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Bob Martin served in the United States Marine Corps.
Thank's for your service and for defending freedom, Bob.
He also owns "The Stag" barbershop in Snohomish, Washington, and has now been forced to make the decision: Obey the governor or pay my bills?
Is this the freedom he fought to preserve?
What do you do when you're labeled "non-essential?"
Be informed.
The barber who served in the US Marine Corps has decided to open his shop despite Washington State Democrat Governor Jay Inslee's order for "non-essential" businesses to be shut down and for people to stay in their homes.
An order that has now been extended to May 31.
At first, Martin served his customers in darkened premises until his supporters included the local police.
Seattle's KOMO News says, "Some business owners in Washington have had enough and they're tired of waiting to re-open their doors."
Bob Martin does not stand alone in his feelings.
Even before the Chinese virus, the Stag barbershop would be closed on Sunday, but when Martin saw the long lines appear over the weekend as people learned he was publicly opening, he said he had to stay open Sunday as well.
Martin says he had only closed his shop once before. It was back in 1995 "when I took a pack of string and went hunting in Idaho."
"People are so supportive of him," KOMO says, "they're driving from Tacoma and Maple Valley and Bremerton and all kinds of places" to support him (Snohomish is north of Seattle).
Eddie Donovan showed up for a haircut, and said: "I think it's fantastic." He says he drove to the shop because he wanted to support Martin--"I don't want to see businesses go under because they can't open up."
This is not an isolated incident.
Hair salon owner Lindsey Graham of Salem, Oregon told Fox News 12 that she is re-opening for the well being of her family, despite Democrat Gov. Kate Brown's similar order.
Graham says:
"I'm risking going to jail to do it. That's how important it is to my family." Oregon state officials have said those who don't comply with the order could face misdemeanor charges leading to a fine or time behind bars.
She's right. A Class C misdemeanor can give you 30 days in jail, a $1250 fine, or both.
She added that she and her husband own 6 salons and if things continue as they are they will be forced out of business into bankruptcy. Pushed out of a business she has been in her entire adult life.
KOMO News says,
"Hair salons and barbershops in states like Georgia, West Virginia and Kansas have been allowed to reopen, shops forced to remain closed in other states, are, like Martin, feeling the economic strain under the lockdown."
Indeed they are.
And barbershops and hair salons are not unique in being labeled "non-essential."
Many small businesses are considered "non-essential" by elected officials who are not missing a single paycheck while they enforce the shutdowns of the "non-essentials."
However, not all elected officials agree.
Washington State's Snohomish County Sheriff said Tuesday he will not enforce Inslee's order.
Sheriff Adam Fortney says enforcing the Governor's order would be unconstitutional---a violation of constitutional rights.
Fortney posted on Facebook,
"To be quite honest I wasn't even sure what he was trying to say half of the time. He has no plans. He has no details. This simply is not good enough in times when we have taken such drastic measures as the suspension of constitutional rights."
The Sheriff says, "As I have previously stated, I have not carried out any enforcement for the current stay-at-home order."
He added, "Washington residents have shown they are capable of keeping themselves and their families and neighbors safe and healthy."
And he noted a number of inconsistencies in Gov. Inslee's decision making regarding who is, and who is not "essential."
He said:
"Our Governor has told us that private building construction must stop as it is non-essential, but government construction is okay to continue. So let me get this right, according to the governor, if you are employed or contracted by the government to build government things you can still make a living for your family in spite of the health risk. If you are a construction worker in the private sector, you cannot make a living and support your family because the health risk is too high."
Others are asking why are pot shops, liquor stores, and abortion shops "essential," while churches and pro-life clinics are "non-essential?"
It's because these decisions are "subjective," not, as the far Left crusaders would claim, "based on science."
Inslee is getting upset. He is now accusing President Trump of "fomenting domestic rebellion."
This isn't rebellion. It's an attempt to survive. And pay one's bills.
It's well known that one of the core principles of the Left is to never let a crisis go to waste in advancing the secular progressive agenda.
But beyond that, are the Jay Inslee's and the Kate Brown's and the Nancy Pelosi's of the world so elite and above it all that they don't know that most people can't work from home? Or don't they care?
A recent study at the University of Chicago concluded that only 37% of jobs in the United States can possibly be performed remotely. It also found that these remote jobs account for 46% of the wages.
In addition to the obsession for advancing the far Left secular progressive agenda, there is a sense of elitism---a class divide between those who work from paycheck to paycheck or run small businesses by the seat of their pants because they want to work for themselves, and securely employed, such as government bureaucrats, tenured professors and the golden-parachuted, for whom working remotely is just an "inconvenience."
The next time you see an executive on TV telling us "we're all in this together," don't believe them. We're not. They're sitting in a comfortable environment with all the necessities delivered by all those delivery people, whom they won't touch, who can't remain shut down waiting for a vaccine 18 months from now. Their rent is due. Their baby needs food--and so do they. Their car needs gas. They've got to work.
God is trying to teach us something through all this. Let's be sure we get it.
Be Informed. Be Thankful. Be Vigilant. Be Prayerful.