radicalcarecollective

radicalcarecollective, 12 hours ago

In the United States, North Carolina and Ohio are introducing and resurrecting mask bans in an effort to suppress pro-Palestinian protestors. What was once a law in Ohio to prohibit masks for groups like the KKK is now being used to charge folks wearing respirators with felonies. In North Carolina, they are attempting to move forward with this law with no exemption for medical reasons.

radicalcarecollective, 12 hours ago

It should be noted that medical exemptions are being offered in some places and advocated for in others. While this might be well intentioned, chronically ill and disabled folks already know the struggle of trying to access a diagnosis or medical exemption as it is. Statistics Canada states that 2/3 people with Long Covid reported not receiving adequate care from our medical systems. We cannot rely on the imaginary promise that disabled people would be safe from mask bans.

radicalcarecollective, 12 hours ago

Even if medical exemptions were in place, enforcement takes place on the terrain of policing/law enforcement. We should not and cannot expand the power of policing to be deciders of the validity of someone’s medical reasons for protecting themselves and others.
As abolitionists, we oppose the expansion of policing and these laws are meant to do just that. BIPOC individuals are more likely to mask than white people. This makes the targeting of Black and Brown people even easier for police.

radicalcarecollective, 12 hours ago

Mask bans also help to support the ongoing expansion of surveillance that law enforcement engages in. As pro-Palestine protesters actively challenge the moral authority of the state, the state aims to identify these protesters in order to punish them, and suppress pro-Palestinian/anti-genocide organizing.
As we know from the planned cop city in Atlanta, the state is preparing to better deal with popular dissent. We cannot grant them validity to do so by allowing these mask bans to exist.

radicalcarecollective, 12 hours ago

Covid-19 is still as present as it has ever been, and people have every right to continue to protect themselves from it, as well as practise community care, without having to worry about police intervention.
Banning masks also sets a precedent for the next pandemic, which might be sooner than you’d think. As climate change wreaks havoc on ecosystems, animal to human viral transmission becomes more common.
#CovidIsNotOver

radicalcarecollective, 12 hours ago

We already have multiple existing mask bans in Canada. The Canada wide Bill C-309 was passed in 2013 after the 2012 Quebec student protests. Section 351(2) of Canada's Criminal Code covers "Disguise with Intent," and threatens imprisonment for up to ten years. Quebec's Islamophobic face covering ban was passed in 2017. Activists Desmond Cole and Anna Lippman were arrested this year in relation to anti-genocide protests and Lippman was charged with “unlawful assembly while masked.”

radicalcarecollective, 12 hours ago

We need to be working together to solidify our abolitionist and disability justice politics and fight attempts to push eugenics and squash dissent.
This means returning to masking as a regular, everyday practice, as centring the most vulnerable continues to be our best path forward to liberation.

#MaskUp #DisabilityJustice #WeKeepUsSafe #CovidIsNotOver

radicalcarecollective, 16 days ago

That is not to say that individuals who have made choices not to mask any longer are eugenicists and fascists, as the human psyche is much more complex than that, but intention does not negate the impact. It is imperative that we combat the rise of fascism and eugenics with an ethic of care centering those most affected. We must orient ourselves towards living each aspect of our lives, to the best of our abilities, caring for those around us.
#CovidIsNotOver #Niagara #DisabilityJustice

radicalcarecollective, 3 months ago

What is a #MaskBloc?

Mask blocs have popped up all across North America, especially in light of government abandonment of COVID-19 protective measures. Mask blocs are #MutualAid projects intending to get high quality masks into the hands of individuals and organizations that need them, especially in light of potential financial burdens.

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