Variety: After a long talk with no one but myself, I’ve decided to go to SXSW.
I’d already purchased a ticket to fly to the U.S. from Tel Aviv — a stopover in Istanbul for a TED talk was canceled when flights were halted — and when I return to Israel, I’ll need to quarantine myself for 14 days. My Israeli mother is worried. Sorry, mom.
2 comments:
I really resonated with the writer’s first line: “After a long talk with no one but myself, I’ve decided to go to SXSW.” For the remainder of this comment I will not make a statement regarding his decision to travel to a high density area while schools and many other organizations are limiting crowd numbers to dampen the possibility of the virus spreading. His decision to go to SXSW seems to personify the goals of the festival itself. If you have enough tenacity and enough drive, you can do anything. His goals really are commendable, and it’s actually really inspiring to see what he has accomplished in a decade through hard work. SXSW is clearly a very big part of his life, and he’s willing to risk his respiratory well-being in order to contribute to the festival. I am glad though that he talked to himself, because as silly as this seems, as long as he is committed and understands what he’s getting into - that’s all you can ask for.
I understand the sentiment of this article, but I feel like there is not much that can be done about an entire event being cancelled, especially one as large as South by Southwest. Considering how much revenue and support it generates naturally, cancelling it must not have been a very light decision. Just like any other festival and performance that is being cancelled because of COVID-19, thousands remain disappointed or in a more serious situation when they rely on the income to live. Safety is definitely the number one concern, so I wonder how successful this show will end up being. I also know that Israel is particularly strict about their travel and quarantine laws, so I wonder if by the time this happens if citizens will even be allowed to leave the country. Some of my family that lives there told us that no shops or restaurants are open anymore, and the airport was deserted starting about a week ago.
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