General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGeorgia's Experiment in Human Sacrifice
Instead, their stories depict a struggle between a state government and ordinary people. Georgias brash reopening puts much of the states working class in an impossible bind: risk death at work, or risk ruining yourself financially at home. In the grips of a pandemic, the approach is a morbid experiment in just how far states can push their people. Georgians are now the largely unwilling canaries in an invisible coal mine, sent to find out just how many individuals need to lose their job or their life for a state to work through a plague.
Estimates vary as to how many businesses might actually reopen now, but none of the Georgians I talked with knew many people who intended to voluntarily head right back to work. That was true in Athens, which has long been one of the Deep Souths most progressive cities, as well as in Blackshear, a small town in the rural southeastern part of the state that tends toward conservatism. Kelly Girtz, the mayor of Athens, estimated that about 90 percent of the local business owners he had spoken with in the past week had no intention of reopening immediately. Georgias plan simply is not that well designed, Girtz says. To call it a plan might be overstating the case.
Several of Georgias Republican mayors did not return requests for comment, but some have publicly supported Kemps decision. In Watkinsville, which is near Athens, Mayor Bob Smith released a statement on Sunday encouraging the towns residents to return to religious services and their jobs.
Certainly, demand for these businesses services still exists. For many hair stylists, the response to Kemps reopening announcement was swift. Zach Lee, a salon owner in Blackshear who closed his business well in advance of the states shutdown, told me he heard from clients within 15 minutes of Kemps press conference. Lee had to tell them he wouldnt be reopening yet because he didnt think doing so was safe. I want to work. Im a workaholic. I cant wait to get back behind the chair and do hair, he said. But now is not the time. I really dont feel like being the guinea pig in this situation, and I dont want my clients being guinea pigs either.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/why-georgia-reopening-coronavirus-pandemic/610882/
CottonBear
(21,596 posts)Fun fact: GA Gov. Brian Kemp is from Athens, GA. His actual home is in Athens-Clarke County, GA. Kemp is not popular here in Athens-Clarke County.
crickets
(25,982 posts)I know I'm not going anywhere. This situation is unconscionable.