Pete FreedmanPreaching Personal Responsibility, Gov. Abbott Declared An End To The Statewide Mask Mandate And Allowed Businesses To Open At 100 Percent. It’s OK To Ignore Him.
If there’s a running theme in our political commentary here at Central Track, it’s this: Our elected officials really ain’t shit.
We haven’t come to this position lightly. It’s a stance bolstered by firsthand experience and observation. Time and time again, if they’re not literally running for greener pastures or otherwise actively hiding from the spotlight, we’ve witnessed our supposed leaders on the state, regional and city levels disappoint and disappear in those moments when they’ve been needed the most.
So, really, why would this week to be any different?
On Tuesday, which not just coincidentally also happened to be Texas Independence Day, Gov. Greg Abbott shared from a Mexican restaurant in Lubbock what he’d previously teased as an “exciting” announcement: Preaching Texans’ value of “personal responsibility,” he revealed that he was dropping his statewide mask mandate and that, as of March 10, he would allow all businesses across the state to once again open their operations back up to 100 percent of their pre-pandemic legal capacities.
These restrictions were initially put in place, of course, to temper the spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic that has so sidetracked our regularly scheduled lives for the past 12 months. Now, despite the fact that the pandemic is still very much ongoing and around, they’ve been lifted.
For some across the state, and particularly those in the especially pandemic-ravaged service and hospitality industries, Abbott’s reveal came as shortsightedly welcome news, a sign that the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel was coming up even faster than anticipated.
For others, however, the announcement was downright horrific and irrational. After all, that aforementioned end-of-tunnel light already was close. Studies showed that Dallas County, for instance, had been on track to reach “herd immunity” by June. Furthermore, the federal government had been reassuring the public that all American adults who wanted a vaccine were likely to be able to get one by July — a timeline that President Joe Biden then pushed up to the end of May mere hours after Abbott’s stunt.
With such encouraging news already out, what exactly is Abbott’s rush on easing the restrictions he himself had once put into place? Well, beyond currying political favor to a conservative base that he’s increasingly losing, we’re really not sure there is one.
Listen: We empathize with the bar and restaurant owners who’ve been pleading with Abbott to get out of the way of their bottom lines. We really, really do. As we’ve openly explained a few times now, advertising dollars coming our way here at Central Track from these — or any industries — have completely evaporated in the wake of the pandemic, and they’ve still yet to return a year later. So, yes, I promise you: We very much get it.
But, in particularly Texas-oriented terms, we also know the dangers of celebrating a touchdown before crossing the goal line.
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Is it possible that Abbott — once again — is proving himself and his party both out of touch with reality and too committed to valuing corporate interests over human life?
Brother, lemme tell ya: It’s more than just possible.
Texas currently ranks 53rd out of all U.S. states, territories and protectorates when it comes to the percentage of its population that’s been vaccinated. At the time of Abbott’s announcement on Tuesday, a mere 12 percent of the state population had been inoculated. Just as frustrating, we know that vaccinations in Dallas County that had been earmarked for minority populations known to be more prone to COVID-19 have not been going to the recipients intended.
The data is pretty clear here. What Abbott’s removal of previously in place restrictions shows, however, is that he lacks the perspective necessary to process it.
Keep in mind: Dude’s been vaccinated; he got his first shot in the arm all the way back in December.
We’re not alone in this thinking. Even Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins — two men usually at odds on everything — are on the same page with us here. Biden, too. And just about every health official in the state as well.
There’s also, frankly, a reason why so many business owners (and even local pro sports franchise owners) have, in the wake of Abbott’s announcement, been so quick to come out and express their intentions to continue requiring masks for their customers. It’s because Abbott’s most recent decision crumbles in the face of the science.
If you’re interested in supporting such establishments — if not due to health concerns, then as a show of solidarity — the Dallas Morning News has compiled a list of area bars and restaurants maintaining mask rules for all guests and also tracked some big-box retailers (such as grocery stores) that are planning to do the same. The social media team at Oh Hey Dallas, meanwhile, has crowdsourced not only a lengthy list of bars and restaurants that are remaining mask-only, but also a separate list of retail- and service-oriented operations also doing so.
If you want to support the ones on the other end of the spectrum, well, by all means, we suppose that’s now you’re right. Just don’t be a dick to the rest of us when we don’t rush to join your party — or, consequently, when we ask that you mask up before joining ours. Keep in mind that your actions could spur on the opposite reaction you’re going for, and could contribute to us dealing with this thing even longer in the end.
Ultimately, our recommendation — as ever — remains the same as it was nearly a year ago, when Abbott’s first attempts to “Reopen Texas” came, and then subsequently failed, just as expected.
Ignore his ass.
Remember that when someone says that you can do something, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should.
The responsible choice here is to listen to the experts, not the politically fearful.
The simply truth is that masks work — and that they’re are most effective when we all wear them.
Do your part, and maybe we can all enjoy a beer out in public sooner than later — something I promise you we all would like to do, when the time is appropriate and safe.
In the meantime, if you want to stay healthy and help your fellow citizens do the same, the play is to stay the course just as you hopefully have been: Maintain appropriate social distance with people outside of your bubble, stay the fuck home when possible, wear your mask whenever out in public and keep on diligently washing your hands.
Oh, and whenever you next get the chance: Exercise your right to vote.