Reporting during a pandemic an anxiety inducing activity

I visited the Bluebird on a Wednesday night and the only person concerned about the pandemic was myself. 

Sure people wore masks- some even socially distanced. Most people, however, approached me to ask what I was doing with a notebook and a camera. 

I’ve kept my circle small, socially distanced and wore masks consistently since the pandemic hit in March. It was a strange feeling when people, most of whom were intoxicated, went out of their way to come close to me to have a conversation. 

I pulled up around 10:30 PM and was immediately flocked by a group of five underage girls. All five lived in a dorm on campus and were out for the night at La Una Cocina. 

“Are you afraid of the ‘Rona?” one of them asked me.

“No, I just don’t know you, who you’ve seen or what you’ve been doing,” I replied. 

Justifying this felt strange. I found myself continuing to justify wearing a mask throughout the night and repeatedly stepping back in an effort to maintain six feet during interviews. It was a challenge.

The close-talkers and chain smokers I encountered in alleys and lines outside the Bluebird and Brothers were happy to speak to me. The employees of these places were less excited.

I spoke to several employees from four different restaurants and bars around Walnut and Seventh St. Every single one of them refused to be quoted about their business’s steps to stop the spread of COVID-19. 

Some asked their bosses, but others stopped me right on the spot. 

"I very well might’ve been the only person on Walnut actively thinking about COVID-19."

“I don’t think anyone is going to want to talk to you tonight bro,” one Bluebird employee who refused to be named told me. 

I spoke to Max Heyob, the frontman and lead guitarist of Pushing Daisies Band, who headlined the Bluebird Wednesday night. He spoke in general about businesses’s disregard for their customers' safety but wouldn’t comment on the Bluebird’s safety precautions on the record. 

A handful of things became clear after my conversation with Heyob, employees and patrons throughout the night.

First, the vast majority of college students who are frequenting bars are not concerned with the pandemic. They acknowledged its legitimacy and that businesses aren’t doing as much as they could, but that didn’t stop them from attending unmasked, bouncing from social group to social group. 

One young man expressed being thankful that the Bluebird allowed students to do what they wanted and let them be “free roaming.” 

Second, bands and businesses alike know they should be doing more but place a greater value on personal gain. A band’s drive is exposure. A businesses’ drive is money.

Pushing Daisies, for example, expressed that they felt unsafe playing at indoor venues that exceed capacity. Still, they recognize that with less bands playing, now is the time to grow their fanbase. 

In the case of businesses, I suspect that their unwillingness to comment on their COVID-19 measures indicates that they know they should be doing more. Their goal is to stay out of the spotlight so they declined to give any statement.