I saw an interesting clip recently from Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. It was a segment on vape conventions. The piece was funny and had a pro-vaping slant on vaping.
But, it also left me trying to figure out what I actually think about the industry.
I’ll go ahead and drop the video in here so you can follow along with me.
So, welcome back. The piece very much supported the idea that pending regulations can destory the industry. An industry that has helped a lot of people quit smoking.
Because this is a compedy bit from a Daily Show alum, you can bet they made a whole lot of fun of the attendees of the vaping convention.
A lot of it was pretty base stuff. Mostly making fun for people because of the way they looked. Our industry is a bit outside the norm. Show me a vape shop that doesn’t employ at least one guy with a giant beard, piercings and a ratty t-shirt and I’ll show you North Korea.
But everything else? You know, the vape tricks, the inability of some vendors to clearly state their point, the freaking dinosaur mascot.
What the hell was a dinosaur mascot doing there anyway?
There’s a certain level of maturity that I think makes it a little difficult when it comes to advocacy. People tend to agree more with people that look and act like them. If you are an industry that’s essentially running a sideshow, it seems incredibly difficult to be taken seriously.
Of course, I also think that stuff is what makes our industry great. So I’m having a huge internal struggle right now over this whole thing.
Should we clean up our act? Dress nice and behave to get more folks on our side? Or should we continue being who we are.
Maybe there’s a third option. Events like vape conventions are OUR thing. It’s not really a convention so much as a party where we can meet with like minded folk and get all freaky freaky. Should we start calling them Vape Parties?
I still don’t know what I think. I’d love to hear your opinion on this.
