What It's Like to Wear a Mask: A Survey on Discrimination
The struggle is real.
When North Carolina first proposed a mask ban, we tried to warn everyone it would embolden anti-maskers and lead to a surge in harassment and assault. Days after it passed, a woman with stage 4 cancer was assaulted by a man for wearing a mask. He told her wearing it was illegal. When she tried to explain her medical condition, he cussed her out and then started coughing on her.
He told her he hoped she died.
Then Nassau County in New York passed an even more draconian mask ban, threatening anyone with a $1,000 fine and up to one year in jail. Like the NC ban, this bill makes a blanket declaration, giving law enforcement broad discretion to decide who can wear a mask and who can't.
Then at a Chicago airport, an infectious disease expert was denied service at a restaurant for trying to enter with a mask. When she asked why, the staff simply repeated, "It's the policy."
She was told to leave.
Then an ER nurse at Sibley Hospital in D.C. called security on an imm…