Which group of people wears masks the least often in your area?
So yes. This is essentially racist, I guess.
I am currently living in a large, multiethnic city in France. I am not French, but I am white. Here, masks are obligatory on public transport and inside all areas where a distance of 1 meter cannot be kept between people who do not live together. Local government has mailed a free reusable, washable mask to every resident and has provided others at various collection points in the city.
The thing is, every time I go on public transport (bus, subway, whatever), I notice one thing that infringers of the mask-wearing rule have in common. They are usually black and look younger than 40. Occasionally there will be Middle-Eastern young people not wearing masks - and rarer still, one might see white boomers without masks - although the latter are normally drunk, homeless or mentally compromised in some way. Mostly, though, the maskless commuters are black.
Now, it is known that black and ethnic minority communities are the worst hit by coronavirus. What I don't understand is, wouldn't it make more sense for them to be extra vigilant, in that case? Or is not wearing masks a symptom of a lack of vigilance, which might be one contributing factor as to why these communities are so hard hit? I just don't know.
Is it just me, with my racist eyes picking out black people especially? Is it just that this city is different from other cities? Is it just that French African communities are different to other black communities? I wish I could know.
Please complete the poll according to where you live. You do not need to state your country.
| Black young people | 2 | |
| Black boomers | 0 | |
| White young people | 3 | |
| White boomers | 10 | |
| Middle-Eastern young people | 1 | |
| Middle-Eastern boomers | 0 | |
| Asian young people | 0 | |
| Asian boomers | 0 | |
| Nearly everyone in my area is of the same ethnic background. | 6 |