I know there are loads of you going maskless since the beginning but please let me share a win for me in my neighborhood. I live LA. Since March 2020 I have never seen anyone INSIDE a business without a mask. Unless in a restaurant lately.
Since I heard TJs was allowing people to enter without masks I saw that no one was doing it. The fear of being attacked and videoed and shamed it quite real here. Plus I heard CA won’t be lifting anything until June 15.
That all said...Yesterday I did it.
I grabbed a cart, got a spritz of hand sanitizer (which I never do), and shopped. My heart was pounding out of my chest, but it was my cheeks that were hurting me the most because I was trying to suppress the smile on my face the whole time.
I shopped for 15mins. Leaning across people, chatting with the cashier, smiling at everyone. It was fucking amazing! I was the only one inside the grocery store without a mask, living like a normal person while everyone else still chooses to live in their dystopian sick world.
I can’t wait to do it again!
PS. The best part was this rocker dude in an anarchy shirt that said Fuck the (something) on it was in line with his mask under his nose. The look in his eyes when I smiled at him was perfection.
Really Trader Joe’s that’s great they are tough ! I’m in San Diego , I’ve never worn a mask , but it’s because I made a medical exempt badge , however traders Joe’s and Cosco were the worse as far as scrutinizing my medical exempt ..I’m a tall blond pretty surfer girl and I don’t look sick lol ! Cosco after 6 months of dealing with me stopped me one day and said “ medical exempt people need to wear a face shield and tried to hand me one, I walked out.. I didn’t take the chance at Trader Joe’s, after it got really bad about 6 months into this crime they had line guards monitoring us in the parking lot, I simply and somewhat shamelessly mouthed the words medical exempt when they came over to pounce ! Trader Joe’s is good with special needs type, they are the kind liberals lol , they quickly brought me to front of line as they were texting to me , can I help you find anything, which I texted back , what isle are your wonderful candles on again ? This mask thing really struck a cord with me, I came out of a tough back east childhood of poverty and abuse and fighting my way out of that horror strengthened me! I just could not and would not let them take my rights from me. I know what you mean about NO one was maskless..this past year I was literally the only one in stores without one , honestly it was a bit intimidating sometimes , I really felt out of place especially when the grocery stores started that one line to stand in and circles on the floor with the guards walking up and down the lines checking to make sure masks were fully on face or that u were on your circle , I was pretty fkn shocked it was a mild form of communism , mild prison type treatment for sure and it felt really awful!