After she and her daughter were harassed for wearing face masks in public due to the rising COVID-19 pandemic, Joy Davis released a heartfelt statemtn that said "wearing a face mask or not has become a political statement, and there have been stories in many parts of the country of people coughing or breathing on others because of masks and social distancing."
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Davis is simply asking for kindness and to keep in mind that "you don't know everyone's story." Davis and her daughter were shopping while wearing masks when a woman intentionally jumped in front of them and breathed directly onto their faces.
"It baffled me so much I kind of jumped back... and then walked a few more steps and almost burst into tears. It felt gross. It felt malicious. It felt unkind," Davis recalled.
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Davis often wears a mask and gloves while out shopping, because she has a daughter with "really significant medical challenges," including cerebral palsy. If her four-year-old, Eme, gets sick, her body has an exceptionally difficult time recovering.
“It’s not unusual for her to be in the hospital because she has something like a cold, or a small virus, that you or I would fight off just fine,” she said. COVID-19 has Davis and her husband worried, and for that reason Eme and her two-year-old sister, Elsie, have not left the house.
Davis recognizes that wearing a mask is a personal choice, but it's important to keep other people in mind who have health issues, even if you yourself do not.