I started wearing a mask in public again just to get used to it, but the three incidents in which I could've been shot by the cops for looking like a Scary Homeless ManTM because my face was covered still haunt me. Like, more than y'all realize. This happened THREE times to one person. And I'm an office worker.
Like, it's summer and I'm not bundled up in a coat, so if anyone thinks I'm a Scary Homeless ManTM that's on them, but it's amazing how there are no solutions to this besides either lowering the amount of racism in the world which is a grain of sand fighting a tidal wave, or not wearing a mask. Dressing in more feminine outfits and wearing eye makeup to signify that I'm a woman completely misses the point, and it's not something I should have to do while just trying to go grocery shopping, and its not something I can do when going to work, because again, office worker.
Wish more people understood or even acknowledged that wearing a mask makes me less safe in other ways. But the only people who seem to acknowledge this are Black men 4 years ago.
I think white and lightskin disabled people should talk about this. I haven't found a single conversation about how people should mask in 2026 that does not come from people who do not experience racism by virtue of their skin color.
It's just infuriating that this is a problem I have to deal with, with my life at risk.
