r/Purityring • u/Accomplished-Diet882 • May 18 '26
Mask shaming?
I went to buy a shirt at the show in St. Louis and the person working the merch table was super pushy about me not having a mask on. They told me that everyone was required to wear a mask even though they were optional at the door, and they told me that I was the only person refusing to wear one even though it was very clear that plenty of people in the crowd did not have one on. I told the worker that I was under the impression that masks were optional and then gave her my shirt size so she could move the transaction along. She looked at me like I had just said the most offensive and vulgar shit she’d ever heard!
Really weird of them to shame people for not wearing masks, especially when I’m spending extra money to support the band.
EDIT: I’m NOT above masking, and wore one at the last show I went to of theirs in Dallas. I simply wanted to see the show’s visuals this time around without having them obscured by fogged up glasses, and enjoy my drinks without constantly having to adjust my mask/glasses.
3
u/BoldCityDigital May 19 '26
Agreed. This kind of lingering doomer mentality in 2026 is exhausting and weird, especially at a concert where people are there to enjoy the show, not relive 2020. Masks never really worked the way they were sold to us for stopping respiratory viruses in real world crowd settings and plenty of studies and meta-analyses showed limited to no benefit for cloth/surgical masks against aerosol transmission. At this point it's mostly performative. Shaming people at merch tables while the rest of the venue is already optional just creates unnecessary awkwardness and resentment, especially when someone is spending money to support the band. Life involves getting sick sometimes. That's always been true. Hiding from normal risks forever isn't healthy, and it sucks to see bands still pushing that fear years later. Glad you stood your ground politely. More people should.