Smartphone cameras and social media are making it increasingly easy for people to name and shame problematic members of the public. However, singling folks out on social media doesn’t always receive a positive response. Case in point: the 22-year-old Instagram model who complained about the face “mask police” on Twitter. Hear all about face mask mandates in Melbourne below:
According to News.com.au, the model – who goes by Duana W – posted a video of a man yelling at her on a London train platform for not wearing a mask.
The unidentified man is heard yelling, “there might be other people who are scared to confront you but I’m not. F*cking sort your sh*t out, yes film me because you’re a d*ckhead without a mask. You’re a c**t putting people’s lives at risk.”
“Just minding my own business when the mask police came to attack,” Duana W captioned the video.
While many of the model’s followers agreed that the man’s aggressive behaviour was utterly unacceptable, many reminded her that she was technically breaking the rules by not wearing a mask.
On June 15th, face coverings became mandatory on all public transport in London in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.
One Twitter user responded to Duana’s video, “wear a mask, problem solved,” while another suggested, “his delivery is wrong, but his point 100% stands.”
After receiving more responses like this, Duana W told her followers “funniest thing is I actually do wear a mask when it’s needed however it wasn’t needed on a virtually empty, socially distanced, hot central line at 11pm on a Sunday night.”
“How he approached the issue was wrong and way too aggressive, but his message is right,” Twitter user @Chris_CPH added. “It doesn’t matter how busy the tube is, or how hot it is, unless you have a medical exemption we should all wear a mask to keep ourselves and others safe.”
Sadly, this Instagram model’s Twitter thread isn’t the first time a heated debate over mask mandates has erupted amidst the pandemic. Late last month, a video of a woman ignoring and arguing about COVID-19 restrictions went viral and earned her the unflattering nickname ‘Bunnings Karen’.
If anything, it’s just another reminder that the pandemic has truly highlighted the best – and the worst – of humanity.
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