Your “ Medical Mask Exemption Card ” Is a Lie
Masks can be uncomfortable, it’s true. And since most of us in the US are not used to wearing them, they are also an unpleasant reminder of how the pandemic has changed our lives. But if you’re looking for an excuse not to wear it, please don’t mention the ADA and your fake medical condition. Definitely do not use (and do not accept) a fake government “freedom to breathe” card downloaded from the Internet.
There are many people with a real illness or disability that make it difficult or dangerous for them to wear a mask. These can be breathing problems such as COPD, severe asthma, or sensory problems that accompany autism. Severe anxiety or PTSD can make masks a problem for some people, and those who have trouble breathing or who cannot remove the mask on their own should also avoid wearing it. The Southeast ADA Center has more information on this here .
We’ve seen videos of people without masks throwing tantrums in stores or when trying to enter stores, claiming they have a “disease” they can’t solve and insisting that the store owner let them shop without masks. … This is not true.
What ADA Really Requires
If a store requires masks and you cannot wear a mask, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) says they must make reasonable policy changes . Which makes sense depends on the business, but the ADA Southeast Center provides a few examples :
- allow a loose scarf instead of a mask
- offering online ordering and pickup
- offer a meeting by phone or video for a service that is usually offered in person
In Gelson’s viral video, a store employee offers to shop for a woman who says she can’t wear a mask. She rejects this option, but it would be considered a reasonable change in accordance with the law.
These freedom to breathe cards are rubbish.
On social media, there was a photo of the freedom to breathe card – you could print it and carry it in your pocket to make your fake medical condition look more convincing. It looks official, childish: it has the seal of the Ministry of Justice and a telephone number to report violations to ADA.
It goes without saying that these self-issued cards are null and void and the Department of Justice issued a warning for them . The phone number is actually the ADA Information Line where you can find out how to file a complaint of discrimination; this is not some kind of hotline for instant complaints. But honestly, if you’re going to make a fuss about your mask, go ahead and waste your time calling this number instead of yelling at the store employee.
What’s more, the bogus “Free Breath Agency” is borrowed from a phrase often used when discussing air pollution and climate justice . Humans do have a right to breathable air, but securing that right is a more serious systemic issue and has nothing to do with whether or not you feel a little out of breath when you need to put on a mask to buy groceries.
I wanted to laugh at the idea of the map when I first saw one of them, but they – and Karen’s energies they represent – are harmful, eiblistic, discriminatory nonsense. If you pretend disabled and ready to stick to the store on the employees about it, you’re obviously not thinking about what impact you have on people with disabilities. This is in the same category as pretending that your pet is an emotionally supportive animal or feigning trauma to jump ahead in line at an amusement park. People on the streets are already yelling at people with real illnesses who think that everyone without a mask is just assholes. On behalf of the community, please, please do not try to use one of these crappy cards.
Accommodations exist in the world so that people with disabilities and illnesses can enjoy some of the same sensations and conveniences as people without disabilities; they are not made for those without disabilities to demand that the world revolve around them even more than it already does .