You're Allowed to Miss Broadway and Every Other Thing
Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder
As this quarantine goes on and more and more events are canceled, I’m starting to see a disturbing thing pop on social media. It seems like whenever someone displays their sadness that they won’t be able to attend an event or go on a vacation on social media, they are bombarded with comments calling them selfish for feeling that way because people are sick and dying.
Most recently I saw someone post about how upset they were that they had to cancel their trip to New York City to see Hamilton. Almost immediately, comments calling her selfish or entitled started to pop up. People started reminding her that she shouldn’t be thinking about such things or mourning them because people are sick. They never stopped to read the entire post where she mentioned that she lived in New Mexico, had never been to NYC, and had saved her money over a two-year period to afford the trip. Yet, people called her out for being sad that she could no longer go.
It’s that kind of bullshit that drives me nuts.
In times like these, and sadly I’ve lived through a couple of them, there seems to be this belief that we can’t be sad for anything else other than the mass tragedy unfolding around us. I think that’s ridiculous.
No one (I hope) is posting that they don’t care about COVID-19 and the people its inflicted or killed when they express sadness about Broadway closing or not being able to hug someone or attend a live concert. No one is saying they don’t care about COVID-19 when they’re sad over canceling a vacation or postponing a wedding. So unless someone explicitly states they don’t care about COVID-19, can we stop assuming people don’t when they express sadness over losing life events due to these shutdowns?
I’m NOT a mental health expert, but I can’t imagine what these quarantines are doing to people that due suffer from various mental illnesses. I’ve seen Facebook friends post statuses of sadness and despair. I know I can’t do much to cheer them up, but you know what I won’t do? Shame them for feeling that way. I’m NOT a mental health expert but even I know that’s reckless.
I miss Broadway just as much as every other fan. I had plans to see a bunch of shows opening this spring. I had a trip planned to Florida in April for Wrestlemania. I had plans to see my family and friends this weekend for Passover/Easter. None of that happened or is going to happen. I am sad about that. You are allowed to be sad to miss Broadway, to miss movies, to miss your family and friends, to miss everything.
We all express sadness and grief in different ways. Who am I to judge or comment on how someone deals through this? Who are you to judge them?