The growing Coronavirus pandemic has been very problematic in more ways than one. A big issue that has surged over the past two weeks is the amount of people who now find themselves unemployed due to their establishments being shut down over this worldwide situation. This includes a number of hotels, restaurants, and numerous gay bars that have been our place to escape and have an amazing time in for decades upon decades.
The LGBTQ community has a way of coming together in times like these where we thrive on being as one in order to come out victorious on things that we believe we have the rights to. Topics that come to mind include us getting gay marriage legalized and the need for substantially better medications for people infected with AIDS and HIV. Both of which we conquered and now we need to help each other out once again amid this growing crisis.
Many of our fellow brethren who thrive in the nightlife scene are not working at all and are having a hard time filing for unemployment due to the amount of claims that have jumped in recent days. This is the beginning of something that could have long-term effects on them, and millions of others, who are in a state of panic and shock right now over where their next paycheck will come from.
Many gay-owned establishments, like New York City’s Gym Sportsbar & Rockbar, and Los Angeles’ FuBar have started GoFundMe pages in order for their staff to have a little financial relief as they are all out of work. This Is It!, Wisconsin’s longest running gay bar, is in dire need of help as well as they had to close indefinitely.
“I love my job, I hope this is all temporary,” Nelson Castillo, a popular go go dancer and entertainer in the San Diego gay nightlife scene, told Instinct Magazine about his current situation. “Literally all my work is gone right now.”
There will come a day where these bars will reopen and we will continue celebrating who we are to the fullest extent at them. Let’s try, in the meantime, to support these guys and many others who are in the same situation so hopefully they can begin to smile again.