Via Julia, this story.
And this one, spotted by journalist @sopiamcoutts in Budgens in Crystal Palace, south London, is another for the hall of fame.
Well, yes, it should be bound for the hall of fame – that occupied by the terminally stupid and misanthropic.
The law on face masks is really, really simple:
If you have an age, health or disability reason for not wearing a face covering:
- you do not routinely need to show any written evidence of this
- you do not need show an exemption card
This means that you do not need to seek advice or request a letter from a medical professional about your reason for not wearing a face covering.
Christ, but even someone running a Budgens outlet should be able to absorb this. No one is obliged to share private medical details with some numpty who demands it because they are too stupid to engage their brains. All that is required upon being asked is to state “I am exempt” and that is it. Nothing more.
As Julia points out, this is in breach not only of the Covid 2020 Regulations, it is in breach of disability discrimination legislation
A disabled woman assisted by Kester Disability Rights has been paid £7,000 in compensation by a service provider who refused her access to a service because she was unable to wear a face mask.
The pay-out was achieved through negotiation as there was no dispute that access had been denied, or that the Claimant had a disability exemption. The only thing to be agreed was the amount of compensation, not whether it was due or not.
Refusing access to people unable to wear face coverings due to disability is direct discrimination – no different to denying access to a black or gay person for example.
If you follow the article in The Poke, there’s more of this hysterical bullshit. And every one of them (that is in the UK) is guilty of a breach of the law. Not to mention being incredibly hard of thinking.
Ideally, they would all be sued into penury as a lesson for their behaviour. What amuses me is the amount of them that mention people coming back after this is all over. That’s some chutzpah (quite apart from being hard of thinking). If some arsehole told me not to come in because I’m mask exempt, they won’t see me coming back when it’s all over. Why would I give them my custom if that is how they behave?
I’m sitting disgracefully on the fence on this matter. On one hand I think that the obsession with masks is bullshit and the people insisting on masks being essential are morons. On the other hand I don’t think that much can be acheived by being contrarian about it, I honestly don’t think that it is that much of an issue.
If you do want to claim a mask exemption I think that the following response might work.
I am currently making a very comfortable living from taking legal action against establishments that try to force me to wear a mask. So far I have been able to retire from my job and to buy a much bigger house. It is a detached house in several acres of ground. If you feel the need to contribute a few more grand to my retirement fund, please feel free to knock yourself out.
After all, you are dealing with people who will believe anything.
My position is simple. Exemption is a simple enough matter and I expect people to comply with the law. I am merely holding these idiots to their own standards.
Always fight against tyranny. Simples??
Everyone who gives up emboldens these people. And they are far, far too bold already.
If someone actually posted a No Dogs, No Irish sign in their shop window, they’d be reported to the police. I think people in the UK should phone the police if they see a No Mask, No Entry sign and report it as a hate crime.
What really annoys me is the hysteria that catching it is a death sentence, as if Covid is as bad as Ebola, the plague, or a zombie apocalypse. I’ve analysed the NHS England death stats (see my blog link for charts), less than 8% of those who’ve died so far were under 60 (0.05% under 19), and 0.76% had no pre-existing condition!
I did wonder if this was true but a quick duckduckgo (I use the term instead of ‘google’) suggested that it was indeed true – good job too https://disabilityrights.org.uk/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9158827/Moment-police-eject-woman-Sainsburys-refuses-wear-mask.html
It goes on to say On ” – according to the law – those with an age, health or disability reason for not wearing a face covering do not ‘routinely need to show any written evidence of this’.
However, guidance on enforcement puts an onus on people claiming a medical exemption to prove this when challenged by police, meaning that officers can ask them to leave or fine them if they fail to do so. ”
Which is contradictory, but no defence under 2010 Equality Act.
I commented on this over at Minds. The Mail stated that she was erroneously waving a piece of paper. If it’s what I suspect it is, it is the standard form letter outlining discrimination law, so was not erroneous. I have no problem explaining to the police why I am exempt, however there is no such thing as proof because GPs are not issuing certificates or letters to that effect. Apart from that, I’ll be damned if I will discuss my private medical affairs with anyone who thinks they have a right to know, because they don’t. The legislation is worded the way that it is precisely because of the disability discrimination legislation.
Excellent