The problem with exempt people not wearing masks is that the majority of people who refuse to wear them are not exempt at all. Putting shop staff in a very difficult position. Any anger over treatment should be aimed at those ASSes, not the staff.
The problem isn’t with exempt people not wearing coverings (as they are perfectly entitled not to), it’s with this ridiculous requirement having being introduced at all. It is very obviously making little to no difference given the current rise in cases. It is causing a divide and causing a lot of people, including some of society’s most vulnerable members, to be marginalised, and potentially criminalised.
Shop staff (and most railway staff) are not police officers, and should not be “enforcing” this at all. The only people who should be are the police and revenue staff. As my experience this morning showed, some enforcement agents believe they have carte Blanche to make up their own rules.
While the revenue officers were bothering me, many people walked past wearing masks incorrectly.
ASININE is the word I’d use to describe it.
I would urge people not to do that, as it normalises an expectation that we should have to provide some sort of written evidence, which the law states categorically is not required.
The people making these ridiculous demands need to realise that they are wrong. Normalising it will not help them to get to that realisation.
I 100% agree with the sentiment. Unfortunately the reality is rather different when you have somewhere you need to be and you’re confronted by revenue enforcement officers, who are making up their own rules, and will refuse travel to those who do not comply with their demands.