Cosplayers and congoers have no respect for staff, volunteers, or property.
The main reason the cosplay community feels like it’s getting worse is that too many people in this space are short on social etiquette. This goes for numerous things, including but not limited to sexual assault, theft, and harassment, but today I want to speak on people acting as if everything has to go their way with no consequences for their actions.
At the 2022 Momocon, which I attended, word got around that the infamous cosplayer and pain in the ass, WholeWheatPete, put a hole in the wall of the Georgia World Congress Center while he was cosplaying Reki Kyan from SK8 the Infinity. How did he put a hole in the wall? He was doing a skateboard trick. Many cosplayers didn’t think this incident was that deep, and welcomed him back into the community with open arms. While yes, WholeWheatPete’s white male privilege contributed to the cosplay community being so forgiving of him until it became popular to dislike him openly because bigger content creators started to get called out for assoicating with him, it also sparked up more of a discussion as to why people didn’t think a hole in the wall at one of the largest convention centers in the United States was such a big deal. The cosplay community lacks basic respect for pretty much everything, but especially towards staff, volunteers, and property.
Not to be a dickhead, but some of you act like you have no home training in this community.
Since many people have binary thinking, let's engage in a nuanced discussion about this. Let’s get this out of the way: Do I think some staff members at cons are rude for no reason? Yes! Unfortunately, there are rude people everywhere you go. However, I've noticed that many of you are complaining about the con staff because you're upset that you can't get away with misbehaving and doing something they strictly told you not to do.
People volunteer at conventions for numerous reasons: they enjoy the environment, need experience to add to their resumes, want something to do at the convention other than walking around, and to gain free access to the event. Conventions offer free entry to volunteers who commit to a certain number of hours of service. The way people speak to volunteers at these events is worrying, especially when they provide basic answers to their questions and concerns. Those people are doing what they are told to do and aren’t getting paid at all. And the staff who are being paid to be there don’t get paid nearly enough to put up with the bullshit this community gives them. Regardless of whether or not someone is being paid, you should still show kindness towards them unless they did something to you that was genuinely wrong.
Cons do not own the buildings they are in; they are rented for that weekend. Because these properties are owned by someone else, the con must abide by the building's rules. That goes for the rules of the convention centers they are held in and the hotels that host them. What they say goes. If you don’t like the rules of the building, respectfully, don’t show up. I will use the house example because that is something most can understand. How would you feel if someone came to your house and broke your rules? You’d be upset. That same logic should apply when you attend events: respect the space you are in.
There’s something else people get mad about when it comes to cons that really annoys me: trying to get into badge-only spaces when they have no badge. One major factor that people often overlook is that crowds are a constant at events, and as a result, those who pay are given priority. I even attended a free con that required everyone to have a badge, due to safety concerns, to keep track of the number of people in the building. You’re technically loitering at these events if you don’t have a badge and try to sneak into the places at the con where you need one. You are not guaranteed something simply because you want it. Want to go to a con but don’t have a badge? There are several ways to contribute, including paneling, hosting workshops, and volunteering. Don’t be surprised when the staff tells you to leave the premises and turns you away because you have no badge. You were fully aware you needed one.
Let’s talk about trash! Yeah, there is a lot of it! People at cons have consistently shown that they do not know how to clean up after themselves. One early Sunday morning, I arrived at the convention center early, and I was pretty disappointed when I saw the amount of garbage outside. I hear countless stories of cosplayers and congoering making locations extremely messy because they don’t dispose of their waste properly. I was even told a story about how cosplayers had trashed a park across the street from where the con was being hosted, and it reflected poorly on the community. If you have trash, hold onto it until you find a trash can to dispose of it.
You all realize that if the behavior gets too bad, the owners of these buildings have every right to stop hosting the event in their buildings, right? Are you wondering why cons have more and more out-of-the-ass rules nowadays? It’s because people don’t know how to act right! Do I like some of these rules they have set? No. But also, it’s not my event, therefore, I DON’T GET TO DO WHAT I WANT.
I am starting to see the overlap between how con staff are treated and how service workers are treated, and it genuinely makes me uncomfortable. One thing about me is that I will never take the side of the customer or attendee who’s rude to a worker for following a policy they were told to enforce. There is no reason for you all to be so fucking nasty toward people who are there to do a job and not respect property that isn’t yours.
That concludes the end of this rant. I said what I had to say.
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