We’ve been told this was coming for some time now, but it happened even faster than I would have imagined. Chicago is lifting many of its pandemic restrictions along with many other cities, attempting to get the economy back into gear. But not all business owners, particularly in the food and beverage industry, are feeling the love. Just the other day we discussed some shops on the South Side that are still requiring patrons to wear masks now that they’re open again. But another group of eateries are taking a different approach. You can come to dine without a mask, but you’ll be seated in a “special section” that is reserved for vaccinated diners. You can just feel the equality in the air, citizens. (CBS Chicago)

Chicago restaurant owners hoping to ease concerns for those who may be apprehensive about dining out have a solution: a vaccinated only section.

Although the city is still int he bridge phase of its reopening plan, city guidance allows businesses to operate with no restrictions as long as only vaccinated people are allowed in that area.

Those will be in place at Moe’s Cantina this weekend, where a neon bracelet will be the key to a seat in the unrestricted vaccinated section of the restaurant. The unvaccinated section will continue to have distanced tables and partitions.

The restaurant will be issuing brightly colored wristbands to people who produce proof that they are vaccinated. The section of the restaurant reserved for them has normal spacing between tables plenty of seats at the bar. Those unable to provide their immunity passport will be sent to a section with fewer available seats and partitions between all of the diners and staff.

The owner of Moe’s Cantina describes this as “just getting back to normal.” But is it really? One might argue that “normal” was when you could go out to a restaurant and be seated without anyone asking about your personal medical information or needing to show your medical records. Also, Moe’s is now putting its employees in the position of becoming enforcement agents of a rule that not everyone even understands yet.

Looking at the Layout of the restaurant, it appears that there are no walls or partitions between the dining areas (unless you eat on the rooftop). So now that we’ve learned that the transmission rates for the virus are virtually the same whether you’re separated by three feet or thirty, how much actual protection is being afforded to everyone? The unvaccinated diners won’t have their masks on while eating and drinking so they’ll be breathing and exhaling their possible germs all over the place anyway.

Reading this story caused me to stop and wonder how, hypothetically, I could go to Moe’s and dine in the section designated for the special people if I wasn’t vaccinated yet. First, I suppose I could just order myself a fake vaccination card for about 25 dollars. Or if I didn’t want to go to all that trouble I could just go see what sort of wristbands they are using for identification and buy a bunch of them in various colors. Once I knew what color was being used, I’d just slip one on as I was coming through the door and pretend I’d just stepped outside for a cigarette.

No, those aren’t the sorts of things that I would personally be inclined to do. But now that the opportunities exist, do you really think people won’t be doing that? We’ve managed to create a thriving black market by imposing all of these mandates and restrictions and it was inevitable that people would come along to fill that demand.