I just heard from my boss that, as of January 11, South Korean stores and restaurants are going to move to a vaccine-pass-only stance. This means that I, as an un-jabbed person, won't be able to dine anywhere or shop anywhere (well, anywhere that enforces this policy, anyway). No word on what counts as "vaccinated" or "fully vaccinated" or whatever the newest bullshit term is. And I guess I'll be doing all my grocery shopping via Coupang pretty soon.
The whole thing is stupid and fucked up, and this new change certainly doesn't predispose me to wanting to get inoculated. Quite the opposite. And I'm hearing that your "vaccination" comes with a validity period. Where does this shit end?
LA County recently implemented a similar – albeit not nearly as sweeping – mandate (don't get me started on the logic of mandating masks in some places and not in others). While I am vaxxed, I refuse to show proof simply to eat in a restaurant. This is partially a desire for privacy on my part, but it's even more because I resent the county government turning, say, a minimum wage sandwich maker at Subway into the Vax Police. Such a policy is guaranteed to anger some people and they won't all be so civil or understanding toward these workers as I try to be. That sandwich maker is guaranteed to bear the brunt of some pretty ugly frustration.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, the enforcement of this policy in LA County restaurants has been, in my experience, hit-and-miss at best. Of course, this may be because I've mostly stuck to restaurants where the staff already know me and thus know that I'm not an undercover health department officer ready to bust them if they don't ask me for my vax proof (in the same way that they could lose their liquor license if they don't card me when I order a cocktail).
All of which is why I just spent the past week in Northern Arizona (where such mandates, along with LA's mask obsession simply aren't a thing) looking for new places to live. I've resigned myself to the fact that covid-related policies are simply going to be a little like nude beaches and gambling for the foreseeable future: if I want openness and freedom to make my own choices, I'll just have to go where such things are allowed. This saddens me because LA is my favorite place I've ever lived, but I also know I can't win certain fights so it may just be better to walk away.
But that's only applicable to the USA, where we still have sufficient regional variations to allow for this choice of lifestyles. I can only imagine how constraining these vax-related restrictions must be in a country like Korea. Where the hell does one go and, as you say, where does this shit end?
Aaron,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear that you may have to leave your favorite place. Good luck finding a new place. I may reach a point, soon, when I'll have to consider going back to the States—specifically, to a red state that affirms people's freedoms.
South Korea, just a few months ago, was far more liberal and laissez-faire than most US blue states. Now, suddenly, all of Korea's sphincters are clenched shut; society has been divided into castes (I guess I'm now one of the untouchables). Things got real shitty real fast.
Good luck to both of us.
Damn, will the madness never end? Similar policies have just been implemented in Angeles City...hopefully, they don't spread to my neck of the woods. Our mayor has taken a mostly common sense approach and recognizes the impact this kind of thing has on businesses and citizens.
ReplyDelete