Medical Condition Protest

Walking into grocery stores, my gym, and most public places, clerks and customers tell me I have to wear a mask.

I tell them I have a ‘Medical Condition’ that keeps me from wearing a mask.

Some are incredulous, many don’t believe, and animosity levels crank up. I laugh. That usually makes them angrier.

Sometimes, they ask, “What’s the condition?”

I respond, “According to the HIPA privacy act, it’s illegal for you to ask about my medical conditions.”

Just in case you actually need chapter and verse, here it is:

The Privacy Rule is located at 45 CFR Part 160 and Subparts A and E of Part 164. 

I’m being snarky and unccoperative, true, but I really do have one. When I wear a mask, I get shortness of breath as my mind flashes back to being deployed in Iraq. When the wind blew from the perpetually burning garbage dump, we often smelled burning human bodies. We had masks to wear and that NEVER took away the smell. That smell is never forgotten. Call it a PTSD moment, but masks suck and take me back to Iraq, rockets and mortars coming in every three to five days, and having to change my underwear after several close calls.

Frankly, smoking a cigar worked a lot better. After that, I didn’t smell anything and could get a few hours of sleep.

I hope this helps with HIPA chapter and verse as I join the Medical Condition Protest against masks.

Inman
Heading into my gym and NOT wearing a mask.