If you are not concerned about the virus, stop reading now. No comment necessary, be well.
If you are still reading, I assume you are concerned in some fashion, for some reason. I HAVE SOME BRUTALLY HONEST things to say that need saying, based on the feedback I am hearing from people forced to work in public, business owners/managers, and my customers and peers. I want to address those concerns here with an honesty that you may not hear from most people.
First, people ask what we are doing to keep THEM safe. If this question has EVER crossed your mind as to what someone is doing to keep you safe, you need to immediately shift your thinking. YOUR SAFETY IN REGARD TO THE VIRUS STARTS AND ENDS WITH YOU AND YOU ALONE!! YOU YOU YOU NEED TO TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!!!! A business can do 500 things to keep YOU safe, but if you are not following up by doing anything, and expecting society to keep you safe, you are not safe at all. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to learn how the virus transmits, what the effects are, and how to avoid it, and then take the personal steps to prevent transmission YOURSELF first, before relying on others. YOU ALONE need to assess your vulnerability, your risk tolerance, and what level of effort you need to put into being safe in public, and whether your going out in public is necessary or voluntary.
IS IT SAFE TO GO OUT SOCIALLY OR TO DO KARAOKE? Anyone who says "yes" is lying. BUT, there ARE steps that can be taken to minimize your risk and increase your safety.
When you see someone like your karaoke host, bartender, waiter etc...doing things to "keep you safe", they are worthless if YOU are not following up. People do not understand the science of how the virus spreads, which is obvious in regard to some of the steps I see them take to "prevent" it, and worse, the steps they don't take.
Lets talk about vaccination. DO NOT post to me about the safety of the vaccine, etc...I am not here to debate that, that is up to you. Remove all the debate about it, the politics, or the fear of vaccination by many, and lets talk science. If you do not trust the vaccine, then it is your choice to not take it. I will point out that in the current climate of hospitalizations and death, 94-97% of those affected in the second wave have NOT been vaccinated. The other 3 to 6% of patients who have been are largely people with other conditions that make them more compromised. It is not likely most of you reading fall into that category, but some do...but debate aside, if you are vaccinated, you have taken the first step toward remaining somewhat safer in the eyes of science and society. If you choose to NOT be vaccinated, you will need to be more diligent in your other efforts to avoid the virus. THAT IS YOUR CHOICE.
SO IS IT SAFE TO BE IN A CROWD? The only safe room is an empty room. Once you add people, you add the chance of contacting the virus..or a cold, or any transmittable bug. The room is only as safe as the sickest person, or the most careless person in it. You can take steps to stay safe, and I can take steps to try to keep you safer, and the club/store/venue can take steps to lower the risk, then one guy sneezes and all bets are off.
Are you questioning the safety of a crowd while doing nothing to keep yourself safe? Are you un-vaccinated, maskless, not washing hands, touching surfaces then putting your hands in your mouth or eyes or nose, or kissing people, or sharing vapes or cigarettes, drinking from glasses of others, or talking loudly or laughing or sneezing or singing in close proximity to others, and expecting to be safe? Well...you cannot be. When and if you get sick, it should be no surprise...and you will blame it on the business you attended or the karaoke host. Yet oddly, those who took precautions stayed well. Hmmmm....
Spraying mics, disinfectant, mic covers...all smoke, mirrors and show business if each of you are not following up personally. I could have a hermetically sealed stage, require hazmat suits and have a full medical team on site to guarantee 100% that karaoke on my stage is safe...I could do that. BUT THEN, after you stepped off stage, into the crowd, you would go back to the maskless, unvaccinated, no social distancing environment, get COVID and tell everyone you got it at karaoke, but...you didn't. (As a side note, if you ever contract COVID-19, there is NO WAY to know where or how you got it. The incubation period is too random, so you may FEEL like you got it somewhere, but it could have found you anywhere, especially if you are taking no personal precautions.)
If you have to work in public, and are not voluntarily masking, not taking the vaccine, not sanitizing or washing hands and getting into social distancing boundaries that are risky, and you choose to do that, that is YOUR decision...but you are not safe, and your employer or others cannot keep you safe, especially with no effort on your part. You can take steps to improve your personal safety, but if you choose not to, you have made that choice.
If you have taken the steps to be vaccinated, you are not bullet proof, but the odds, and science, are in your favor. If you should contract COVID, the symptoms and experience will likely not be severe and you likely will not need to be hospitalized, or die, in general. Some immuno-compromised folks or those with underlying conditions and comorbidities will be the obvious exception.
SO IN CONCLUSION... everyone needs to weigh their own risk. If you are in fragile health, worried and expecting US (ME) to keep you safe, STAY HOME. The people genuinely worried about their health are not going out and being careless (or they are taking the precautions to allow themselves to do that). IF YOU CAN take personal responsibility for your health, including vaccination, or voluntary masking, and hand washing and limiting nasal, eye or oral contact with possible infected surfaces until sanitized, then you will likely be fine. If you can use some common sense, and prevention, you will likely be fine out in public in the second wave. If you are doing nothing and just hoping for the best, that is YOUR gamble and not my responsibility or blame should you get sick.
This is not me shaming anyone into doing something they do not want to do. This is me, as a business person, trying to stay in business in the face of a historically unprecedented pandemic. This is me after being out of work for many months, and underemployed for many months, trying to keep things as normal as possible, and there are ways to do that, but if things keep getting out of hand, I fear a second shut down COULD be a reality. This is me, responding to a public that is clearly confused by all of this, as evidenced by their actions as much as their words. So, I encourage everyone to do their due diligence, do what is right for them and society, and hopefully we will get thru this without a shut down, or any unnecessary deaths or sickness, and selfishly, any misplaced blame as to who would be at fault when people get sick. Look in the mirror.
All the best!
H
