Music Store Owner Weeps as Whitmer's Lockdown Forces Him To Give Up His Dreams

[rangerrebew]

Music Store Owner Weeps as Whitmer's Lockdown Forces Him To Give Up His Dreams
By Johnathan Jones
Published May 14, 2020 at 10:03am
 

A Michigan man with a passion for music and teaching children has seen his life’s work wiped away with the stroke of a pen by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Steve Walker, the owner of Walker Music & Textiles Co. in Hastings, Michigan, wept as he spoke with WXMI-TV during a recent interview in which he said Michigan’s lockdown order had forced him and his wife out of business.

Walker puts a very human face on Whitmer’s broad lockdown order, and for him, Walker Music was more than a business, it was a dream come true.

https://www.westernjournal.com/music-store-owner-weeps-whitmers-lockdown-forces-give-dreams/

[rangerrebew]

He could open a tattoo parlor or abortion clinic to make money.

[EdinVA]

well, the good folks in michigan need to re-evaluate their voting habits.

[Jazzhead]

And so it goes.  Millions of individual dreams dashed, and for nothing.   

If I can buy flowers at a grocery store following safety protocols,  why can't I do so at a florist who follows the same protocols?

If I can buy furniture at a Costco that follows safety protocols,  why can't I do so at a furniture who follows the same protocols?

I can't buy sheet music or CDs at a grocery store or Costco,  but why can't I do so at this fellow's music store,  simply because this idiot governor deems that the enjoyment of music is non-essential?

The sick thing is these arbitrary lockdowns punish the best and hardest working of us while contributing nothing to the public safety.  And Dylan was right - if you have nothing, you have nothing to lose.  Fight the power, folks, by whatever means necessary.   

[Lando Lincoln]

Countless stories of private despair.  Most of it due to policy.  Heartbreaking.

[Applewood]

And so it goes.  Millions of individual dreams dashed, and for nothing.   

If I can buy flowers at a grocery store following safety protocols,  why can't I do so at a florist who follows the same protocols?

If I can buy furniture at a Costco that follows safety protocols,  why can't I do so at a furniture who follows the same protocols?

I can't buy sheet music or CDs at a grocery store or Costco,  but why can't I do so at this fellow's music store,  simply because this idiot governor deems that the enjoyment of music is non-essential?

The sick thing is these arbitrary lockdowns punish the best and hardest working of us while contributing nothing to the public safety.  And Dylan was right - if you have nothing, you have nothing to lose.  Fight the power, folks, by whatever means necessary.

I might add that I can go to my doctor who examines me up close and personal, but I can't get a haircut because the governor says my stylist can't practice social distancing while cutting my hair.

In my state the whole definition of "essential" and "non-essential" businesses is totally whacked.  Some supposedly non-essential businesses have been given waivers to reopen.  The granting of waivers is arbitrary and who knows how the waivers are granted?   Is there some palm greasing going on here?  I suspect there is.

One of our local restaurants won't be reopening when the lockdowns are lifted.  This restaurant has been around for more than 60 years.  Maybe it was in trouble before the virus hit, but this lockdown has put the final nail in the restaurant's coffin.  So sad.  Longtime employees are now out of work.  Same story for a lot of restaurants and businesses.  A number of others will be gone permanently if this lockdown isn't lifted. 

My governor is gradually reopening businesses, but it's been a slow and maybe not even handed process.  I have the feeling this reopening is not his idea.  If he could have, he would have kept all of us locked down indefinitely, but he knew if he didn't at least make a start, there would be riots in the streets.  Those riots could still happen.  There has already been rebellion in some parts of the state where the lockdown is still going on, plus a number of "non-essential" businesses have defied the governor by reopening  It's a complete mess and it needs to be fixed ASAP.

[jmyrlefuller]

Countless stories of private despair.  Most of it due to policy.  Heartbreaking.

I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but this is a horrible time to be anything music-related professionally... when your craft is considered not only non-essential, but a public health hazard.

Broadway—and yes, I know Broadway is full of a bunch of super-left-wing kooks, but it's still an honest living—is locked down until September. Several big shows have already said they won't come back afterward, and the job market is already tight enough in that field as it is. Festivals and events where small-time bands would play are being canceled. Worship leaders find their churches shuttered, out of fear that their singing might spread the virus in confined spaces. It looks bleak, and increasingly like there will be no "when this is all over."

[skeeter]

Countless stories of private despair.  Most of it due to policy.  Heartbreaking.

Worse, policy rooted in ideology and not in the public interest.