My husband had a rant at about 20 locals strolling on a hiking trail yesterday, most not masked, all close together, forced him (masked) off the trail as he tried to avoid them. They gave him a few choice words in return. Friday night he sent photo of a guy from the MTR, again local no mask, talking loudly on a phone, sweaty, spitting as he talked. I saw similar myself the other day walking through the market to the post office.
One thing that definitely isn't a good look these days - feeding the frenzy on xenophobia in HK.
I just parked and went to the public loo. There was around a dozen local Chinese there gathered around and not a single one of them was wearing a mask... But the obnoxious white person (me) was wearing one.
That;s just not true. I rarely see a person not wearing a mask and pretty much all the white people I know wear them on public transport. A few white people (who may be tourists, since there are (were) still tourists arriving. You can't expect tourists to pick up local culture on their first day here.
Noone ever said that wearing a mask will guarantee you to be 100% 'safe'. But evidence and fact based analysis over decades of medical industry professionals experience with an intellect 1000x greater than yours have consistently demonstrated that by adhering as much as possible to proven health guidelines and good hygiene that the risk of infection and spreading can be minimised.
You might feel fine. Your elderly relatives and any of those who might be at risk who u care about likely do not share the same sentiment as you. Likewise, locals who give you dirty looks feel the same way.
judging by your comments and actions you probably fall into the 18 year old age group of Spring Breakers who similarly have demonstrated that stupidity clearly is their strong suit.
I agree completely.
I'm starting to get a bit upset with "white people" because I don't want to see mass blame or hysteria. The racism is fully against us, even though there's a fair share of locals in "their neighborhood" not wearing masks. Signs going up everywhere in my areas, only in English. Very clearly targeted to a certain demographic. So, I really wonder why the "foreigners" (who have maybe even been in HK longer than some ethnically Chinese people) can't play along to help minimize the damage and racism this is causing. I also am surprised they are not changing their behavior faster due to what we're seeing in "the west".
But I'll say something uncomfortable... I never, ever wore a mask for my many years here until recently. It was an uncomfortable experience that made me feel awkward. To be honest, it reminded me of wearing feminine hygiene products for the first time. I really felt horrified by wearing them. I've accepted it now.
I think Hong Kongers may need to accept that this is simply too big of a cultural shift to expect to happen overnight. I think they don't quite realize how utterly foreign it is to those of us who never knew the public to wear them.