last post SH-1-T JUST GOT REAL
SH-1-T JUST GOT REAL! SOMETIMES LIFE – READ “MOTHER NATURE” – THROWS US A CURVEBALL WHEN WE LEAST EXPECT IT. FRENCHIE SHARES HIS THOUGHTS ON HOW THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AFFECTS AIRSOFT.
W
ell, we didn’t see that coming! As a rule, I am normally unclear (read: clueless) about what subject I’ll turn my attention to for each Last Post. I certainly didn’t expect to write about a global pandemic and how it might affect airsoft - but here we are. The world is reeling from the effects of Covid19 and it doesn’t look like that’s about to change anytime soon. While it was nice of the Prime Minister to suggest that we’ll have it licked in 12 weeks, I don’t know if anyone really believed him, especially since the health service seems to be gearing up for peak disaster right about then. How does this affect airsofters? An excellent question, well presented - which is how an old airsofting friend of mine responded to any query for which he didn’t have an answer. Should sites continue to run games? Should shops remain open? Surely it’s better to be outside than cowering in our homes? What’s the worst that could happen anyway? Let’s deal with that last question first - you could die. You, or someone close to you could die. This isn’t “just the flu” and while it is true that younger people seem to weather it better (and airsofters are generally younger people), the reports from those who have suffered from it suggest that staying as far away from it as possible is a really good idea. I have an 86-year old father-in-law who is supposedly in isolation (we’ll gloss over that bit) and I personally won’t take the chance of introducing him to a virus that could put him in the ground. My choice. So, should we play? My view - and as ever in Last Post it is just that - is no. We are being encouraged to avoid social gatherings, with variable success. I don’t buy the argument that because airsofters are outside they are
somehow safer. What happens between games? Yup, a bunch of sweating, heavy breathing players all congregate in the Safezone. Lots of them. Somehow I simply can’t see airsofters voluntarily keeping a 6 foot space between them and their fellows, assuming the Safezone is actually big enough to allow that. Moreover, as I have commented previously, airsofters are generally a sociable bunch so where once I saw a friendly social gathering, now I see a superb potential for infection. I wouldn’t go near that for all the money the Bank of England is going to spend. My concerns for my family would far outweigh any loss of enjoyment. I also suspect that while the government has arguably been lax up to now about enforcing “social distancing”, with emergency powers about to whistle through Parliament like sh*t through a goose, you may find the choice isn’t yours for long anyway. Should you go shopping for airsoft gear? I have friends whose livelihood depends on you doing this, so I am a bit torn. It’s great to visit an actual shop, to chat, to handle the merchandise but you can see what the potential there is for viral transmission. I suspect that online shopping might be a wiser choice for the time being, any shop worth its salt will be more than happy to spend time on the phone or on email making sure that you get what you need and it’s a pretty-much risk free way of doing it. I accept that deliveries may take slightly longer than normal but with companies recruiting drivers left right and centre to cope, it shouldn’t keep you and your beloved kit apart unnecessarily. Is it better to be outside, where the air is clean? Well, yeeees. But no. I think you just need to take a look at Wuhan, Italy and France at present. In a situation where none of us have any immunity from Covid19, the thinking
“I CAN’T SEE THE AUTHORITIES BEING PLEASED IF WE ALL DECIDED TO AIRSOFT FROM BALCONIES RATHER THAN SINGING A LA ITALIANS BUT, IF I’M REALLY HONEST, I THINK THAT WOULD BE EPIC! (SORRY GUYS - NOT GOING TO HAPPEN).”
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MAY 2020
