everything you can to look after others during this terrible time. But for the love all the gods and good things, remember that this isn’t a black and white issue. Have an actual conversation! Explore options! Listen to other people! I promise you it’s a LOT more productive to say “Okay, here’s what we can do to help you” or “Here are some ideas to make PPE/Masks more comfortable” than it is to lash out.
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