Last month’s 2019 Star Wars Celebration at McCormick Place was an interesting introduction to major nerd conventions. I’d gone to small comics events here and there, but despite my status as a lifelong nerd and Star Wars fan, I’d repeatedly missed out on major events, even the ones close to home such as C2E2 and Wizard World. And while all such gatherings live or die by fan devotion, the Star Wars event was, in the words of its website, “Lucasfilm’s love letter to fans.”
This got especially awkward during a lunch break when I encountered two white men who casually mentioned that people had harassed them when they wore their MAGA hats. I incredulously asked if they were Trump supporters, and they replied that they voted for him due to Hillary’s e-mails but didn’t support his current actions, which they never could’ve predicted. I pointed out there were plenty of signs to indicate just what kind of leader he’d be, and they responded that they hadn’t meant to get political and left soon after.
