Dear Georgia,

This letter is not super organized and a bit rambling. You’ve just been on my mind recently, so bear with me.

#GeorgiaOnMyMind #QuarantineLife #StayHomeSaveLives
@GovKemp @staceyabrams @realDonaldTrump

1/

I cannot separate my identity from you. You nursed me, you raised me and you educated me. For that, I am eternally grateful. All the while, you hit me from both sides of the political spectrum. You taught me the game of “smear the queer” alongside “love thy neighbor”.
2/

You taught me that some blacks are “the good ones” and you showed me one of the most ethnically diverse high school experiences in the country. You taught me that Christianity means both “praying the gay away” and “open doors, open minds”.
3/

You taught me to be independent, to not rely on others and that my achievements were mine alone. You also taught me that without support of those around me, things are much more challenging, especially if I had generations of hatred directed at my pigment.
4/

So I left. I went to the liberal bubble of Ann Arbor where we had cultural awareness study breaks in the dorm where all the white kids sat together separate from all the black kids and they served a special meal to highlight diversity featuring “smashed Michigan redskins”.
5/

A few miles away, the working class lived in Ypsi, allowing Ann Arbor to keep its educational superiority. In Detroit, crooked politics made the residents pay to import trash to burn...and don’t even get me started on Flint.
6/

Many of the same issues linger(ed), just under the surface and ignored. I gave MI 12 years of my life and opened my progressive mind safely from my little echo chamber. I think back on my Michigan experience and wonder if I’d have noticed without your prodding, Georgia.
7/

Now, I’m sitting in a somewhat larger bubble in Massachusetts. Same story, different state, third major phase of my life. I bought a house with money from my full-time job and am sitting at home working.
8/

With schools closed for the remainder of the year, we are finishing the term with distance learning. My school is, fortunately, able to support such an endeavor.
9/

Now, back to you, Georgia. While I can safely work from home without any major risk of dying, the same can’t be said of many around me. As of right now, MA has businesses closed until May 4 (at the earliest) and it is likely to be extended.
10/

This is stressful and feels life threatening, but no, the cure is not worse than the cause. Many people can’t afford to not work. After all, it’s expensive to be poor.
11/

Quarantine looks quite a bit different in my house in the “country” than it does in the homeless shelter and food lines. With all of that, if the state has businesses closed, at least, at least we can provide people with unemployment “benefits”.
12/

Side note, I don’t think “benefits” is the right word...perhaps “sustenance” would be better.
13/

So, next week, according to Kemp, you are “open for business”. Great! People can finally work for a living and earn a paycheck...except...
14/

...if you’re a small business and prefer to value your health and the health of your employees more than styling somebody’s hair...you are no longer able to collect support and your employees are no longer able to claim unemployment because they have a “right to work”.
15/

The policies put forth by Kemp are targeting those struggling the most, coercing them to make the choice between eating and staying healthy...and...not being able to buy food.

Also, don’t be fooled by Trump’s stern admonitions against opening up before you’re “ready”.
16/

He is eagerly throwing Kemp and the entire state under the bus so when this all backfires, he can come out and claim moral superiority while your fellow Georgians lay dead. Georgia, you are being used.
17/

So, Georgia, my home state, when you have a choice between a Trump and a Clinton, remember this moment. When you have a choice between a Kemp and an Abrams, remember this moment. My heart suffers for you and everyone I care about who is still there.
18/

As a whole, you damn well better learn a lesson from this, but mostly, stay safe. Reach out to your neighbors and check on your friends, whether or not you know them. We will get through this together, not because of the Federal or State governments, but in spite of them.
19/

In parting, you are often on my mind, but pick a different song. This one is tired.

Signed,
A rambling southerner-by-birth
20/20 (end of thread, but I hope 2020 isn't the end...)