A reader who wishes to remain anonymous has sent us this – an account of how they’ve been inspired by my no-more-mask declaration to follow suit.
I applaud Toby’s decision to stop wearing a mask from June 21st. Having made the same decision, I thought I would jot down some reflections on the wearing and the non-wearing of masks in these irksome times.
Perhaps more than anything else over the past 15 months, it has been the masks that have disheartened and dismayed me. The sight of hordes of mask-wearing covid zombies shuffling around the high street on a bright sunny day is a scene of bleak dystopian misery and I can only hope that future generations will regard evidence of this phenomenon with a combination of bewilderment and hilarity. Sceptics will be familiar with the arguments against masks – they don’t work; they are chiefly a psychological tool to remind us that “there’s a pandemic on”; they are a superstitious comfort blanket for the terrified and a symbolic totem for the zealous virtue signallers. I suppose at this stage in the game you either get it or you don’t, so I’m not going to dwell on the case for the prosecution.
But here’s the thing – despite hating the fetid and otiose rags with every fibre of my being, up to now I too have been wearing a mask when required! I know full well that many people have refused to wear one from the outset, and I admire their integrity. But I myself have been an abject coward. I have worn a mask in shops; on the train; when picking my son up from school. Yes, I have indulged in mild acts of subversion – the occasional baring of the nostrils; the chin dangle on the train while drinking a bottle of water that I made last for an hour. But deep down I knew that these petty acts of defiance, like a truculent schoolboy slouching around with his shirt untucked, were pathetic and ineffective.
So why did I comply? I justified it by believing that I had no choice but to obey the law. However unjust we might find any given statute, I lectured myself pompously, those of us who believe in the rule of law and the social contract that underpins our democratic society are duty bound to follow the law of the land. Otherwise the whole system will founder.
Did I really believe this balls, though? When a law is unjustified and harmful, do we not have a moral duty to disobey? And I always had the option of claiming exemption on the grounds that wearing a face mask causes me severe distress. The word “severe” is maybe a bit of a stretch, but the forced compulsion to wear a mask has certainly made me feel miserable, humiliated and subjugated on a daily basis (which I suspect was rather the point).
If I’m really honest, the true reason I wore a mask was that I was fearful of being challenged and I found it much easier to go with the flow. There, I said it. It is a shameful thing to admit, but I have sinned: mea culpa, mea mask-wearer culpa.
My first rebellion took place at the school gates. Since the winter, all parents have been instructed by my son’s primary school to wear masks on the school grounds. I went along with it at first, partly due to my gratitude that in an increasingly mad world the school’s policies had been fairly sensible on the whole and have spared the children some of the worst excesses of Covid lunacy. It hasn’t been easy for the teachers and I didn’t want to make things harder for them by kicking off about something that the majority of parents, sadly, probably wanted.
But a couple of months ago I finally decided to speak out and I wrote to the headteacher to query why this policy had been instituted in the first place; why it was still in place, given the low cases/deaths/hospitalistions, etc.; and under what conditions it would be eventually be lifted. I cited various pieces of evidence showing that the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by asymptomatic individuals in an outdoor setting was vanishingly rare and that the efficacy of non-surgical masks in any setting whatsoever was far from proven. I suggested that it was not healthy for children to be confronted with this unremitting reminder that we are living in a state of constant fear and that adults are to be considered as vectors of disease and contamination. I resisted using words like “pantomime” and “charade” but you get the general idea.
I imagine this philippic was received with about as much appreciation as a turd in a jiffy bag and the reply, polite but faintly aggrieved, was much as you’d expect. None of my substantive points were addressed; the response was essentially “we need to stay safe and keep the school open and not everyone has been vaccinated yet so wear a mask”. Or to boil the matter right down to its bare bones: “wear mask because… Covid”.
Following this unsatisfactory response my innate stubborness kicked in and I have stopped wearing a mask on the school premises. I rather ostentatiously make sure to keep myself well apart from the mask wearers, so as not to infect them with my asymptomatic yet potentially deadly presence. I stand alone and silent, a strange grumpy man with shockingly exposed nostrils, usually wearing my headphones or reading a book to signal my exiled status. Nobody has ever challenged me or commented on my masklessness. In fact, other parents do sometimes sidle up and talk to me; I appreciate these small acts of kindness towards the unclean.
I briefly entertained the preposterously grandiose fantasy that my small act of rebellion would spark an Emperor’s New Clothes-esque awakening and that, inspired by my example, a critical mass of other parents would also cast off their masks. Perhaps I would be like the boy at the end of Dead Poets Society, the one who clambers onto the desk and calls out “O Captain! My Captain!” in solidarity with Robin Williams and inspires half the class to rise and do the same! Alas, you won’t be surprised to learn that no such thing came to pass. The weeks and months have gone by and to this day I remain the only bare-faced parent. Most of the others now undoubtedly think I am a self-important tosser.
You certainly can’t accuse me of any sort of consistency, though, since while carrying out this protest I nonetheless continued to wear my mask in shops and on train journeys. But after the announcement that “Freedom Day” was to be suspended I decided that enough was enough. That was my Peter Finch moment: mad as hell and not going to take it any more.
So I now enter the local supermarket entirely sans mask – not dangling under my nostrils or my chin, or replaced by a piratical bandana, but absent. And here are the three main lessons I have learned so far:
1) It gets easier each time
2) Nobody ever says anything
3) It feels great
Of course I can’t guarantee that there won’t be any unpleasant confrontations in the future. On the whole I suspect that most people don’t particularly care, and those who do object are more likely to tut and roll their eyes than make a scene. I have, though, considered what I will say if challenged. Should I go with the “I’m exempt” line, perhaps citing a hidden disability and expressing outrage if disbelieved? Should I start spouting statistics, whipping out a copy of the Danish mask study from my jacket pocket? Should I maybe disarm any opposition by acting strangely, shouting “I drink your milkshake” with a mad gleam in my eye? It’s tempting.
But I think the best response is suggested by an American “Don’t Do Drugs” video we watched at school when I was about 13. (As it happens I’m now 40 and have never been offered any illegal drugs in my entire life; I sometimes wonder what I’m doing wrong. But that’s an aside). In the film, a girl who for some reason is adamantly opposed to chewing gum is repeatedly offered gum by her friends. “It’s delicious! Why not just try some?” But our heroine always responds: “I don’t chew gum.” No matter what blandishments or stratagems her gum-addicted friends employ, like a stuck record she repeats that one phrase: “I don’t chew gum.” It was a good message about how to say “no” in an assertive fashion and it stuck with me.
So if I am challenged, I have decided that I am just going to say: “I don’t wear a mask.” And I will repeat this as many times as necessary. I won’t apologise. I won’t explain my reasons. Why should I? I will simply state: “I don’t wear a mask.”
Because it’s true. I don’t wear a mask. I’m done with that. And if you don’t want to wear one, you don’t have to either.
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I have to wear a mask all day at work even when driving cars around site (that one I ignore because it makes my glasses steam up and I don’t want to hit pedestrians).
I think they are intended primarily as a psychological tool. But after 10 months out of work keeping my house has become more important than principal.
No one can blame yo7 for that, Laucey.
But you can still wear your face with pride elsewhere.
True enough – also makeup and lippy don’t work very well with masks so you can’t look good. You don’t look good with a bit of cloth over your face either. I wish work would be more sensible. I was on a training course today and there was a sign on the door but nobody in the building wore masks. It was delightful. It’s a 2 day course so tomorrow is going to be brilliant too!
Be interested to hear a bit about the mechanics of how that works with your employer, if you are willing (without giving away any details that could identify you, obviously).
Is it a policy handed down from a central head office? One just on your site? Is it enforced by one particularly zealous individual (if so, what position?) Or is it generally pushed by management as a whole?
I have no idea how the politics work. I’m a contractor. I really appreciate the work. But it is a very large company and they go overboard on health and safety. It is not unusual we have to stop work while they make rules for some safety concern that those doing the work have already figured out how to deal with.
Fair enough. I’m just interested in how these things work on the ground.
In truth safetyism has become a structural and oppressive feature of corporate life in the UK over the past few decades, so it’s probably as you imply just been added onto that.
The course I’ve been on is a safety one. I don’t know why I needed to do it as it’s not related in any way to my work, but it has been very useful for things I do outside of work so pretty cool.
I’m an engineer. Not a washing machine repair man (as that term is used in the UK), but someone who applies science in a useful, pragmatic, and in a very technical way to make products that work nicely.
I’ve been crying out for them to put an engineer between ‘the scientists’ and the rules. I even wrote to Boris offering my services. In my field scientists are really helpful but they are so detached from the real world we need to keep them away from customers. Engineers are needed as a filter between boffins and customers.
I have always believed that engineers make scientists fantasies work.
“The course I’ve been on is a safety one. I don’t know why I needed to do it as it’s not related in any way to my work“
Probably because it’s about safetyism as dogma, and ticking boxes, not about safety as a genuine issue. More SAFETY More Good.
“I’ve been crying out for them to put an engineer between ‘the scientists’ and the rules”
Best example of that in relation to the coronapanic would be engineer Ivor Cummins, who has talked sense on this from the start. If only the pols had listened to him instead of the SAGE loons we’d have barely noticed covid and mostly have forgotten about it by now.
Except our current situation has FA to do with an alleged ‘virus.’
I’ve sent another email to Boris. I would like a role between the ‘scientists’ and the public. Much the same as I do at the moment.to protect my costumers from scientists.
How do you send emails to Boris and get them recognised?
Maybe copy it to whoever replaced Cummings? And Gove? And Hancock? Maybe other cabinet members, although they all seem to be largely awol at the mo.
Some of the more interesting doctors were engineers, such as Michael Eades and Richard Bernstein
I’m a product safety engineer. My role is to work with designers to ensure products are safe in use. It involves a background in mechanical engineering and a good knowledge of health & safety law and standards. Big numbers and very small numbers and probabilities are my stock in trade
If I get it wrong, things crash or people are crushed. I have to critically examine other engineers’ claims, knowing that it could be me answering to the likes of the Cullen inquiry, Haddon-Cave, etc. It means I have seen through all the covid bullshit and the unscientific nature of the controls.
There must be a lot of people in a similar position- I study charts and data for a living and have gotten used to ‘dodgy’ info being misrepresented, but this is on another level and just shows how ignorant most folk are about so many things. Recently, a friend asked me why no newspaper was railing against all this. He couldn’t understand it, but his problem was that he didn’t understand what a newspaper is for in the first place- he thought is was to inform him, whereas in fact it is to sell advertising/ sponsorship. Once you get this, the rest is obvious.
The Daily Mail being the worst, with its chest-tightening use of capitals in each headline. I stick to economics and markets publications but even the FT and Economist are vehemently pro-lockdown and have not seriously explored the trade-offs of lockdowns, masks etc.
I am sure that a big element of that is cost-benefit. If we spend ££££ it will have a miniscule death rate. If we spend ££ it will have an acceptable death rate. Let’s spend ££ because that is a fair trade-off. Never happened in the Covid panic and now oh look the NHS can’t handle A&E or cancer demand and people are going to die. So stupid.
The sector I work in is dogged by this. Senior leadership, business practitioners who produce work and profit are petrified of internal compliance who are in turn petrified of auditors and regulators. The main aim seems to be to stop people doing anything useful, incur needless cost, regardless of the actual risk or of any serious consequences if those risks turn out to be real. No-one dies or loses their house because of any of this.
Everyone involved knows and agrees it’s all pointless box-ticking, but they go along with it because they feel they have no choice (and often don’t as in the end, legal and other business sanctions can be applied).
I’m glad I am near retirement, and equally glad my boss and most of my colleagues agree it’s all bollocks and try to get around it as much as possible. Interestingly, my boss is a hardline lockdown sceptic too.
Presumably insufficient external competition and high barriers to entry mean our big corporates can get away with these crushingly inefficient practices. Only going to get worse as the remaining bits of the world (China etc) are incorporated into the cultural borg I suspect.
“Interestingly, my boss is a hardline lockdown sceptic too.”
A reassuring position to be in.
Yes, so much crass waste goes on in these global corporations. And they are woke as fuck, or pretend to be, not just to the outside world but to their staff.
The sector we service is terribly inefficient and ripe for change, but yes, high barriers to entry keep them in clover.
Yes, good to have a sceptic boss even if most of my colleagues are not. Hoping we can avoid the worst excesses as and when the office reopens. We’re pushing for a return to 2019 and anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable with that can work from home, for as long as they want, with no adverse reflection on them.
I am early middle aged and for the first time in my career I have been thinking about retirement an awful lot, which triggers feelings of guilt at being ‘lazy’. But the reality is that regulation is strangling many industries and making many careers very boring and unproductive.
Somebody ought to ask them whether they have carried out a risk assessment on the wearing of masks. They can have adverse health cosnequences.
I very much doubt that they have. Last year, I was in correspondence with my MP asking for risk assessments on wearing masks for long periods of time while travelling. ( I was due to make a long train journey. ) I received several replies from the Department of Transport explaining why masks were introduced but nothing about risk assessments.
My last effort went something like this.
The silence was deafening.
Yep, I did exactly same last year. My MP couldn’t answer either but waffled on about other countries doing the same, and “helping OTHERS to feel safe”! That’s when I decided I was done. Never, ever worn one.
If it’s health and safety they care about maybe you should send them a copy of this. It has been retracted but there is so much damning information in there it cannot just be ignored.
Facemasks in the COVID-19 era: A health hypothesis
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7680614/
Retraction notice to “Facemasks in the COVID-19 era: A health hypothesis” [Medical Hypotheses 146 (2021) 5]
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8114149/
I just say “I’m done”.
I am so sorry for you I do understand that you are being forced to wear it — a vile kind of blackmail — Despicable that our government have driven this forward — but do free yourself when not at work —. Good luck..
My wife is in a similar position- she and a friend recently started a new business and while they both hate masks, they have little choice but to wear them if they want their business to flourish- anyone in business will tell you how fast bad news can spread. Personally, I wear a scarf around me mush when I absolutely must but not a second longer, dropping it as I step over the threshold. My reaction when we were first threatened with this ridiculous rule last year was to say ‘Never!’, but the trouble with that is that it puts people that I consider friends, (like the local cafe owners/staff where I have been going on an almost daily basis for years), in a difficult position- do they refuse to serve me, or risk being reported by the Stasi, (and they would be given the local penchant for virtue signalling), and losing everything they’ve worked for? Other things are simpler- I won’t wear one in a car, and have refused to get into cars, preferring to walk than ‘enjoy’ the company of a pathetic chin wobbler. I have even been ‘asked’ to sanitize my hands before getting into a car!… Read more »
It really doesn’t matter if you hit a pedestrian because of your mask. By wearing it in the car you are keeping yourself and others safe. I hope, if you sleep alone, that you wear a condom. You just can’t be too safe.
Excellent.
Some similar observations:
I have been a reluctant and somewhat forgetful cowardly mask wearer up until a week ago. When I have worn one it was because I did not want to cause problems to innocent, albeit brain-washed people.
I am still not wanting to cause problems for those people nor to restrict what I can do, but I do NOW want to make a statement. This will chiefly be in shops and and on public transport. I hope that people do notice and talk to me about it.
The security guard at Tesco (incidentally maskless) gave me a gentle reminder yesterday and was happy with the single word reply ‘exempt’.
I am still prepared to be masked for the 10 seconds it takes me to get from the gym entrance to the gym or studio room. It would not be worth the trouble it would cause me, especially when most members are well aware of my views anyway.
Many on here have always been maskless – great credit to you – but I hope there are many more like me now joining their ranks.
Saying “I have an exemption” makes it sound like it is a personal thing I bought (much like my vaccination, which was, incidentally, much more than i felt I could afford to pay).
Well done. I know for strong minded (read gobshite for me!) people this has been, not easy, but a point they were determined to make. I feel the tide is turning because, like you, I have now got my sister, my best friend, her daughter, and my elderly neighbour, all wearing lanyards. It’s a start. My friend even told me she told an old lady who questioned her that she was exempt and that she was being rude! This from a woman who has worn a mask throughout! My sister and friend are both double jabees but are determined they will not have another. Ditto my elderly neighbour. My friends daughter has refused the second jab, and won’t have another. My friend is on Facebook and tells me there is real dissent. I hope this is happening bit by bit everywhere. Keep it up!
No one should have to wear a mask. Equally, no one should have to wear a lanyard to explain why they aren’t wearing one. We should all be allowed to make our own decisions about what we personally feel we want to do and how much anyone might feel the need to protect themselves and not have to explain them to anyone. That was always the way with colds and flu until March 2020.
Masks aren’t required to be worn in sport facilities: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/providers-of-grassroots-sport-and-gym-leisure-facilities#sec-6 Face coverings for sport facilities People are not required to wear face coverings while taking part in sport and physical activity. All forms of face coverings may restrict breathing efficiency and should not be used during exercise except on specific advice from a physician. Visitors are not required to wear face coverings in sport facilities, however they should be encouraged to wear face coverings in enclosed public areas when not engaging in sport or physical activity. Staff are not required to wear face coverings in sport facilities, however you should encourage them to be worn to protect staff and customers. You should support your workers if they choose to wear face coverings. However, face coverings may be required in specific areas. If your facility contains retail or hospitality areas (such as a shop, cafe or bar), face coverings must be worn by staff and visitors in public-facing roles. If this applies to your facility, you are required to remind customers to wear face coverings where they are required (for example, displaying notices outside and inside a cafe area). Staff in close-contact services are required to wear a face covering and… Read more »
This catalogue of dos and don’ts exposes the upside down facemask policy for what it is – another exercise in Covid19 pseudo-science. Don’t wear a mask when you’re panting like a well exercised dog and spraying the contents of your lungs around at maximum output – that’s safe. But when you’re back to breathing normally in the hospitality area, put your mask back on. Ditto for the crowds – when they are screaming and cheering as part of the audience, no masking is required, but once they return to normal talking with less spraying of lung contents, put the masks back on.
Either we’re dealing with a virus which justifies these restrictions or we aren’t. The fact is there is no justification for any of this. It’s just lies and pseudo science from a bunch of amoral liars. They are laughing in our faces. This is what people need to realise – THEY ARE LAUGHING IN YOUR FACE.
No – they are laughing in your MASKED face
It’s like a game; they ask do you have a mask and you reply “I’m exempt” and it goes no further.
What about us being exposed to the germs from their masks which they put down on tables and goodness knows where. These people do not care about causing problems for anyone else..
The leaders I noticed at the G7 seemed not in the slightest bit worried about masks or social distancing —-
I watch people taking their mask off and folding it in their hands and think – ewwwww and cringe inwardly
To be honest I hope that people don’t join your ranks. I think you’re being a bit overly generous with your self-congratulations.
You don’t ever have to go out of your way to make other people feel comfortable. They can stay at home if they are scared.
You are not restricting yourself in what you can do by not wearing a mask – it’s is the mask that is the restricting factor not vice versa.
Sorry but no ones going to notice your sudden protest statement in the shops and come and talk to you about it. It’s not that big a deal.
If you can tell people you’re exempt now then you could’ve done that a year ago.
Why on earth are you still wearing a mask at the gym?!?! Of all places?!?! You don’t even have to! Just bin the bloody thing if you’re going to boast about joining the Free Faces.
“If I’m really honest, the true reason I wore a mask was that I was fearful of being challenged and I found it much easier to go with the flow. There, I said it. It is a shameful thing to admit, but I have sinned: mea culpa, mea mask-wearer culpa.” Good stuff! Honesty is admirable, especially when it comes with puns. “However unjust we might find any given statute, I lectured myself pompously, those of us who believe in the rule of law and the social contract that underpins our democratic society are duty bound to follow the law of the land. Otherwise the whole system will founder.” This assertion of course is defeated as far as our society is concerned by all the admired identitarian ideological “heroes” and “heroines” of the past century or so who are lauded for having defied supposedly unjust laws, from suffragettes to people who wanted to engage in homosexual activity. The alternative approach is set out as: “Laws are for the guidance of the wise and the rigid obedience of fools” In truth, a free adult should approach laws as he approaches risks, with a clear-headed and honest assessment of the choices, and take… Read more »
The people who hid Anne Frank were breaking the law. The people who killed her, were obeying it.
Fear — that is all this vile lot have got….
If the public just say NO – it is over……
Totally agree, that’s all it would take.
Hear, Hear! It is indeed bizarre that ‘regs’ are enforced and transgressors punished with far more zeal than genuine laws.
Peter Hitchens has imo a good handle on how and why this happened. Here he is talking specifically about self-defence, but elsewhere he extends the point. Social control militias and institutions of the kind our police and courts have become are far more concerned about ensuring people don’t challenge their position and pc social norms than about enforcing laws relating to actual crimes. “The paradox is that we have these grim jawed enforcers ( predicted rather accurately in Constantine Fitz Gibbon’s amusing future fantasy thriller ‘When the Kissing Had to Stop’ back in the early Sixties) but that the criminal classes have never had such an easy time. How can this be? My theory is fairly simple. In a liberal state, the police are weak on crime because it is officially regarded as a social disease, not really the fault of the criminals. But they are tough on individuals who tackle crime themselves, because they threaten the state monopoly of law-enforcement (worse, their methods, if generally allowed, would be more popular than the feeble methods of the state police); and they are tough on street protest because they represent a state which regards itself as good, and so sees all protestors as… Read more »
I haven’t worn a mask since the beginning because it insults my intelligence, but it’s not enough. I’m not a better or braver person for not having done so.
The best example we have of bravery is our grandparents that fought in the War. If the most I get to say when our societies have been completely reorganised and our kids are suffering from side effects of gene therapies is that I didn’t wear a mask, I don’t think any of our grandchildren is going to give me a pat on the back.
Maybe, but it is a first step to not going along with the programme.
Yes – it is —-
I was talking to a mask refusenik yesterday who has rehearsed his answer if challenged -“I don’t wear a mask because I have a brain”.
Hahah true — I went on a protest march and a lady in front of me wore a tee shirt that said….. “There’s a spike in cases because more people are getting tested. If we had more IQ tests there’d be a spike in morons, too”. It still make me laugh and it is true…….
Well done.
I’ve not worn a mask. Not once. In all of that time I’ve had three very minor interactions with shop staff. In each case they said ‘do you have a mask’ to which I replied ‘no thank you’ and they said nothing else. I wore an exempt badge at first but stopped that because it felt wrong (although I completely understand why some choose to use one). I admit that I’m still slightly apprehensive when going in new shops, but nothing ever happens. My wife is now maskless too (even though she’s been in in shops with maskless-me she’s been surprised at how little interest she gets with no mask) And we go to the supermarket together! I suppose some see us as selfish, but I think we’re doing our tiny bit of freedom fighting.
I too was apprehensive at first and fully expected some sort of challenge or confrontation but I have never experienced any and now I go about in complete confidence. That is not to say I won’t get challenged but I no longer care that I might. My wife was once asked if she minded wearing a mask and she simply replied that yes, she would mind, and just carried on. Feeling selfish has never once occurred to us as we know masks just do not work.
Same here. At the start I came across the relevant bumf (via a YT entry) on the DHSC website, and made my own ‘badge’, which I occasionally use. Only one occasion, last August, when the car dealer’s worker criticised me; I just said: “No, can’t” and waved my badge at her. I was only dropping the car in for it’s annual service/MOT, and they got on with the job.
The only other potentially controversial place was the dental surgery (yes, I know it’s illogical) where the desk staff were wearing junk – of course the real medical items are always worn by the dentist, but that’s a different reason. The other oddity there was that they wanted to sterilise my hands (through which you can’t be attacked by a virus), and just measured my temperature.
It’s so good to hear others’ experiences. In the beginning I didn’t want to wear one but I was barred from going into Asda without one, and from going into public toilets without one so then I grudgingly complied.
Good people disobey bad laws.
Wonderful and true
Good on you. I stopped wearing a mask. I have been into the Co-op, Waitrose and Tesco’s. I don’t act furtive, l look people in the eye, l am polite, l give people their space and more importantly l greet every employee l come across.
NO ONE HAS SAID A THING. THEY JUST DONT CARE.
I have now realised that the vast majority of people just cannot be bothered.
IT´S OVER
Except it it isn’t over, is it? Mandatory vaccinations, social credit system looming over the horizon, etc etc?
Or maybe that’s what you meant…
Us sceptics need to find somewhere to begin a new civilisation.
That’s quite cool – just went into the shop across the road with no mask. It was busier than normal but nobody minded.This really might be a way to help get rid of the things.
“But I myself have been an abject coward.“
Don’t beat yourself up. It achieves nothing, and is just the obverse of empty vitrue-signalling.
Just do it where you can, and extend the time that you do it.
The great thing about where I currently work is that no one wears a mask or follows any social distancing bollocks anymore.
It’s over.
You write well anonymous reader. I very much enjoyed your confession – humour and humanity…a winning combination. Many thanks for sharing.
Perhaps the answer is quietly spreading the word and showing an example rather than ranting at those who do wear them.
It encourages others to do the same.
It definitely does. In work related situations when I’ve not been wearing one, others have taken theirs off. I’ve seen this many times.
“Perhaps the answer is quietly spreading the word and showing an example rather than ranting at those who do wear them.”
Easy to declare and fine sounding, but rather refuted by the facts. A bit like the maskers’ nonsense itself, where mask-wearing doesn’t work for months and then suddenly starts working when the spring comes.
As the op himself asserts:
“The weeks and months have gone by and to this day I remain the only bare-faced parent.”
The reality is that neither quiet example nor ranting worked, and now the wider dynamics have changed and the situation is changing as a result.
I prefaced my remark by ‘Perhaps’. Nothing ‘fine sounding’ about that
“the wider dynamics have changed and the situation is changing as a result”
How, exactly? The problem is the lack of change – except for the continual turning up of the heat under the frogs.
As far as the increased prevalence of mask refusal is concerned (albeit we would both view it as far too small an effect so far), the change in wider dynamics seems to me to be a reduction in background fear. (Not an elimination of it, just the beginnings of it becoming less all pervasive and overwhelming).
We had the same kind of fear reduction last summer, if you recall, before the winter upturn was used to frighten the weak sisters (like Snowdon and other supposed “libertarians” back into the corral).
Yes, it does no good whatsoever to rant.. Most people have been brainwashed – If they see that it makes no difference perhaps they will find the courage to say NO to all this nonsense and when enough people do it will ALL be over — The government cannot win when the masses say enough is enough — These ministers are scared people who probably cannot believe what they are getting away with —- We must all have the courage to say – IT STOPS NOW…….. Take off the mask, hug your relatives, friend, neighbour and show them we are not listening to their obvious lies anymore —
I live in a smallish village in south Wales and I think I am the only person who has never worn a mask. And the local chippie which I used to frequent I have boycotted ever since they asked me to wait outside (one other person in the shop) at 7.30 pm on a sub zero February night.
Reminds me of ‘Little Britain’. ‘The only maskless in the village’. 👍👍👍🙏🙏
Good for you. Delighted to hear you’ve stopped wearing your mask. Your experiences mirror mine – down to fruitlessly reasoning with school & attending pick-up maskless, fantasising about this being like the juror who stands up in 12 Angry Men and the room cleaves to, except it really isn’t, and you just get silently judged by other parents.
Except, I’ve never worn a mask. Well, bar two trips to the dentist, where they provide you with one at the door, to be worn five paces to the consultation room. And for my two pregnancy scans I’ve allowed them to give me a ridiculous face shield. Otherwise, nada.
I’ve always said “I’m exempt”, smiled politely, and looked people straight in the eye. I think you might need that wording in medical settings. However outside that, from now on I shall adopt your excellent phrase & say “I don’t wear masks”.
Good luck!
If I’m really honest, the true reason I wore a mask was that I was fearful of being challenged and I found it much easier to go with the flow. I’ve never wore a mask since day one – having an exemption card dangling around my neck helped but I was always anxious about being challenged – which I was twice and each time there was an apology when they saw my exemption card. But even now at this late stage in the game I still feel the need to wear an exemption card because there are people still wearing their masks outside as well as inside (I still see some wearing them in their cars) and you are always on your guard from the odd masked moron out there who have been looking for an excuse to bully people and this is their golden opportunity … and encouraged by the government too. I used to have some sympathy with mask wearers to begin with – all that government propaganda about asymptomatic carriers was always going to have a powerful impact on a persons mindset – but now with the evidence mounting against mask-wearing, the futility of wearing one and… Read more »
I have not worn a mask since the very start of the mandate. I decided right from the off that this would be a hill I was prepared to die on. In all honesty it has been simplicity itself. The way to do it is this: Walk confidently and purposefully with your head held high. You would be amazed how this approach will make anybody think twice about challenging you. They simply won’t. You will occasionally get stared at disapprovingly. There are two ways of dealing with this…either ignore the stare and continue with your confident demeanour. That way you are ignoring them and signalling via body language that you do not care how much they stare. Or you can stare right back. Maintain eye contact and I guarantee that they will break off first. I sometimes smile at them which totally disarms the starer. If challenged by staff (wherever it may be) just say that you are exempt. That will work 99 times out of 100 but if they ask for proof just say that it is NOT required. Again, you have to maintain your confidence and do not act sheepish or cowed otherwise they spot a weakness. If… Read more »
In Band Q I was offered a mask (free) by a l staff member, which I declined. She responded “Oh, you’re exempt” as if to justify the refusal to herself. I carried on with my shopping.
Absolutely agree. It is about confidence. Though that is a 2 way street. I haven’t wore a mask since day 1. I am 6 foot and also shaved head. Rarely challenged. To be honest, I relished it. Walking around with my head held high, chest puffed out.
My poor wife on the other hand, 4″11 and glasses. She was targeted a lot by the morally superior. Nobody ever said anything to her if she was with me however. It would make my blood boil though that grown men felt they were justified in picking on a small woman. Yes, they had the confidence to do so. Not so much when facing me for the same ‘crime’.
And snap with me at work and masks. I also took down the test & trace material several times when it was voluntary. I am the manager of my small office, so I could. The area manager(s) both tried to threaten me, in which I replied with “sack me then”. I had them against the wall, and they knew it with our staffing levels. My office was mask free, and remains so to this day.
5’4″ 63 y/o woman here. I have never, ever challenged by member of the public. Very occasionally a shop-door goon asks but I agree with you that a bold ‘I don’t wear a mask’ does the trick.
No lanyards, no talk of exemptions. That’s playing their gam
Recommend Lidl as a no hassle supermarket
Removing every single one of the stupid council notices in your town also keeps you sane (I am told!)
Good stuff.
Most people, however, are NOT as confident as you are. The average Brit is fairly mild-mannered and ‘reasonable’. Our over-politeness and endless ‘sorrys’ point to our absolute phobia of of confrontation (except when drunk or driving a vehicle). But yours is an interesting test-case into what happens when you stop wearing a mask and adds to the growing body of evidence that suggests the answer is ‘not much’. I’m not quite where you are, so will go with the lanyard approach which is at least a start. I suspect by the time I get the cojones to not even wear that, the mask mandate will be over. There are suggestions in the press today that the delayed freedom day will finally see this happen in nearly all settings.
Thanks for sharing.
Seconded. I stopped about 9 months ago – I just walk into the shops ignoring any stares or questions (rare but happens).
Confidence disarms/frightens them.
The Marlborough Head in Mayfair is awful for mask and track and trace enforcement. Don’t go there.
I would add to my previous post…they brought in a mask rule at my workplace and I refused to comply. My boss challenged me and I said that I was quite prepared to be disciplined or even sacked, but I was NOT going to wear one. We had a Mexican stand off staring match for what seemed like an eternity before he eventually nodded and walked out. Nothing more was said. Two weeks later the rule was dropped.
Good job.
Be interesting to talk to him when all this is in the past and ask him about his thinking in that moment.
It isn’t ever going to be in the past.
Ye Gods.
That wasn’t Mexican tumble weed blowing through your office; it was discarded filthy covid masks being blown by air conditioning.
Bloody well done.
It’s so encouraging to hear all these experiences!
I ditched the mask on school premises too. I also wrote to the head and also got a pathetic response so took matters in to my owns hands.
No more masks anywhere for a while now and it feels great.
Bravo👏 Beautifully written. Viva La Revolution!
Yes, Bravo
Well done!! We are in holiday in Cornwall, and went to a local pub for dinner last night.
The lady who greeted us said “Please wear a mask except when you are seated – if you wear one”. Given such a wonderful cue, we replied that we do not.
Perfect
This is the truth of it ….
I too have been an abject coward, the school playground really wound me up, an email to school that didn’t even merit a response (although their emails now only ask if we could consider wearing a mask rather than tell us to wear one). My reasoning was the same, the school have had it hard, they are positive and I don’t want them to pass their judgement of me onto my daughter, but when I saw 3 teachers maskless, in class, when June 21st was delayed and when I had worn a mask for 8 hours at my first job for 15 months and my skin condition exploded on my face, that was me done. It turns out I have a genuine medical exemption but I didn’t know this as I have only worn them for the odd supermarket visit, so for a week I have been maskless and I’ve not been challenged once. I have a lanyard, but that’s only for work where I come into contact with council registrars, some of who are famous for their love of petty rules. It looks official and we all know that people will accept any old crap if it looks official… Read more »
Why on earth did you wear a mask at work for 8 hours a day if you could have stated that you are exempt? There is no such a thing as being medically exempt, it is only exempt.
All these hours you deprived your body of oxygen and that resulted in irreversible low grade brain damage (could lead to earlier onset dementia in a few years) and other health risks such as cancer. When surgeons operate for hours on end with masks on, they get oxygenated air pumped into the room….. Other medical staff replace their masks on a regular basis
I find it somewhat ironic that people who say that they only wear a mask to avoid confrontation don’t seem to realise that it is because most (British people at any rate) avoid confrontation at all costs that they can get away with not wearing a mask.
Spot on.
On the very first day masks were made “compulsory” I heard a woman say, from behind me, “There’s someone who thinks the law doesn’t apply to him” and that’s been it.
So pleased not to know this horrid busybody woman
So true! That’s exactly it – the British mostly avoid confrontation. And they don’t pry – so they are not likely to ask you to explain your exemption.
I would be interested to know how many people have been fined for not wearing a mask and how it even got to that point where a fine was handed out and by whom. The MSM seemed to take great joy in the threat of fines as if supermarket or railway staff were able to hand them out on the spot. Truth was that it was always an empty threat that was completely unenforceable. A bit like it once being illegal to record songs off the radio.
Someone did a FOI request to the CPS and apparently not one person who had refused a fine had been taken to court. I’ve never once wore a mask and had no problems, in fact, shop assistants seem to make a point of talking to me, maybe they get sick of talking to a partial face.
Early on i saw plenty of police harassment of shoppers on Twitter and several arrests. I doubt any of them came to anything though.
Fabulous! Welcome back to having a free face again! What an encouraging story, just what we need to convince others that it’s ok to ditch the face nap if you choose to. Exemption is actually very easy. I’ve never worn one, neither has Mr H. It was challenging at first but it got easier and easier. We’ve never worn lanyards either but we have (pointless) laminated cards to keep the little door generals happy. To be honest I’ve never really been challenged. I’m always friendly and polite to people but I always stand my ground hard and don’t enter into any arguments. And, the more that do this the quicker we can throw this diktat off! All it takes is a little courage – this isn’t a law that can be enforced despite their threats because a health risk assessment was never carried out for general use of face masks in a public setting! Anyway, well done that man, and keep going!
There is no government anymore, they dont actually run the country. Mask wearing is intimidating. Ive worn one now and again since waking up in nov to the truth but only because I have felt intimidated. Ive had a school headteacher chase me down to ask why i wasnt wearing one and Ive even been refused shop service without one and I did capitulate that time. Its a sad state of affairs but now is most certainlty time to ditch the mask forever, no buts no maybes….because otherwise they will be enforced forever…
Well done. As my daughter works in a supermarket, I was hesitant to go maskless at first because let’s face it supermarket workers have been there for us all the way through and it didn’t seem right to make them feel uncomfortable. In fact once I tried it, I found that they were actually friendlier, I even had grins from one or two who are normally right miserable so and sos. I’m not sure if they think I’m now so ancient that I’ve got multiple conditions that make me exempt. One time I was challenged (thanks Lloyds Bank) I just said ‘I don’t wear one, thank you’ and carried on. Another time I heard a couple muttering about ‘where’s your mask’ under their breath. I suspect they were the type who wear them outside and probably to bed (sometimes you can just tell). The sad thing is that by and large I am the only one in the place unmasked which depresses me a bit.
I was in a cafe today, sitting in the covered outdoor bit. A couple were eating their meal, finished it and made a big fuss of putting on their masks, walked about 6 paces out of the door and took them off. Fascinating lunacy
I find this type of behaviour fascinating, abhorrent and utterly ludicrous in equal measure. I do wonder what goes on in these individuals heads. I don’t really want to find out to be honest because that way madness lies.
Would have been interesting to ask them what they think they could have caught in those 6 steps. It seems to be the collective good person thing they’ve been pushing on people, that you’re doing it for everyone else not yourself, SAFE is the buzz word
AND VIRTUOUS
Lol….we often have a walk at our local beach followed by a quick drink in the beachfront bar. They have a large outdoor, uncovered area, and it’s gobsmacking the number of people who don masks outside to walk to their outside table and keep them on until their food/drinks arrive 😀 All in the typically British windy weather. Insanity beyond belief.
Thoroughly enjoyable read and more power to you, Anonymous. I’ve worn a mask about 5 times, in each case to smooth my progress in situations where someone else is the absolute priority. Namely, to get my son seen in A&E or get on a flight to the US. I’m at peace with this. We have to be pragmatic. Those occasions aside, I’ve found refusing the mask has helped me hold the line, psychologically, against the endless onslaught of insanity. I’d encourage everyone to do so. I agree completely with everyone else suggesting you endeavour to stay calm, confident and carry yourself with dignity. Confidence breeds confidence and you will never be challenged. In reality, you will be the one doing the challenging. However, I’ve not found it easy until perhaps a month ago, when my anger finally began to subside and I switched from a confrontational mindset to one where I feel we – the unmasked – must lead people out of their state of fear. I’ve only had one particularly nasty incident. Shopping in a busy Tesco with my 1-year-old. A hulking slob of a man wearing a skin-tight full-face mask challenged me. “Where’s yer mask?!” he said breathlessly.… Read more »
Great story! I must confess I, too, hold my head up with pride when I’m the only person with a face in Sainsburys!
lol – great story
my 8 year old is still so proud of when she said ‘we should calm down not lockdown’. I put the quote on here and she got top upticked of the day. we still talk about it 🙂
Your eight-year-old has got more sense than all of SAGE and the pathetic dweebs in government and parliament put together.
Your daughter is a legend, sir.
I was in Morrisons recently and had a loud “EXCUSE ME”. First comment about having a face for months…or so I thought. Wrong. I got told off for singing along to Dolly Parton on the store radio because singing wasn’t allowed. It made my day
Thoroughly enjoying this post and the subsequent comments. I have to admit that I did rather reluctantly [kind of] wear a mask for a short period, but I spent a lot of time with it under my chin. I then moved to a snood, which again I would just have around my neck for most of the time I spent at the supermarket. I swim at our local hotel and I’ve never worn a mask there and the staff who I know really well don’t care. About six weeks ago I decided to stop. I feel amazing. Nobody has said anything. I can smile at people in shops when they stop pushing their trolley to let you pass etc and it makes you feel human again. We had a meeting at school about two months ago and I went maskless without any issues. I am really relaxed about ignoring mask mandates, but increasingly concerned by noise that employers may make vaccination compulsory. I have not and will not be vaccinated. I’m not too concerned by the vaccine itself, but have a genuine medical reason that I cannot receive it. I actually booked both my vaccines and attempted to have the… Read more »
The Lawyers for Liberty website announces that there is an anonymous whistle-blower letter campaign coming soon.
And to show it’s not just masks they lie and manipulate about:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9713323/Non-socially-distanced-mass-events-safe-Minister-says-no-Covid-outbreaks-pilots.html
So as we suspected, the regime lied to us by covering up this info, to reduce resistance to their fatuous lockdown policy, while grownup places like US Republican-run states go back outside like adults..
In a self respecting nation there would be outrage and resignations. Here? Supine, meek acceptance, most likely.
Seems as a nation we are just a bunch of sheep who deserve everything we get, until and unless we find the balls to overthrow this manipulative and dishonest political and media elite. but nobody seems to care enough to bother.
A nation once to be proud of, now to be ashamed of.
A lot of hearteningly sceptical comments as usual. One in particular however made me angry and got up-voted!
“So where are the outbreaks coming from ? Hmmm let me think, are the places of worship still open for prayer eight times a day?”
Wtf are people like that on? If you are sceptical at least be sceptical for the right fecking reasons!
Well said. I can’t find the comment you mention, if I could I would eviscerate it! The level of ignorance shown is truly staggering.
Unfortunately I do believe there’s a fairly large cohort of mouth breathers who have been of the opinion that Muslims kept the evil and fatal covid in circulation and that without Muslims we’d have it beat.
If only they had opened the filing cabinet and looked at this 2014 study in relation to influenza and other respiratory viruses transmission at mass gathering events.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/316200/Mass_Gatherings_evidence_Review.pdf
CONCLUSION
In conclusion there is limited data indicating that mass gatherings are associated with influenza transmission and this theme is continued with the inclusion of new evidence for the update. Certain unique events such as the Hajj, specialised settings including civilian and military ships- a new theme for this update, indoor venues and crowded outdoor venues provide the primary evidence base to suggest mass gatherings can be associated with Influenza outbreaks. Some evidence suggests that restricting mass gatherings together with other social distancing measures may help to reduce transmission. However, the evidence is still not strong enough to warrant advocating legislated restrictions. Therefore, in a pandemic situation a cautious policy of voluntary avoidance of mass gatherings would is still the most prudent message. Operational considerations including practical implications of policy directed at restricting mass gathering events should be carefully considered.
Indeed. The Tories have ruined the country, and taken over the opposition.
If you persist in the political obsessions of the 1970s and in refusal to confront reality, you will be continually wrong.
Hear, hear!
The Tories have had nothing to do with it.
Presumably you didn’t notice the technocratic coup in March 2020?
I’m not kidding.
There is literally no central narrative point that they HAVEN’T lied about.
None of the things we think we know about this virus & mitigation is true (if we got the points from official sources).