The ‘Reopen’ Protests Echo America’s Racist History
There’s a lot more going on here than just wanting to get back to work
On Monday evening, as Georgia residents began speculating about the motivations behind Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to begin lifting restrictions on gyms, hair salons, massage parlors, and bowling alleys, among other businesses — even before the state had met federal benchmarks for easing up on social distancing rules — one of his constituents offered a theory.
In a Facebook post that quickly went viral, George Chidi, a former council member in the metro Atlanta area who now works in public policy, suggested Kemp was simply motivated by a desire to save money. If businesses reopen, state labor policies will prevent workers from claiming unemployment — forcing them to either risk their lives by returning to work or forego financial assistance. “This isn’t a decision being driven by epidemiology,” Chidi wrote. “It’s the rawest and most lethal of political decisions, and it will kill people.”
