Violet Affleck, 18, has been seen out wearing a mask for years. Covid is on the rise, in fact Kismet just got it a couple of weeks ago. Many of us are still masking and we appreciate the example Violet is setting, especially for young people. It turns out that she developed a viral illness in 2019 and that it informed her decision to continue to mask. Violet spoke in front of the LA County Board of Supervisors recently to advocate for mask availability, for cleaner public indoor spaces, and for not enacting bans on masks. A Twitter user posted a video her speech, and that’s below. She reminds me so much of her mother, Jennifer Garner, who has spoken both in front of Congress and the California State Assembly.
Violet Affleck… made a rare public appearance on Tuesday at a regularly scheduled meeting of the LA County Board of Supervisors.
During public comments, where residents have the opportunity to address the board, Violet — who wore a protective face mask at the public event — advocated for the expansion of mask availability and other important means of maintaining public safety, while also revealing her own experience with the long-term after effects of contracting a viral infection.
“I contracted a post-viral condition in 2019,” Violet revealed. “I’m OK now, but I saw first-hand that medicine does not always have answers to the consequences of even minor viruses. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown that into sharper relief.”
“One in 10 infections leads to long COVID, which is a devastating neurological and cardiovascular illness that can take away people’s ability to work, see, move and even think,” Violet shared during the board meeting, while explaining that it has hit vulnerable communities hardest across the country.
“To confront the long COVID crisis, I demand mask availability, air filtration and far-UVC lights in government facilities, including jails and detention centers,” she stated, “and mask mandates in county medical facilities.”
“We must expand the availability of free tests and treatment and, most importantly, the county must oppose mask bans for any reason,” Violet declared, speaking quickly to fit her message within the allotted minute-long timeframe. “They do not keep us safer, they make vulnerable members of our community less safe and make everyone less able to participate in Los Angeles together. Thank you.”
Having a serious illness like that really changes your whole worldview. I’ve had covid about three times and was tired for weeks despite being vaccinated and boosted. When I stopped wearing a mask for a couple of months earlier this year I got a GI bug (which could have been covid IDK). I now mask again in most public places, including larger gym classes and at the grocery store. I’m so lucky to not have contracted long covid, but I know people who have. Violet is right that long covid is debilitating and I would add that it’s not getting enough attention. At the very least, I hope mask bans are not enforceable in LA County. It would be great if they were not enforceable nationwide. I would assume that’s covered by the Americans with Disability Act. Good for Violet for advocating for public safety and for using her profile for a good cause. She surely knew how much attention she would get for speaking and it cannot have been an easy decision.
Violet Affleck holding it down at the LA County Board of Supervisors demanding mask availability, mask mandates in hospitals, and clean air in all government buildings including jails and detention centers. Go Violet! đˇđ pic.twitter.com/B8PN3jl5F6
— JoaquĂn BeltrĂĄn for a Free Palestine (@joaquinlife) July 10, 2024
Photos credit: Backgrid, BauerGriffin/INSTARimages and Sarah Silbiger/Pool/CNP/startrak/Cover Images
Good for her! Now, if someone in NY could stand up to Adams and Horchul, that would be great.
They hate little Black and Brown boys here. That’s what is about in NYC. Many, many kids have adopted masking as a fashion style. Instead of recognizing a new trend as luckily safe they are trying to criminalize it. I can’t stand those two.
Huh? I arranged a first time ever trip to NYC last September so I could see a lot of Broadway shows and sightsee. My daughter cautioned me about being in closed theaters with lots of other people, so I masked up in all theaters and other closed in spaces. I also hadn’t flown in ~6 years, so I masked the first few flights of 2023. But I read airlines had actually put a lot of work in to make sure there was outside air getting in and improved the refresh rate, so I didn’t mask last flight. Great vaca, no COVID. I got no mask-grief from anybody in NYC or on the way there. As it should be. Mask bans are stupid, just like the people who propose them.
@kirk I’m responding to the “huh?” here. They are trying to ban masks in NYC.
Wait, masks are trendy for young Black and Brown boys in NYC? Like, KN95 masks, or what kind of masks?
I would LOVE it if that trend came here and my kid didnât get sick this winter!
Hochul’s and Adam’s efforts to criminalize masks are a reaction to recent protests and about targeting activists. They admitted that the masks interfere with facial recognition technology, which makes it harder for NYPD to keep a database of protesters/go after activists who wear masks at protests. It also makes it harder for them to target others they deem “criminals” (and yes that disproportionately affects young black and brown boys). In fact, other jurisdictions have also looked to enact mask bans as a direct results of recent pro-Palestinian protests in order to target activists who wear masks at protests.
I am SO VERY PROUD OF HER…and I đđž her for advocating for this lifesaving mandate…she’s making #GoodTrouble
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Good for herâŚshe seems like a smart, articulate engaged young woman. I understand the request, esp in hospitals and medical centers. And if someone wants to wear a mask to protect their health, why is it anyoneâs business?
Iâm incredibly fortunate to have never gotten COVID, at least that I knew, but will wear a mask in peak cold/flu season or super crowded spaces. I was in my local Trader Joeâs last night and well over 50% of the customer facing staff were wearing masks; I also work retail PT and have seen an increase in the number of older customers masking up again.
The Long Covid-MECFS community needs allies in public spaces.
Good on Violet to speak out and bring awareness to this, when large parts of the public *and* medical community have decided that the pandemic is over and have moved on. Fingers crossed for her, and other masking celebs like Stevie Nicks, to make a difference
It was so great to see the huge number of lone maskers from everywhere come together on Xwitter under the hashtag #YallMasking, sharing selfies. It started a few days ago and it’s still going strong.
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So good and so brave of her! Well said, Violet!
Excuse my ignorance. I’m in Spain. Are there places where they have banned masks? That’s crazy.
My parents and I all have a cold now. We wear masks when we go out for the protection of others. And everyone still has to wear masks at the oncology ward. Some people have an irrational hatred of masks.
I am not aware of any place banning masks, but I sure hope they don’t. There are many people who need them, covid aside.
I am doing my first big traveling since covid started, and I am wearing masks and taking way more precautions than I ever used to.
Safe trip! I wish I had worn a mask at my daughter’s graduation ceremony and when I took my flight last, last Sunday. I arrived super tired and I’ve had a cold since.
@JKS
North Carolina enacted a mask band. There is a medical exemption. People wearing masks can be asked by law enforcement and property owners to temporarily remove their mask to verify identity.
I’m not sure if they have to prove the medical exemption, but this would get dicey because then people would have to reveal their medical histories.
https://apnews.com/article/masks-ban-north-carolina-campus-protests-128a6aa32a4c832faa83befb2e7dd77e#:~:text=(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20North%20Carolina%27s%20contentious,override%20vote%20along%20party%20lines.
And NC’s medical exemption was only added at the last minute.
It’s insane.
That’s pretty scary because, in many respects, it masquerades as the saner of the two Carolinas.
I don’t know about nationwide, but here in Chicago some stores are enacting bans on face masks because the theft and shoplifting is out of control. And because of the masks, it’s impossible to determine who the perpetrators are. It’s a crappy situation all around:(
Iâm not sure if people donât understand that there is a lot of smash and grab thefts going around and these criminals are using masks so I can see why anti mask laws are coming up. At this point most of us have had Covid. We should have some kind of immunity.
I didn’t realize how many states are now trying to ban masks. All cancer patients are encouraged to wear masks as their immune systems are terribly low! My BIL recently passed away from throat cancer that he was in remission for 3 years. Sadly, it spread to his liver, lungs, spine & then brain. He took good care of himself ( he had less than 5% body fat & never smoked) When he was in treatment,
we all wore masks around him. I have seen more people starting to wear them now..
Yes, they actually are, esp if you live in a Red (republican) state. I live in NC, and the House just passed a bill banning masks in public. I have had Covid 2x since the vaccine has been available. Thank God it has been so much milder with the Vaccine and boosters. My husband almost dies of Covid, we both contracted in 2020 before the vaccines were available. He still struggles with the after affects.
I can’t believe the country we live in – SMGDH
So they argue that the government can’t require people to wear masks for public safety because Murica and personal freedom… yet also argue that the state has the right to require people NOT wear masks if they want to because personal freedom doesn’t apply when they want to discriminate??? Just want to make sure I’m understanding the mental gymnastics here…
Some mask bans are red state Republicans trying to villainize COVID measures. More recent mask ban proposals (like in NY and statements from LA Mayor Bass) are the result of pro-Palestinian protests because some activists wore masks during the protests and this is another avenue by which politicians and the police can criminalize protests/activists.
Good for her!
I think the more time passes, more people are coming to realize that Covid didnât âendâ, theyâve just left everyone to fend for themselves. Nobody is coming to help, youâve got to take care of yourself and your health.
I had long covid for about 9 months after my first infection and the one thing I wish everyone knew is that nobody will care. You will be lonely, because everyone will move on without you, they want to live and they donât want to worry about it happening to them.
Take care of yourselves out there!
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I still mask on public transportation which I take to and from work everyday. I also continue to mask when flying. But I may start masking again at the grocery stores as well. I have heard of way too many people I know getting Covid recently. And apparently this strain knocks you on your butt for a decent while.
This was my first (confirmed) bout of Covid, so I canât compare to other variants, but I CAN confirm that it definitely knocked me on my ass! And my mother who got it at the same time.
I also mask when commuting to work, and since getting sick Iâve returned to masking indoors in public places. Iâve been pleasantly surprised to see an uptick in mask wearing in NYC.
Stay safe, bitches!đ
Good for her.
One of the saddest things I ever felt as an American is when the republican party decided to villainize masks. Leading to so many unnecessary deaths. Just so they can weaponize their base and have something to ‘fight against democrats about’. Was one of the dumbest and most reckless things ever done by a political party.
They should just be normalized just as they are by other countries. When you are sick wear a mask when you are out. You can save a life and your own.
I agree with you 100 percent! Alot of Republican hosts and followers got COVID and hundreds maybe more died, alot of them even close to death refused to tell people to mask up, as a Christian Democrat I don’t like hearing of anyone dying but some of the people interviewed close to death were still so nasty and didn’t tell other no maskers and no vaxers to take COVID seriously — I had no compassion for them but the ones whose children got it from the morons, I felt so bad and prayed for the kids!! Mask up it’s real
Among many things, the war against masks really turned me off on the Republican Party. I’ve voted democrat for at least a decade, but masks really turned it into an identity thing, at the expense of people’s lives.
It really was sad, and the way people attacked masks because of the politics of it kind of tore apart some relationships I had with friends, acquaintances and family.
In the fall of 2020, my kids’ district school board had a trump wannabe that listened to the loud parents, and berated the board members wanting to enforce a mask mandate after Abbott lifted it over the summer. I had pleaded with the board and with the school to ask the kids and teachers to wear masks, and they said they couldn’t mandate, only suggest. so I bought boxes of masks for both my kids’ classes, hand sanitizer and that cute sign encouraging kids to mask up to keep each other safe. It felt futile when one kids teacher wouldn’t wear a mask. I knew she wouldn’t remind the kids to either. But I sent my kids off to school in their own masks, and prayed hard for safety for them. I wore a mask so many times when nobody else did, in work situations where I felt at risk but couldn’t leave (I was a photographer, was booked to cover a seminar and was promised by the organizer that everyone at the event would wear a mask. It was that first peak of fall 2020, and NOBODY ewore a mask at the event other than me. Not even the mayor of my city, who was diagnosed with covid the next day after she spoke to the 150 attendees. I doubled my mask and hoped for the best).
We didn’t get covid till 2022, after somehow avoiding it long enough to not give it to my immune compromised in laws (who didnt mask). the mask debate part of Covid was a really sad experience, and that’s not even talking about vaccines. I still wear a mask on airplanes and keep one in my purse, just in case.
Sorry, lots of feelings. Way to go Violet. I hope you’re successful.
The governor of NY trying to ban masks is a dem. Itâs weird, when republicans were trying to make a big deal about masks dems could all agree that was wrong. But now the people saying we shouldnât mask anymore are on both dem and republican sides and I am angry at both tbh.
It also used to be standard care for masks in chemo and some newborns and I have seen people say those medical places have dropped masking too?
Well done Violet!
She made excellent points on Long Covid and masking, and the fact that she herself suffered from a virus back in 2019.
My FIL who has cancer and a weakened immune system has been hospitalized twice this year. The first time in relation to pneumonia and the second because he caught whooping cough from an unvaccinated child. Certain people are simply more vulnerable than others and they should have the right to mask.
Man, I’m so proud of her. Everything she said is correct and we shouldn’t have to ask for these things. I’m very interested in the book she’s carrying–I love reading books about viruses. I wonder if she may eventually go into the medical field or epidemiology or virology?
This is good work. I will always just spin at the fact that just because mega corporations lost some profits we are now supposed to pretend Covid is not a big deal.
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Go Violet. What a smart, caring young lady.
I always mask up at the drs office. I was getting my annual check up a few weeks ago and unbeknownst to me, a woman was complaining to staff about my mask because her 3 year old was scared of masked people. I found out because I was made to wait in the exam room at check out time. I asked the nurse why I was being made to wait, and she spilled the beans about the scared 3 year old. So I waited for the scaredy-cats to check out so I could leave. At least they didnât make me take my mask off.
đł Ms Love, Itâs incredibly sweet of you to wait so the 3-yr-old wasnât scared, but seriously that mom was out of bounds for not trying to teach her kid not to be scared. Lots of vulnerable people need masks, and that kid is going to need to know how to encounter them at the Dr, dentist, school, etc. Iâm sorry that the staff inconvenienced you!
Agreed, all of our doctors’ offices automatically give masks to the un-masked at check-in. We live in LA, so I bet Violet’s are the same, and she’s doing this to be a voice for those who don’t have her platform. What a great kid, no wonder Jen Garner can’t stop sobbing about Violet graduating and leaving for college.
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You are a bigger person than I. If I was told I had to stay hidden because of my mask, I would have demanded to be let out or threaten to call the police, plus told that mom off on my way out.
The staff seem to have handled the things the wrong way round! You were setting a good example and doing the right thing. They probably thought the mother of the child was going to make a big scene and be a difficult person so they asked you to wait inside, knowing you would be far more reasonable than that other person.
The office staff wasnât wearing masks, but the drs & nurses were masked up. Nobody in the waiting room was masked up. If I were to complain, I would be the villain because I live in a red state, lol. Our idiot governor spent 2 million on hydroxychlooquine for gawd sake.
As someone who is suffering from POTS, MCAS, CFS/ME from long Covid, this makes me feel seen. I first got sick in 2021 and it took about a year to be diagnosed. Since then, my life has changed for the worst. I have barely any quality of life. We all mask in my family and we have gotten so much hostility from people while out and about. Pointing, laughing, people coughing in our faces intentionally. My husband who works for the city of NYC gets mocked by his coworkers. They are even discussing a mask ban for his job (NYCT). Itâs so hard living this way and Iâm proud of violet for speaking up for marginalized groups. I wouldnât wish this on anyone
So sorry, SS. That sucks.
I never stopped wearing masks at grocery stores, etc., because I’m immunocompromised because of one medication I take. I don’t care who looks at me askance — they can go to hell, coughing all the way there.
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I got a virus in mid-May while on holidays in the US. I was bedridden for a week and a high fever for 4 days. Nothing worked on the fever. I had to call my insurance so a doctor could see me. I’ve been masking ever since because whatever I caught was 100% worse than COVID I don’t ever want to experience it again.
Did you take a pcr? Rapidtests are like 50-60% accurate for these new variants so unless you had a pcr Iâm not aware you can definitively say it wasnât covid.
I read itâs getting harder to get a pcr in some places which is also frustrating, and I hope itâs clear I hate the system and know people are doing the best they can with regards to managing their health, with the info they have been given. the US cdc, which, says itâs fine to return to work after one day of covid, is obviously wrong sigh.
I contracted OG Covid twice and the Omicron variant twice after I was vaccinated. Ever since I have gone from having to use an inhaler occasionally to having to use one everyday. I have to mask up every where I go and can not be around anyone who is sick because Covid didn’t just reek havoc on my breathing, it wrecked my immune system and I was already immune deficient due to a rare genetic disorder. Now whenever I get sick I’m bed bound for at least a couple weeks. So cudos to Violet for speaking up because just from my personal experiences with Covid, the long lasting effects are be hell.
This is like 20 hours later but Violet’s masking (and also wearing glasses which many young women won’t (I’m a life long glasses person so yay team!)) I kinda assumed she may have had an autoimmune condition. But it’s fantastic she spoke out about why she wears one and how important it is. I mask in some places and always on public transport or flying. I’ve not had covid and I’ve had a billion tests as caring for relatives. So I might just be lucky.
BTW it speaks to how BOTH jen and Ben raise their kids. It seems they’re both great parents.