False Dichotomy

[kevin_standlee]

There have not been many people complaining directly to Westercon 74 about our vaccination-and-masking policy. What they don't seem to get is that the choice is not between holding the convention with our policy or holding it without such a policy. It is between holding the convention with our policy or not holding it at all because you can't run a Westercon without a committee, and nearly every member of the committee and staff would have walked away without the policy we have. Maybe you disagree with our decision, but you are not the people volunteering to run the convention, spending your own time and money to do the work to put on the event.

I hear people saying, "But the government isn't requiring it anymore." That's right, they're not. But we're not holding the convention in a state that actively wants to make people sick. (I'm looking at you, Florida.) Private entities can set whatever rules they want, and our committee — it wasn't just my decision; we discussed it at great length — decided that this is what we wanted. We did lose one committee member over it, and I understand their position; however, the rest of the committee backed this, and we're the ones who are making the convention happen.

Those people who think we shouldn't require masking and vaccination should go out and run their own conventions. If they make it very clear what they're doing, the rest of us will know to stay far away from their event or anyone attending it, because based on what I've seen, they're going to spread more disease and will spend their time denying that it was their own fault.

Meanwhile, today I am printing the cover of the Westercon 74 program book. It takes vastly longer to print than the inside pages, and because the cover pages do not have page numbers on them and the material was ready to go now, I could set it to printing well in advance of us finalizing the layout of the interior pages.

Comments

[lady_laetitia]

Sometimes a middle ground has to be reached because, as much as one needs committee, the convention also needs attendees. Sacrificing one for the other does no one any good. And, even more than the policy itself, the manner in which is is relayed to the attendees/public goes a long way towards determining how those attendees will view/accept it.

Good luck with your event.

Middle Ground means 3 feet under instead of 6?

[belak]

There isn't a middle ground on COVID. Either you're masked and fully vaccinated, and have some protection against the virus, or you're not. Holding a meeting or convention without masks has been shown to be a superspreader event. Meeting without vaccinations has proven to be a superspreader event. What has been shown is that vaccinations give you a fighting chance at fighting the virus if infected and not ending up in hospital on a ventilator. There really isn't any middle ground to concede in the process. The lowest common denominator is to protect as many people as possible and utilize as many protections as possible, and still gather members. That is what most boards/leadership teams have been doing over the last 18 months during this pandemic to mitigate the demise of an organization.

More than a dozen friends have traveled to a variety of locations in the last two weeks. ALL OF THEM have ended up with COVID. Period. Some haven't worn masks, some have worn masks but not all around them worse masks. All have been fully vaccinated and as boosted as they can be considering the waiting periods. NONE have ended up in hospital, but some felt very poorly and wished they could get to hospital for treatment. Several of the people who traveled repeatedly tested negative despite feeling very poorly, having signs and symptoms and ending up at hospital where they tested positive. A negative home test does not mean you aren't carrying the virus. Sometimes a negative PCR test can be a positive test a day or two later, but by then, the exposure has already happened to others.

I don't have an issue with the tone or attitude of the committee, for a number of reasons. As has been implied above, give an inch and people looking for an excuse, will take a mile or more. A firm stance doesn't allow for wiggle room or blow ups at the convention, which should be a relatively enjoyable time for ALL involved.

My family and I choose not to travel or attend conventions right now because we have health concerns about circulating in small public spaces with people who may or may not be vaccinated and may or may not mask properly and who may or may not pitch a holy hell fit about the requirements. I appreciate that if we were able to attend, the requirement for masking and vaccinating is across the board and easy to interpret. No arguments, no "but I tested negative, oops, today I'm positive!". My family and I know we are missing out on events and things we would like to do. That's our choice to try and stay healthy. I'm not angry with the committee for requirements or situations that may leave us not in attendance, rather our issue is with people who think they can skirt the rules, which potentially puts the rest of us at risk; which is continuing this pandemic longer than it should extend.

As was stated, if you want to run a convention, put your blood, sweat, tears, time and money into it, have at it. They aren't as easy as one might think to manage. I appreciate the committee and their commitment to keeping the membership as safe as possible in difficult times.

[kshandra]

The COVID-related death coming out of Earpapalooza (the Wynnona Earp con over Memorial Day) was my friend KecharasMoon. I could not in good conscience attend an event without a policy in place, even before that. Thank you for standing your ground here.