Gen Con, North America’s largest event dedicated to table top gaming, took place September 16 – 19 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Last year’s event was canceled because of Covid. Ironically, the Covid numbers now are much worse than they were a year ago. Go figure.
Safety was supposed to be a priority at this year’s Gen Con. Capacity was set to half what it normally is. Masks were required at all times. Social distancing was going to be strictly enforced. Except when it wasn’t.
As the above image shows, it looks like all 35,000 people attending this year’s Gen Con all showed up at the same time. People were allowed to enter the convention building all at once. The Covid must flow.
Let the “Gen Con 2021 is a super spreader” panic begin! pic.twitter.com/PpcbW4HC6k
— Bower's Game Corner? (@BowerGameCorner) September 16, 2021
Wearing a cloth mask doesn’t trump social distancing. It’s as though we haven’t learned anything from this pandemic. Worse, we just don’t seem to care.
At this rate, I feel like I’ll never be able to safely attend a comic book convention, a Star Trek convention, a sporting event, or a concert ever again. People are refusing to get vaccinated for Covid, prolonging this pandemic far longer than it should be. I wonder, how many people attending Gen Con were vaccinated?
I think moving forward, events like Gen Con should be restricted to only fully vaccinated people. It would make these events much safer. Unvaccinated people pose a risk to everyone they are around. Refusing a free, effective vaccine for a highly contagious disease that has already killed over 679,000 Americans, is extremely irresponsible. Their irresponsibility infringes on the rights of everyone else. How long is it going to take until we all realize this?
New York City has already realized this. You must show proof of at least partial vaccination before you can enter a restaurant, bar, or an indoor public event in New York City. We were issued a CDC Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card for a reason. I assume it wasn’t to sit on the shelf and collect dust. We should be using these cards to access events where people gather. Want to watch Dune in an Imax theater? Show your ticket and your CDC Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card before entering the theater. How hard is that?
We need to stop catering to the needs and wants of irresponsible people who refuse to get vaccinated again COVID-19. Instead, we need to reward people who’ve taken the necessary steps to get us all back to normal. Whatever normal even means anymore.