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."
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.
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.