Last week, my family and I took a trip to Boston, Massachusetts, to attend PAX East 2022. This would be the return of the physical event ever since the pandemic forced PAX East 2021 to become an online affair. The announcement of PAX East 2022 being an on-site event was shocking, as we’re still knee-deep in this pandemic. I was Initially adamant about not attending any gaming or geek culture events until COVID-19 is eradicated. Of course, the latter isn’t going to happen anytime soon. That and Reed Pop had promised that they were taking precautions for everyone’s safety.
Ok, if they’re going to do everything in their power to make the event as safe as possible. What could go wrong? Well, it turns out, a lot, actually.
For starters, everyone who attended the event had to be vaccinated and would need to wear a mask for the duration of PAX East 2022. To even get inside the event, you had to show your vaccination card to get a green wristband that would be required to be worn at all times. Exhibitors would be required to wipe down their stations before and after someone had played a game so that the next person wouldn’t have to worry about germs and possibly be infected. On paper, it was flawless. However, in execution, it didn’t turn out as planned.
Even before I made my way to the expo floor, issues were noted. It started way before that. To get your wristband, you had to show your vaccination card or have it in a specific application that would download your info from whatever state you traveled from. While I don’t know how the application worked, we just showed our vaccination card when my family and I received our wristband. And when I say we showed our card, it was just that.
All the person who was providing the wristband did was check for our name, and that was it. They didn’t scan the barcode; they didn’t look in-depth at the card or anything. They literally asked for me to enlarge the image on my phone so they could see our names. Nothing more. In truth, I had wondered if anyone was going to attend the event using fake vaccination cards. After seeing how lacking the process was, now I wonder just how many people actually did use fake cards. And to the person who argued with me that this would never happen as Reed Pop wouldn’t allow it, I have some choice words for you.
On the expo floor, things were different. On the first day, I observed most of the booths that I made my way to were doing what was expected. Wiping down the area, keyboard, mice, keyboards, headsets, and the controllers. Others were picking up trash. While all of the persons running the event were wearing masks. Which made me feel a lot better about being present. As the days progressed, I witnessed several booths changing their ways. I observed one booth not even wiping down the stations, despite having several people coughing and sneezing all over the station. I questioned a representative who was at this booth about wiping it down — then they got off their butt to do so. But I shouldn’t have had to do that. Reed Pop, if you want the name of who this exhibitor was, contact me.
Though, to the credit of all the booths I did cross paths with, they were masked up. There wasn’t a single person that I noticed who ran a booth, was associated with a booth or PR, that wasn’t wearing a mask.
When it came to the attendees, trouble started at the door. My wife and I had noticed several people trying to enter the event not wearing masks. I yelled at a few of them, which caused me to receive some dirty looks. Thankfully, the security team held firm and demanded that they put on a mask or go pound sand. Sadly, I also observed many of those people immediately remove that mask once inside of the event. While waiting for a chance to play a game at several booths, people were removing their masks to have conversations or because “they couldn’t breathe in this thing”. There were a few others that were using masks that weren’t “approved face coverings“, using bandanas, cosplay masks, among other things. It’s like they didn’t read the damned instructions for attending the event.
Don’t get me started about the water ice stand that was placed in the middle of the expo floor. There were designated locations for eating and drinking, yet when it came to the water ice stand, people were purchasing and eating said water ice—not heading to the area they were supposed to either. Some ate in the middle of the expo floor; others ate wandering around or sitting alongside the walls of the floor with masks visibly removed. Let’s just say that safety at that point went out the damned window. Why was that stand even on the expo floor?
Shortly after making our way back home from the event, I started seeing tweets that people who had attended PAX East 2022 had tested positive. At first, it was just a few, then the number grew, with someone I knew also being affected by the damned illness. After hearing the news, I tested myself, and while I was thankfully unaffected, it still sucked to know that what was supposed to be a super clean experience was anything but.
Then the biggest shocker was a few days ago when I found out that a popular and well-liked PAX enforcer, Dawn “Deestar” Wood, had passed away due to COVID-19. After doing what she loved, being an enforcer at PAX East 2022, keeping people in line, answering questions, and having fun, Dawn passed away after being exposed to COVID-19. Despite what Reed Pop had attempted to do, Dawn had was an unfortunate casualty, and despite not knowing her, it hurts to see how this all played out. There’s a Gofundme for those who would like to help cover her funeral expenses. This death could have been avoided by not even hosting this event. If you could see the anger in my face right now, you’d likely agree with me.
There’s a saying, “we’re only as strong as our weakest link”, and PAX East 2022 was an example of this. I am fully aware that I took the trek to the event and did knowingly put myself and my family’s health in danger. In my defense, I did so, hoping that everyone who attended the event would follow the guidelines put in place. I had hoped that despite everything that had taken place due to the pandemic, due to all the events that had been canceled, we could still live normal lives.
Sadly, PAX East 2022 showed me that we simply aren’t ready. That despite precautions and rules, people would go on ignore those just to be more comfortable or because they simply didn’t give a damn. In doing so, these people also put themselves ahead of the well-being and lives of everyone else. I’ll say it again for those in the back — We aren’t ready for on-site events to return.
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy my time at PAX East 2022. I truly did. I got to meet several people I had only talked to online. While seeing familiar faces I hadn’t seen for years. Not to mention playing a bunch of games are slated to be released later this year. It was a blast, but not at the cost of my health.
For me, I’m done. I will not place my family or myself in harm’s way as long as I can help it. That means no more gaming or geek culture events. There be no more PAX East, PAX West, PAX whatever, Comic-Con, or whatever else comes our way, for me. We aren’t ready, and I doubt we will be until this pandemic is long behind us.
I’m available if you have questions regarding my experience at PAX East 2022. You can reach me on Twitter at @Shadowhaxor, or email at Keith@theouterhaven.net
