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I& #39;m immunocompromised and I& #39;ve been wearing face masks in public for 12 months, a step I took to try to minimise the infections I was catching on public transport/in waiting rooms. I was nervous abt wearing a mask because visible signs of disability attract unwanted attention. 1/
Then, about six months ago, Melbourne had a face mask shortage because of the bushfire smoke. Suddenly I wasn& #39;t the only one wearing a mask in public. Sure, mine had unicorns on it and everyone else got a plain white one from Bunnings, but there was a sense of camaraderie. 2/
Now, within six months, face masks in public have gone from a curiosity, to a bushfire crisis necessity, to a pandemic necessity, except the pandemic has made my mask extremely political. People sneer at me, drift closer to me on purpose, I assume thinking I& #39;m "overreacting". 3/
Probably the same kind of people who bump into me on purpose when I& #39;m using my cane, to "test" my fragility I guess? The sort of people who think everyone else needs to toughen up. 4/
Yesterday I was parking in an accessible spot (with my placard clearly displayed) and I had my mask on inside the car because (a) after you leave the house it& #39;s best to just leave it on, (b) it was a shared car. Anyway, a woman standing nearby was staring at me. 5/
She had that vicious triumphant sneer of a Karen who& #39;s caught someone out. I was wearing a mask AND parking in a disabled spot. She was gonna get me! I was sitting in the car for a couple of minutes, organising myself, and she never took her beady eyes off me. 6/
Luckily, I realised I& #39;d left something at home and would have to do that errand I& #39;d driven over for, so I didn& #39;t get out of my car and ended up driving away. Annoying to not be able to run my errand, but a relief to avoid a confrontation with that staring woman. 7/
It& #39;s just a mask. It& #39;s so exhausting that it means so many different things to people. It& #39;s just a mask. I& #39;m just disabled. So many people in my neighbourhood seem to think it signals some kind of political stance, brainwashed by a "hoax pandemic", fragile snowflake etc etc. 8/
