So much I relate to in this thread.

It helps to remember that "we have to get on with our lives" (which I'm sure we've all heard plenty of times) is an incredibly privileged take.

It comes from someone who doesn't (or thinks they don't) have risk factors that will make them the 1 in 5 who will develop #LongCOVID. Someone who's confident they won't be among the thousands of people in my country (USA) who die from COVID every week. Someone who's confident they can take the time to recover from an illness which will "surely" be mild, and not have their job, housing, and livelihood threatened by that.

But some of us aren't "getting on with our lives," because we simply can't afford not to consider these things. Life has already taught us that we are not invincible, something I'm worried that a lot of unmasked people are going to learn the hard way.

I don't want to become more disabled than I already am. I don't want my children to join the hundreds of thousands of COVID orphans in the US. I want my spouse to be healthy.

And, even setting all that aside, I never lost sight of "your mask protects me, and my mask protects you." #CommunityCare, people. I'm a Fred-Rogers #Christian -- by which I mean that I prioritize being a #Neighbor to others. How can we claim to #LoveOneAnother if we're willing to spread death and disability in our community in order to avoid the slight inconvenience of a mask?

I'm convinced taking #COVID precautions is the right thing. For me, for my family, and for my community. I hope the consequences won't have to get too dire for others to agree, but I'm finding optimism a struggle these days.

#MaskUp #accessibility #Disability #ChronicIllness #LongCOVID #LongCovidKids #PublicHealth #Equity #HealthEquity
@BlackAzizAnansi