The city of New Orleans subtly announced that there will be NO Mardi Gras parades in the city for the upcoming 2021 Carnival season. The news broke on the city’s website in the frequently asked questions section with this answer to a question: “Parades of any kind will not be permitted this year because large gatherings have proven to be super-spreader events of the COVID-19 virus.”
Today, New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell confirmed that parades for 2021 will be cancelled, but the city will continue to accept ideas on alternative ways to celebrate the upcoming Mardi Gras season.
With the coronavirus numbers rising locally and surging to new records in many parts of the country, it is difficult to imagine that Mardi Gras parades would not be super-spreader events.
The city of Mobile, AL announced plans that Mardi Gras 2021 will roll with a few changes. After the city of New Orleans appeared to announce that all parades for 2021 would be canceled, the city of Baton Rouge announced that city officials would be meeting to consider a “modified” version of Mardi Gras. A spokesperson for the Mayor of Baton Rouge’s office told the Advocate: “We will continue those discussions with parade organizers and our medical community to determine the best path forward for each event.” Krewes in Baton Rouge are currently working toward plans to hold balls and parties even if there are restrictions on crowd size.
Neighboring Jefferson Parish has introduced the idea of holding Mardi Gras in the summer or fall of 2021. By that time, a vaccine may be available to the general public and numbers may be more under control.
The extended Carnival season and Mardi Gras Day are critical to the city, both financially and emotionally. Mardi Gras is the celebration that defines New Orleans and all other events and celebrations that have become part of the city’s history. But considering that the current spike in numbers in Louisiana is being linked to the Halloween, it is hard to figure out how a Mardi Gras celebration could be justified.
I love seeing the French Quarter come back to life with people partying in the streets and music flowing from numerous bars and clubs, but the sight of so many people not wearing masks and not social distancing is extremely disturbing. I reported what I saw on Halloween night on Bourbon Street; and as much as I enjoyed seeing the city appear to be back to normal - it was appalling to see the number of people who disregarded the importance of wearing a mask and social distancing.
We have been told what we need to do to get COVID-19 under control. In New Orleans and Louisiana, we did a good job of controlling the disease. But at some point, enough people decided that COVID-19 was no longer a threat and acted as if life was back to normal. That is the mentality that has led us to where we are today.
Wearing a mask was seen as a sign of weakness by some, and President Trump reinforced that false notion.
The cancellation of Mardi Gras parades in 2021 is directly linked to a brazen, selfish attitude that the government can’t tell you what to do. Mask mandates are not an example of the government telling you what to do any more than seatbelt laws or speed limits. The government plays a role in our free society and declarations of emergencies are designed to protect people - not circumvent freedom.
We - the people - are responsible for ignoring mask mandates and social distancing guidelines. You may be following the rules and taking the pandemic seriously, as I am; but there are too many who refuse to make the sacrifices necessary to control the spread.
Don’t talk about how you honor the sacrifices our fallen soldiers made to make America great if you are not willing to make the much less dangerous sacrifices of following basic pandemic mandates to control a disease that is ravaging America - financially and emotionally.
