HogansHero said: "I think the drinking/eating policy is still a work in progress. I don't think doing it at the seat is viable because I think that enough people sitting next to the eaters/drinkers will freak out so that another approach will be needed. By freak out, I don't mean the isolated person yelling at someone on their cell phone. This can't end up in the laps of the ushers. To be continued..."
I rarely disagree with Hogan but there’s simply, practically and literally no real way to police, let alone enforce, people not taking sips of water or an occasional Life Saver or Junior Mint at their seats. Whoever said it had been working like this just fine at the movies since the spring was correct and not just at the movies, but anyone who’s traveled at all in the last year has seen people pull their mask to one side, take a sip, replace it, pull the mask to one side, have a snack, and replace it. I’ve seen hundreds of people do that on planes, on trains, on subways, all far more claustrophobic and contained places than a roomy Broadway theater, and not once has there been even the hint of a single solitary “freak-out” by any one person, let alone anything approaching the level of “By freak out, I don't mean an isolated person” . People out there actually interacting in the world, at least in the Northeast, are a lot more chill about things than it sometimes seems from doomscrolling on message boards.
If no one has heard about anyone screaming at someone not to sip their water during a 10-minute ride on a New York SUBWAY, there’s not going to be hordes of angry mobs “freaking out” or flagging down the ushers or yelling “Shame!” when people inevitably and discreetly do the same thing – whether explicitly ‘permitted’ to or not – during a 2 or 3-hour Broadway show. And if flight attendants and train conductors haven’t been expected to reprimand passengers for doing this in the last year and a half, you can bet the ushers won’t be expected to either. (For that matter it’s the rare usher, in my experience, who’s more than ineffectual in dealing with cell phones, which light up in the dark, never mind a quick sip of a drink.). Unless New York State explicitly makes it illegal to temporarily remove your mask in close quarters for the sake of quickly and discreetly enjoying a private refreshment – something we all know is not going to happen – then common understanding, courtesy, and respect will have to be the order of the day. If people are abusing it, or passing crinkly bags if Twizzlers back and forth among a large group of people, mind you, that’s a different story. But if people are staying within their own space and being casual and careful about it, everything will be fine. Especially since nearly everyone will have been vaccinated, and those who haven’t been will be assuming the risks of being there. Not a soap opera. Common sense. End of story.
Updated On: 7/31/21 at 06:28 AM
