Thread by @johnniejae

I had to wear a mask long before COVID and sometimes I would get stares but that's it. COVID normalized the mask wearing while also politicizing the mask.

https://twitter.com/lalasoo/status/1407578279368822785

Now that restrictions are being lifted, people that once stared and then went on their way, now go out of their way to make you feel unsafe, they will purposely invade your space, cough, make comments and in some cases flat out get violent.

I am immunocompromised, my uncle died from COVID, my aunt barely survived. My sister's partner was hospitalized & on oxygen for months after he got COVID. I was on an active COVID ICU ward with my mom, I watched COVID ravage her body & I was with her when she took her last breath

I know over 336 people throughout NDN country that have died from COVID19, many more struggling with long haul symptoms.

I am fully vaxxed but it has been proven that immunocompromised folks may not produce the antibodies for as long or at all & certain meds reduce the efficacy

So I am still wearing my mask, my partner wears a mask & my family is still wearing masks because we know all too well the risks and the devastation that follows COVID, but also that COVID is not the only illness we have to worry about when a simple cold could kill just as easily

It is a shame that some people have been so disconnected from their humanity because of politics and ignorance that they don't care about protecting others, have no empathy or respect and can't just stare and stroll on by like they used to do

You never know what someone is going through, what they have suffered and what they have lost. It costs you nothing to be kind, respectful and courteous to strangers who cross your path, it cost you nothing to respect their boundaries.

And the pandemic isn't over....there are variants going around and even those who are vaxxed can still get infected. We should all still be wearing masks to help reduce the spread and to protect the folks like myself who are immunocompromised from COVID & other illnesses as well