A guest blogger, who wishes to remain anonymous.
Today we awaken to mandatory face coverings in Northern Ireland, but has our Government done enough to protect those who are exempt? My first phone calls this morning was to a local shop, where my brother would get his necessitates. I asked the manager to be mindful of my brother, who would frequent the shop to ensure he would not be questioned or turned away for not wearing a face.
My brother has a mental health illness, he looks fine and appears fit and healthy, but he has no insight into a mental health illness that has consumed his life. If anything, he has no insight into his mental health illness or this virus, the struggle with loneliness has magnified.
Thankfully a very caring understanding manager assured me he would not be turning my brother away; this came with a sigh of relief but has left me overwhelmed emotionally to protect someone I love from the judgement of others.
Looking at social media this morning I was overcome with anxiety, as I read comment after comment of judgemental onlookers. They not only targeted the person whom they don’t know, who could be my brother, but they also targeted businesses for allowing ‘’these non-mask wearers’’ into their shops, and also employees of businesses who may struggle to wear masks all day every day.
These are challenging times for everyone in Northern Ireland, but more so for those who have visible/invisible disabilities, mindfulness has become exempt, judgemental comments have depersonalised how difficult someone’s life may be.
Masking their pain and struggles has become visible with the definition of a mask wearer as opposed to a non-mask wearer, with that comes vulnerability that masking an illness or trauma is now up for public scrutiny.
Our Government has failed to recognise, with political lobbying for mandatory masks, they have left those with a hidden disability a target for keyboard warriors, browbeating them publicly over social media sites. We have already seen some members of the public over the past few weeks taking to social media to publicise pictures or videos of non-mask wearers, leaving them open to public scrutiny, abusive comments and behaviour, which would have a detrimental impact on a person’s mental health. Our Government should ensure any such abuse of social media platforms will be acted on to serve as a deterrent to others.
We all have a part to play in protecting each other, we need to re-frame how we define mask wearers. as opposed to non-mask wearers, mindfulness, compassion and empathy cannot be overstated yet one single term ‘’mandatory’’ has wiped humanity away for those with disabilities, who now face judgement and public scrutiny.
Before you type – think! Judgement and words have a toxic way of hurting others. Be mindful that the person you see may have been wearing a different mask to stop the world seeing their pain and struggles long before they became cloth and visible.
In a world where you can be anything, be kind!