So let's talk about how that #avlgov stay at home order is enforced and against whom. A few days ago, these fliers started going up in public housing, posted by housing authority staff backed by cops. Notice the emphasis on criminal charges... #avlnews

Meanwhile, several sources have reported increased police presence in public housing over the past week. #avlgov #avlnews

Yesterday I had to make a trip to pick up medication. On the way back I drove through the wealthier part of north Asheville. It was sunny, and the sidewalks were full of people who clearly didn't care one iota about social distancing. Not a mask or glove in sight #avlgov #avlnews

What I also didn't see were cops, or any of these fliers. So far, these only seem to be posted in Asheville's (overwhelmingly Black) public housing complexes. Fyi, APD has one of the worst records for racial disparities in traffic stops/enforcement in all of NC #avlnews #avlgov

Late at night I've walked around downtown. These signs weren't posted outside condos, even though plenty of their residents aren't taking social distancing particularly seriously either (which makes even essential trips a lot harder for the rest of us) #avlgov #avlnews

When people in frontline communities don't social distance, it's overwhelmingly because they can't. They're low-paid essential workers in unsafe conditions. They're dealing with homelessness or poor housing that makes space and sanitation difficult. #avlnews #avlgov

When well-off gentry don't social distance, it's because they could, but a lifetime of entitlement means they don't care about the consequences they inflict on other people and can't imagine themselves ending up another death in a tally. #avlgov #avlnews

Meanwhile, every arrest and every jail is a major vector for the spread of COVID-19. Rikers has the highest density of cases in the world. Arresting people - overwhelmingly marginalized people - just worsens the virus instead of stopping it. #avlgov #avlnews

But local government and the cops have a long, long history of harassing Black people, our houseless neighbors and anyone grappling with poverty. It is the point of them. They're not just going to stop, even during a pandemic. #avlgov #avlnews