Salon Owners Decry ​“Dictatorship”

I will say it again.

Time for Black People to go back to there roots of Natural Hair.

Our Hair-itage - A Natural Hair Documentary (PBS Version)

https://youtu.be/lvw_PUbt1Fc

THE HISTORY OF BLACK HAIR

https://youtu.be/U48565qmqUk

Sistas with Locks - part 1

https://youtu.be/MMDbmmAdeJk

Sistas with Locks Part 2

https://youtu.be/TSMp4PhrBWo


The History of Locs: Past and Present Spiritual, Mental, and Physical Meaning of Locs

https://youtu.be/ka4XaGn9cZY


My bad.I can not leave out my Black Women With Bald Heads

19 Stunning Black Women Whose Bald Heads Will Leave You Speechless

No hair? Don't care!

https://www.essence.com/hair/black-women-bald-heads/

Well, thank you to these protesters for telling me which salons to avoid like the proverbial plague in the future.

I heard someone compare breaking distancing protocols/other health measures to drunk driving. Yeah, you may come out of it just fine, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea. And your bad decisions are likely to have severe impacts on other people.

Yell all you want about freedom, but your personal freedom doesn't include the right to make other people sick through your own negligence and poor decisions.

I go to this salon, disappointing. The owner has a horrid mouth but I like my stylist. I have gone to her many years so I decided I'd go and close my ears. Might be time to grow my hair long.

Hard pass

Well, I won't be getting my hair cut there ever again

No matter your political ideology (I have supported Lamont for the most part and voted for him), this was the wrong move. We need consistency, not backpedaling. So of course you get an extreme reaction from people like these protestors.

We have overwhelmingly met the metrics needed for a soft reopening. Not counting nursing home deaths (which was our true failure, where's that outrage?), we've had less than 1000 deaths in a state of 3 million. This is while people continued to go shopping en masse without masks until recently. This is not a death sentence for otherwise healthy people, especially under 50. Yes, there's risk, but there's risk with everything in life. Logic and data have gone out the window as the sensationalist media has driven so much angst and paranoia.

It seems like a vocal minority made this happen. That minority was saying they were being put in danger. If you don't feel safe, don't go to work, don't reopen your business. Continue to collect unemployment. And let those that spent money and prepared to open do so.

I give Lamont a lot more credit than a lot of people, but this was weak governing–plain and simple.

I was looking forward to a shave here after the lockdown. Never giving them my business again. Reckless place where I'll likely get sick at.

Stylo, I agree the Lamont is messing this up, but for different reasons. He should've never made these commitments in the first place, it's all too soon. Sure most younger people recover fine, but there's so much variability, it hits people, healthy people and kids, differently. We just don't know enough about this. All of the guidelines create an illusion of safety.

Also, the vocal minority the asked for this were stylists, they organized, petitioned and protested. How many people at this protest were shop owners? How many were the people that rent a chair at the salon?

I detest anyone who would wear a "Make America Great Again" hat and I'll never go to this salon again, but keeping the salons closed seems ridiculous. With the appropriate social distancing precautions, there's pretty big limits on how many people could really spread the virus. Let salons stay closed and people keep their hair long if they want, but some of the lockdowns in Connecticut are getting increasingly ridiculous.

Can't go back there now- disappointing

Never been to this place but I plan to go now.

Bravo for standing up to tyranny in the state of Connecticut. These businesses spent significant time and money to meet the protocols that the governor demanded. Now, they are not able to make money to cover those expenses. This is an awful move by Lamont. To date, I've stayed away from criticizing him in these tough times. But, at some point, he needs to take a stand and get the state going again.

Good evening, my name is Jason Bunce and I am the owner of Skull & Combs Co. I would like to clarify with all of you that are upset by what you are reading or seeing in this article that this gathering was held specifically to show resistance to the governors latest decision to delay salon reopening with just 48 hours to go.

The decision was based on nothing medical, or related to Covid-19 specifically. He stated the numbers have all been consistently dropping and we were still very much trending in the right direction towards reopening the economy. What you may not have read or seen is that a group of CT hairdressers had been lobbying to keep our industry from opening in phase one. Assuming this plea was for many different reasons, the ones the governor mentioned were that they were claiming to not be ready or prepared with materials or supplies.

I would never put my business in jeopardy and risk compromising my staffs ability to earn and prosper if I didn't feel that this decision was completely unfair and unjustified.

Again to clarify I did not use this event to exercise a political standpoint while others may have chose to express there's. We simply assembled to fight for something we believe was unjust and did it peacefully.

I understand we may not have showed complete obedience to the proposed social distancing and mask requirements. I apologize if that offended anyone. Please try to understand how devastating this has been for small business and how defeated we are feeling.

We're just people at the end of the day. We will always see the world slightly differently. Again I'm sorry if our gathering upset or offended you, just please believe I did not bring left vs right to this event. It was right vs wrong (which we're still ok to disagree on). I am a proud New Haven resident and hard working business owner with a family. I just wanted stand up for myself and my industry.

Thank you to these brave protestors for showing us all exactly where not to go when this is all over!

THREEFIFTHS, you are right so long, as this is what a woman wants. I'll never forget seeing Michelle Obama's real hair at the end of her husband's eight years in office. it was thrilling.

STYLO, it takes strength for a leader to change their mind when presented with different information and another point of view that they find persuasive.

Agree with everyone above that I now can strike these businesses from the places I would consider when the hairdresser I have seen for years retires.

One can fix ignorance, sometimes, but not when it is willful, especially not when it is associated with stupidity.

STYLO your statistical analysis implies that you are fine with â…“ of a 9/11 catastrophe AND COUNTING in just the first three months of the pandemic, and not counting the elderly to whom all these young hairdressers and their clients and their children and clients' children would transmit the virus (but you don't really consider that such a problem) striking a state population slightly over a third the size of NYC. In September 2001, those events turned our nation upside down. How many Covid19-associated deaths (which consistently are undercounted, even in Connecticut) would impress you?

Hey, let's protest the government not giving us any real options, instead of protesting for our right to get people sick. It shouldn't be a choice between health and safety, and making money. We need government action to address this virus, and that hasn't happened. Saying that businesses can open because there are empty hospital beds doesn't mean it's safe now. The government needs to bail out small businesses and their employees while it remains unsafe to open, until there are better treatments and a vaccine. Instead we get this bs, and people being forced and pressured to go back to work and reopen

Article Needs Correcting:

cellar & pizza: Really? We are going to wait until there is a vaccine? The shortest possible time will be six months, and it may be several years. Are we to keep printing money for years? No, hair cutters should not be in phase one. It is impossible to social distance, and the service is pretty much completely non-essential and frivolous. Maybe we just need to stop being vain. Other high risk work, though, such as medical and dental procedures need to resume. Small shops should open, as they are rarely crowded. Life will need to resume. People will get sick, and some will die, but people do that for various reasons anyway. We lived with polio and measles without shutting down the country, we can do the same with CoVID-19, especially the percentage of he population which is susceptible is reduced. A phased opening, with more essential or lower risk activities opening first will help prevent spikes in cases. As it is, people are ignoring the stay-at-home message, I note road traffic is about 70% of pre-pandemic levels now, up from about 5% in mid-March.

They think a mild inconvenience and being asked to consider other people's safety a dictatorship? These people have no idea what tyranny is. These people want freedom, but really don't want to bother with the responsibility that comes with it.

The MAGA hats have everything to do with it because right wingers continue to attempt to make a scientific issue backed by historical data, into a political issue. Get an f-Ing clue right wingers.
Keep your distance.
Stay at home.

1644 and others, yes really. We've printed money for corporate bailouts, twice in nearly a decade, while fighting never-ending wars. We can bail out working people while we address a global pandemic.

Hardships experienced in the past aren't a reason to suffer through them again in the present. How do you protect a vulnerable population while opening things back up? There's no school, no childcare, are their parents supposed to do it? How are small businesses going to handle customers that don't follow safety guidelines? Ok, elderly people don't go get their hair done, but young people that are going out will run into them at home or at the grocery store. Your take is essentially "if you're scared stay home," it's a cruel one, and not everyone has that privilege.

No one is offended by this poorly organized and demonstrated protest, you just look dumb. A shitty apology won't repair the damage you've done to your brand. Actual workers organized and pressured Lamont to rethink this. How many stylists were here vs how many owners?


It's a partisan issue along with a leadership issue. Who wore the maga hats and used trump campaign phrasing? Neither party is offering viable options, both are telling us to go back to work when it's still unsafe..nothing has really changed in the past two months except now there's empty hospital beds for new people to die in, those are the statistics you are mentioning.

I hope the owner will self isolate for 14 days after his exposure yesterday. I feel for the stylists and staff that were responsible by not attending thinking of their client's well-being.

Takes a ton of privilege to call losing your entire livelihood a "minor inconvenience".

Well, the owner and the stylists should have known that New Haven like the rebel logo but actually acting out against Dear Ned, how dare you.

I notice that these protesters are in the street, impeding traffic. What are that chances that if this was a BLM matter rally, these same people would be in the comments threatening to "mow them down" and saying that their right to protest shouldn't slow them down on the road? I wager they are pretty high.

To the owner of this salon piping in and saying that you didn't mean to make it political - by aligning yourself with those wearing political gear, you did exactly that. It has been well documented that those staging these types of protests are on a specific side of the political spectrum. The only way for you to have avoided making this political was to not host the rally in the first place. You claim that Lamont's decision is biases and arbitrary - it was based on an industry association organizing, gather signatures, and asking him not to open salons yet. If you disagree with them, you can organize and do the same!

People aren't "offended" by your rally, they are pissed off and concerned. By flouting social distancing & mask guidelines, you are essentially advertising to your customers and the community that you don't support science or care about possibly contributing to the spread of the disease. One could take this line of thinking further and then question what other health and safety guidelines your salon might be willing to overlook. You might as well put a flashing neon sign in your window saying "we don't care, as long as we make money". Great advertising campaign, I'm sure it will work well. You are well within your rights to disagree with the delay of salon openings, but the date got pushed back 11 days. To gather in the street like this is petulant.

@noteworthy exactly what type of day care arrangements do you expect stylists to be able to make? Schools and daycare centers remain closed. Social distancing is still being recommended - meaning grandma, grandpa, a nanny, or a babysitter that doesn't already live with you are not viable options.

Pizza Dust All-Star: Those past bailouts were aimed at getting the economy up and moving again, and teh endless wars were financed with a working economy, too. We did not shut the economy down for five years. Yes, we do need re-open the schools. Many parents simply are not capable of homeschooling their children, and unlike;ike city yankee, most do not take 12 years off to raise each child.
Regarding elderly people not getting their hair down, in her latter years my mother relied on her hairdresser to wash her hair, something she was physically incapable of doing. The elderly and disabled are some of teh few people who actually need a hairdresser or barber. The rest of us can cut our own hair or have a spouse/friend do it. No one needs to have their hair straightened or curled, or colored, or sculpted into spikes, etc. If anything, I would feel pretty safe having my "stylist" come to my house and cut my hair on my sunny deck outside (winter is another matter!). Tattoo parlors and nail salons did not exist before 1980, so we can live without them.
I am more concerned with keeping nursing homes in lockdown. For five years? How cruel. Then, there are dentists. Do we need regular exams and cleanings, or not? For all my life, dentists and hygienists have told me how important they are, and those who differ dental care risk death, yet now the hygienists don't want to do cleanings. Do we ban sugar? And what of physical, occupational, and speech therapy?

A private Facebook group, CT Stylists for Late Stage Openings, was created on May 5 as an organizing and communication tool. It had 3,672 members as of Monday. Many had urged the administration to delay the opening, saying there were too many questions about whether they could resume business without endangering clients or themselves.

What are these people talking about - "Liberty or Tyranny? And, "Make Salons Great Again!"

What was wrong with them before?

This seems to be a fringe trump group because there are 3,672 members of CT Stylists for Late Stage Openings - their own colleagues - that DO NOT AGREE WITH THEM!

Make People Read Again

These salon owners can put on MAGA caps, but not masks?

I have seen only 2 people at this protest wearing a mask.

So that tells you right there that they have no idea what it means to keep their customers safe.

I would not risk getting the virus by going to the Massimo Salon because if he looked around and saw that the majority of those protesting did not even wear masks, then he is one of THEM and he does not understand the safety measures needed to protect others.

And, he is associating himself with people who are talking about Tyranny and whatever? That's what they do at trump rallies.

1644, the bailouts like the wars were funded by tax payers! So here we go writing checks to wealthy corporations, while giving wealthy people even more tax breaks as the wealth of the wealthiest continues to grow exponentially. Then, we tell working class people, servers chefs and hair stylists, that they have to go back to work, does that seem fair to you? People should not be put in the position where they have to jeopardize theire health of others in order to make ends meet. And we don't have to, the money is there, just not for working people for some reason. We should all be out in the streets protesting, but not for this.

Let's ask parents how safe they feel sending their kids back to school, and let's ask teachers how safe they feel about going back to work before we decide to reopen the schools.

Pizza Dust All-Star...I couldn't agree with you more, but what you are describing is the nature of capitalism.

I don't believe the problem is the capitalists. The problem is us by letting them rob us blind. By our in action, we let them do this while they stay snug in their gated mansions, 100 foot yachts, French chateaux, etc.

They are not the source of power to change our system to create a level playing field that benefits the majority. We are.

They are not going to give us anything, even if we demand it with millions going poo-poo on the White House Lawn.

Power concedes nothing without a demand and until the American people come to believe they can change the system, then they are part of the problem. That includes you and me.

I don't blame the American people, however, they don't understand class because it is not taught in the public schools. So, to me, that is why many do not believe change is possible. Of course it is.

Working people know the level of their own exploitation. Again, the capitalists are not going to give us back what they have already stolen from us.

They steal from us because they can.

I have the greatest respect for the working people of this country. They are our finest because they run this country with the sweat of their brow, making the rich, richer and taking it on the chin.

But, like the virus pandemic, it doesn't have to be that way.

I encourage everyone to read Congressman Dan Crenshaw's thoughtful opinion piece in the WSJ 'Why Does Reopening Polarize Us?" (he also posted it to his Instagram for those who can't get behind the paywall)

Just because someone disagrees with you, it doesn't mean they want to kill your grandma or cause you to lose your business. This country would be a lot better place if we stopped attributing bad motives to those who disagree with us.

@ElmCityLover You're right, people's motives may not be malicious, but that does not mean their actions are free of consequences. And sometimes those consequences are spreading a novel virus that can cause severe illness and death.

WOW. I am amazed at some of these comments. People are talking about politics, about safety, about money and illness. I respect everyone's opinion but for all of you to bash this mans business or to assume you know what he was thinking or feeling is just absurd. I truly want to know how many of you on here are working and still getting a paycheck? How many of you are collecting unemployment and are able to feed your family and pay your bills? How many of you have a job to go back to because you are not self employed and are not about to loose everything? This man worked hard for what he has and he is ready to open. He is not able to control all salons just his own. He called for solidarity to reopen a business that he built with HIS money HIS sweat and tears. All of the judgemental people who will assume that he will put his customers at risk are doing just that, ASSUMING so then do not go to his salon. This is a CHOICE people. If you dont want to be in out in the public then DON'T. As for the people that worked in his salon and choose not to go back, well again that is your choice, but show some respect for the person that kept you employed and not bite the hand that fed you.... I hope that everyone sees how badly this situation is affecting our humanity towards each other. Our common respect and kindness towards others, we need to step up and help each other. That begins with allowing people to make their own choices without hate. Be safe Skull and Combs, good luck and God Bless.

@CaNtBeLieVeTheMadNess

Exactly.

@CaNtBeLieVeTheMadNess You're right, this situation is affecting our humanity towards each other. But that's about all you're right about.

Imagine you saw someone holding a sign reading, "MY CAR, MY CHOICE, Let Me Drink & Drive. My Feelings > Your Life". You'd think it was completely absurd and understand that individual liberties (drinking and driving) are outweighed by the consequences (deaths) and that the societal good must override the individual choices in that case.

Covid-19 is the same thing. The fact that these protesters cannot see that and are becoming hostile toward those who are telling them that they can't proverbially drink and drive is telling about their respect and common decency towards others.

@Goatville Lady. I don't believe you can truly compare drinking and driving to COVID 19. There is no impared thinking here. The salon owners have met all state mandated guidelines to keep people safe and are ready to move forward. People that are going into these salons are doing so by their choice. The salon owners are not putting the publics lives at stake by opening the doors, the people that walk through those doors are taking responsibility for thier own health and well being. The societal good is maintained by choosing the path they want to take. Also I did not see hostility, just common, hard working people trying to express their feelings in a public forum. Everyone has a right to their opinion and they were expressing theirs. There was no attack, frustration maybe! We can go back and forth for days but in the end people need to be able to make a choice as to weather or not they are going to begin to venture out or maintain their at home status, it can go both ways but we need to deal with this because it is not going away.

@cant believe

You say 'This man worked hard for what he has and he is ready to open'

By ignoring distancing and not wearing masks, this is no longer true, even if it was before.

@CaNtBeLieVeTheMadNess Of course, we can't all just stay home all the time, so there will always be some risk, but it's about minimizing it. None of the guidelines keep us safe; they just decrease the likelihood of transmission and the more careful we are, the more successful we'll be. All of this is about collective effort, and we can't win if we don't think of it that way. So, yes, the analogy of drunk driving stands. The "people that walk through those doors" are NOT simply "taking responsibility for their own health and well being." They are choosing to increase the potential exponential spread of an incredibly contagious disease, and that impacts EVERYONE. If another 11 days makes it more likely that more salons will be actually be ready and not just opening because of the pressure to do so, it's more than reasonable.

To Goatville Lady, You are exactly right. In fact, on the YouTube show, "The Fifth Column" the commentator said, what you just said. He said, if I drink a bottle of whisky and go out and drive, it's my right, but in fact I would be endangering everyone
including myself. And, he was talking about people like 45 not wearing masks.

If the Salon owners were REALLY protesting about not being able to open, why didn't their signs read,

"MY SALON WILL BE ULTRA SAFE", or

"I WILL BE THE SAFEST SALON ON THE BLOCK" or

'THEY DON''T CALL ME MR. CLEAN FOR NOTHING" or whatever.

NO, I SEE TRUMP SLOGANS ON THOSE SIGNS. I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT OPENING UP SAFELY.

A private Facebook group, CT Stylists for Late Stage Openings, was created on May 5 as an organizing and communication tool. It had 3,672 members as of Monday. Many had urged the administration to delay the opening, saying there were too many questions about whether they could resume business without endangering clients or themselves.

These salon are out of sync with 3,672 other salon owners who believe it is not safe to open.

I just learned that my Salon will not open until June 1st. I am not surprised, and I will go there because by opening on June 1st, they are in sync with the thousands who think that having to wait a few days is not that much to ask.

Common people! You are out there to promote trump...you're confusing your First Amendment Right to free speech with a safe and effective Public Health Precaution.

I think if our Governor (like some of the others in the middle of the country) did NOT pay attention to the science and opened up everything too early and people (possibly YOU) started getting sick, then you would be out there protesting that he is putting you and your customers at risk.

Go ahead open your shop...see how many people show up.

Join CT Stylists for Late Stage Openings...because you are way out of line with the responsible Salon owners in this State.

Shame on you!

Goatville Lady: It's more akin to driving per se, than drunk driving. Driving is dangerous, and drivers endanger themselves and others by driving. Yet, there is social good in driving. Here, we are balancing two social goods: allowing people to engage in gainful employment, providing a service that people value, and the dangers of providing that service. The value of the service is easy to quantify and monetize. The social cost is diffuse and uncertain. In Korea, which has had good contact tracing, it has been religious services which have been the super-spreader events, not hairdressers. (In particular, one denomination sent members to other church's services to recruit converts.)

@ wesunidad I see your angry...in the end, once again its a CHOICE that you cannot take away from others because of your opinion. I would like to understand what the difference is between now and June 1...What will change....The virus will still be here, we will still have to social distance, not sure if there will be a vaccine. I would like to hear from you in 6/1 and see if there is some other reason not to open. I want to be clear, I am not a salon owner, actually I am an essential worker that collects a paycheck each and every week. That is the reason why I will not judge people that want to open their businesses. I see that the right to opinion only works if it is yours so I guess shame on you. Good luck to you and I wish you well.

There is no good way to socially distance while working in a salon, but there are precautions that can be taken to make it as safe as possible. I support the right of hairdressers to protest the retraction of the May 20th reopening of salons as the entire approach to their reopening clearly didn't ask for a variety of salon workers from diverse communities input along with medical/scientific virus experts as to the best way to make it safer while reopening. BUT, if I see salon workers protesting without masks, not staying 6 feet apart, blocking traffic, and wearing and/or displaying political language and imagery on their signs and clothing, that tells me I can't trust that they are going to take virus protection measures seriously. Therefore I can't trust them to style my hair, because they are making a risky virus encounter even more unsafe. I for one, will be letting my hair grow and not letting my vanity override my good sense by risking my health for a haircut. I'd rather be shaggy than dead or deathly ill.

if there is an automotive analogy, it is NOT drinking and driving. It is speeding. Each year millions of people worldwide (tens of thousands in the US) die in auto accidents. We know that speed is the biggest factor in whether an accident is fatal. We also know that an enforced speed limit of 10 mph would eliminate 99.9% of fatalities. So, if we are a compassionate society, why don't we set and enforce a 10mph speed limit?

Think about it...this is almost exactly what we are facing in these government-driven shutdowns.

Pizza: if the wars and bailouts were funded by federal taxpayers, they were funded by the top half of earners. Have you forgotten Romney's 47% remark? The lower middle and lower classes pay no federal income tax, and teh lower classes even get more back than they pay through the earned income tax credit.

Lookout: Good analogy, because right now, our economy is going about 10 mph, when it should be 60 mph.

CaNtBeLieVeTheMadNess- It appears that you didn't read what I wrote about the thousands of salon owners who did not want to open on May 20th and asked the Governor to move the date to June 1st. Here is the quote from the "CT Mirror".

This is what 3,672+ salon owners and stylist said to the Governor -

A private Facebook group, CT Stylists for Late Stage Openings, was created on May 5 as an organizing and communication tool. It had 3,672 members as of Monday. Many had urged the administration to delay the opening, saying there were too many questions about whether they could resume business without endangering clients or themselves.

CaNtBeLieVeTheMadNess- It is not my opinion that matters here in regard to the protesters. It is the option of the 3,672+ colleagues of THEIRS who decided they didn't want to open on May 20th.

It is not about dictatorship, tyranny, etc., that's the rhetoric of people who are promoting trumps.

If they were genuinely committed to opening where were the signs that helped them get this message out? There were non.

They could wear MAGA caps, but not face masks? That shows you right there that they know nothing about how dangerous this virus is. And, would anyone want to go to a place with an owner like that? Not me!

MAGA is a myth. What are they talking about when they display MAGA? Do their brains light up with a vision of an idea their Mothers and Fathers and Grandparents gave them about how wonderful this country was years ago?

What specifically are they DOING to MAGA that supports a vision in their head that doesn't and never existed? It's a pipe dream, a feely good feeling idea, it's like eating mangos naked, keeping toys in the bathtub, and spinning yourself dizzy.

A dream of what they THINK it was like in the 1950s? MAGA is a myth...it is a fabricated vision of nothing - a time and place that never existed.

Let me know when they actually DO something.

Thanks!

The New York Times this evening is running a staggering piece about the difference a day, or week, or two weeks can make in the death toll of a pandemic. @1644, I haven't noticed you indulging in straw-man arguments before: I didn't propose that we remain in lockdown until a vaccine is available. And you conclude your comments above by agreeing that accelerated reopening of hair salons is unwise. So I'm not sure what is motivating you in this discussion. But it doesn't seem to be public health.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/us/coronavirus-distancing-deaths.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

Lookout,

You made a terrible analogy.

In 2019, there were 38,800 fatalities from car accidents in the United States. Automobile travel is an enduring trait of our economy; it isn't something that is going away with a vaccine or better treatment. So the economic costs of 10 mph would be something that we'd have to live with indefinitely. We can and do make cars safer for travel, however.

COVID-19 has killed 93,806 people in just around two months. Of course, the fatalities are likely to increase exponentially without proper restrictions given the nature of contagion and limitations of hospitals in treating large numbers of patients. Moreover, everything in our history tells us this will be a temporary phenomenon that can be likely solved with a vaccine or at least better treated. So the scale of deaths and the scale of time are completely different.

But, then again, why not use sloppy metaphors to advocate for policies that have hundreds of thousands if not millions of lives at stake? Sure seems like a good way to support your current leader.

Cellardoor: Your comment, Pizza's, and others imply that no deaths, or even illnesses, from Wuhan CoVid-19/SARS 2.0 are acceptable. BevHills accepts highway fatalities, even though we may get safer self-driving cars that reduce driver error in the indefinite future, but insists that we was an indefinite time for a vaccine. The fastest a vaccine was ever developed was mumps, when a big, bad Pharma scientist decided to create one after his daughter had mumps. It took about three years, I believe. We still do not have a vaccine for HIV/AIDS. We need to accept illnesses and deaths from CoViD-19, just as we accept highway deaths (actually up in the lockdown, as people are driving faster). We cannot wait indefinitely for a vaccine.
Regarding salons re-opening, Lamont was honest that placing them in phase I was a political, not science-based, decision. He just said, "People really care about salons." The two week delay makes no sense based on since. Given that any rise in the number of infections, a bump in an otherwise fast "curve". would take at least there weeks to be recognized, pacing the re-opening phasing at four weeks makes sense. We shall re-open some stuff now, and watch the hospitalization and rates. If they peak, we delay or reverse some re-openings. If they continue to decline or are at least flat, we can continue with re-openings. This disease is endemic, we need to learn to live with it.

@1644 I agree that we must re-open some businesses slowly and cautiously.

But this article is about a bunch of stylists throwing a tantrum about an 11 day delay of the re-opening of salons (which almost everyone on here agrees should not have been in phase 1 to begin with). They are within their rights to be upset and throw a tantrum - PRIVATELY. Not shoulder to shoulder, maskless, in road, ignoring all social distancing guidelines.

Lookout - Question. D you read?

It appears that you are expressing your opinion (as trump often does) without FACTS.

In "The CT Mirror" May 18, 2020 there was an article about why the May 20th opening did not happen for salons.

Try reading this...FACT

A private Facebook group, CT Stylists for Late Stage Openings, was created on May 5 as an organizing and communication tool. It had 3,672 members as of Monday. Many had urged the administration to delay the opening, saying there were too many questions about whether they could resume business without endangering clients or themselves.

Lemont did not make a "tyrannical", dictatorial, decision to delay opening the salons on May 20th - he was informed by an organization called CT Stylists for Last Stage Openings that includes at least 3,672 members!

So the protesters were not protesting to open because not one of their signs pertained to how they were going to keep their customers safe. At least I did not see one.

And, carrying guns? Someone told me that (and I did not see this) some in the protest showed up with guns.

Were there salon operators there carrying high powered rifles? If so, are we supposed to assume that there will be someone with a high powered rifle standing outside/inside these salons now? Please advise.

MAGA is a myth...based on an idea of something that NEVER existed, an idea, a pipe dream.

Yeah, I think I will avoid patronizing Skull & Bones in the future. While the owner's comment here is polite, you can read between the lines.

"Oh I am sorry if our protest wasn't totally OBEDIENT, or if that OFFENDED you."

Uh huh.

It does not offend me that a bunch of you stood around with no masks in close quarters claiming Ned Lamont is a "dictator" (oh, the irony!).

What bothers me is that deep down I know you think Governor Lamont is trying to control you and this whole thing about masks is about obedience and not safety. I hear you. I hear you loud and clear.

That's fine. You didn't want to wait the extra 20 days, I understand that, you have a lot of money at stake, this is a small business and I am sure it hurts like hell. You want to support your family.

But I don't need to support businesses that imply that decisions they disagree with are somehow a dictatorship or that your rights have been trampled on. This is an extremely complex subject. Literally none of us have ever lived through something like this in our lifetime. We don't know what the "right" answer is.

So when you imply that our Governor is somehow screwing you over to in some authoritarian power grab, or that they're just trying to help your competitors or something... meh. I just can't.

And my sense is it's almost never good business to start politicizing your business. Especially in an very, very liberal city like New Haven.

My guess is the business is going to suffer quite a lot more from the pro-MAGA rhetoric than it would've by waiting 20 days, but time will tell. Good luck to you and your business.

Next time, I'll be more likely to believe "we'll follow all proper safety precautions" if even like 30% of you wore masks.

Hello everyone,thank you to everyone that shared their opinions.I think it's very important to try and understand all the different point of views everyone has.The people who are insulting have thier Own agenda that may or may not make sense. I personally have taken This virus very serious and completely agree to all the safety measures that are mandated.If you go on Salon Massimo's Facebook page you will see all the extra safety precautions taken that are not mandated.This Virus is very real and safety should not be taken lightly.There has been a few people in my life that the virus reached.A lot of comments are so political and that's not what this is all about."So pls stop ".If your salon is not safe don't go,grow your hair what ever,that's your right. I can only speak on behalf of the safety measures that salon massimo has in place. I can Guarantee you that if you went to any other store in our state of ct or pump gas then you really should not want to keep others closed,salon massimo I'm sure is safer then the package store that you walked into or grocery store you shop at,or Home Depot's you walked into.this is not to y you're opions but have you check your thoughts and insults on others.the insult on our government, at that point Lamont based it on 100 hair stylists,there are 24,000 licensed cosmetologist in the state of ct.the state board test of cosmetology is based on 90% health and sanitation.out of all the open business out there we are the most qualified on killing germs.so to me my opinion is that the reason was more of being able to control us versus safety.Here is the biggest problem that none of the negative responds really understand is that the 3,600 Styist that don want to go back is because most of them not all are getting cash for cutting and coloring hair in their homes or garages(talk about being safe) not reallyit's pretty dangerous to everyone.plus they are not paying taxes on that money and also collecting all that money from unemploymen

BetweenTwoRocks: The delay is actually 11 days. It is hard to interpret that delay as anything else but a desire to help the salons that say they are not ready at the expense of those that are. Those 4K salons themselves don't say that they cannot reopen safely, or should be stage 3, or 4 or never, just that they have not prepared to reopen.

Safety/Massimo: I would feel safer in my garage than in a shared space like a salon. I would feel safest getting my haircut on my sunny deck, where it is just the "stylist" and I. In any case, you are way fancier than my remaining hair needs, but I may book an appointment with you just as a show of support. Besides, I saved hundreds of the past few weeks not getting my haircut.
Overall, lots of TDS here as usual.

to Safety Matters...thank you for a bigger picture of the situation that's going on with salon owners and staff.

You made it clear that you are very upset because in addition to all that you have to deal with surrounding your reopening, you also have the worry of people close to you with the virus. I do hope they recover their health as soon as possible.

I agree with you that politics should have been kept out of this, however, if when you approached this rally and saw that there were some there wearing MAGA (MAGA being a myth like the story of Humpty Dumpty) caps and with issues on posters that had nothing to do with your reopening like dictatorship, tyranny, etc., you should have walked away.

I did not see any signs that assured me that this group was anything but a bunch of trump crazies attacking the Governor. The issues you mentioned today, were the issues that should have gotten out there such as the level of effort being made to make people being safe in your shop.

If it were me, as a salon owner approaching this group, I would have run away from them as fast as humanly possible. That is unless you don't understand that the trump "message" using the MAGA cap at that rally might be offensive to some of your customers. Here, you made a bad decision for your salon unless you TOO were there to support tyranny, dictatorship and trump. That's what I would have thought. You were with them. You appeared to be one of them. You made a bad judgment and you may pay dearly for it.

I think being a salon owner or the owner of a small business serving the public means you have to be really, really careful about being neutral when it comes to politics - especially as trump continues his "divide and conquer" strategy with the American people. You might be aware that the majority of people in CT seem to hate trump.

With the media, the message is in sound bites and images.

People will probably remember that they saw that you were there with trump supporters.

Thank you 1644, your deck fine.problem is that across the street from a good friend of mine had his garage packed with people getting their hair done,totally unsafe.that's the danger.plus it's a slap in the face and embarrassing to our industry.possibly a big reason why our industry got the raw end of this,and reasons why someone like Lamont felt he can get away with infringing on our democracy. This should be concerning to everyone not just hair salons.After rallying and protesting I felt like no one really wanted to listen to us anyway.Sooo I put together a group of representatives from my home town of Branford and expressed my concerns about where are all the voices from them ,for us the people.We need them to speak up for what's right and wrong.No matter whatPolitical party ,just how do they feel about this.from my senate district leader (Democrat) to my town first selectmen (Republican) both felt the same way in their words"Lamont was wrong"when I asked Cohen to pls speak up for us she said no that's not how this works.i did get support from Bradford so we decided to put together a peaceful gathering to sign a positive petition on the Branford green Sunday (tomorrow) At 11:00 to reassure us a safe opening on June 1st no matter what! Of course unless it has to do with health.we need a lot of signatures so everyone will be invited. I really don't trust this governor for may 20 was the 3rd time he changed the opening.This is peaceful and safe so pls if you attend keep 6ft distance and wear a mask.We don't wanna bash or insult or hurt anyone we just want our rights as people no matter what party anyone belongs to. Sincerely Massimo

Well I guess our voices have been heard.When you believe in what's right and you stick together our voice will be louder.Normally It seems small groups of people get together and speak loud, The bigger groups always seem to stay quiet. This time it seems that the majority stood together and united. Normally the larger groups are to busy working really hard and don't have the time to get into political games. Unfortunately for a lot of smaller groups this time we were not working and we were there to stand up for our rights and we were louder and prouder and fair Then smaller groups .we will open or salons in Connecticut in the safest possible way.icant wait to see everyone on June 1. Live safe live beautiful.sincerely Massimo

Satety matters...I agree with you that your voices were heard, but as long as your group appears in the press with only 100 people carrying tyranny and democracy signs, and worse still, wearing MAGA hats the issue you are passionate about - your safe, clean and ready salons got lost.

You along with this group have politicized the issue in the way that trump has politicized the virus. And, because of that approach, to me and perhaps many others, you don't seem to have a clue as to how power works.

Real power.

Plus, it was not clear what you expected to accomplish. Did you want the Gov to change the opening date?

In my estimation the most important thing you could have done was to first approach those 3,600+ others who are organized and who wanted a slow opening. Those are your real allies. You needed to convince them that they should join you because when you speak in an organized way along with almost 4,000 people instead of a hundred as was seen in the press, then you then have real power.

Then, Lamont will listen to you.

Sure, of those 3,600+ Slow Opening folks some are making money on the side, and you're not. You're angry. So?

Get smart. Use that anger to organize that group. They are your allies.

Then the next time, you feel Lamont is not treating your profession fairly, he might listen to you if you show up at the Capitol with 4,000 people and a real program explaining your issues (speakers, etc.) demanding what you need.
While that 4,000 are there, get their names and keep them in the loop.

Your town reps? They know what works. Get 4,000+ people on the Green in Branford and they will listen.

That's real power.





t must have been really disappointing to you since you have worked sooo hard to make sure your salon will be safe. I believe it will be. So go with the flo. Open on June 1st.

However, and I alluded to this before...I believe if you align yourself with MAGA red hat lunatics, you will again be branded as "trump"

My man,the problem is that some of you can't even see the political corruption behind this.So I guess it is political.we had over 7,000 signatures on a petition in 1 day.estimated 4,000 people showing up in the Branford green to simply stop this governor from changing the start date again on salons opening.This governor changed our start date for the 3rd time.btw you seem angry when people where hats,why would you care what people where? Makes no sense.I am all of the above angry,worried,sad,confused that our government can disregard us like that not because of any slogans

Safety Matters...Where was it in the press about the 4,000 people who showed up on the Green on Sunday?

I'd be interested to know.

And why do you think some of us do not understand political corruption when we see it?

It's in the news every day. Just look at the White House...the money maker for the trump family lives there...using his private enterprises to feather his nest. He said "drain the swamp". What a laugh. He enlarged the swamp and he's a big part of it.

FYI I do not see corruption in what the Governor did in changing the dates. He may have been influenced by your colleagues, the 3,600+ other salon owners/stylists who do not agree with you.

Changing the dates was cruel and unjust to those of you work in this profession. I agree with you. However, that is not corruption. Corruption is when the Governor himself makes money off decisions he makes like trump does.
He's even making money off he virus.

How can the government ignore you? Where have you been? He absolutely can because you did not understand the kind of power needed to stop him. Organize. You need a union.

As a business owner, you need to stay neutral. Period. People at your protest wearing hats are not just wearing hats and if you can't see that they were wearing MAGA hats and you don't understand the significance of that,
then you need to educate yourself about the hatred that trump provokes.

My advice is that you need to do the hard work of educating yourself about doing the hard work that gives you the power needed to make change.

This is a quote from another writer on this website - in fact several contributors said this.

"No one is offended by this poorly organized and demonstrated protest, you just look dumb. A shitty apology won't repair the damage you've done to your brand. Actual workers organized and pressured Lamont to rethink this. How many stylists were here vs how many owners?"

I'll add MAGA is a myth and symbol of trump. If that's your brand, good luck!

Safety Matters...

You said,

"My man,the problem is that some of you can't even see the political corruption behind this.So I guess it is political.we had over 7,000 signatures on a petition in 1 day.estimated 4,000 people showing up in the Branford green,,,

I just spoke with the Branford Police and they said that there was no protest on the Green yesterday and there certainly wasn't 4,000 people there. They said if there were, they would have known about it.

So, who's lying. You or the Branford Police?

We did not have to have the gathering on the Branford green!!!! A estimated 4,000 people were showing up.our Branford reps and the East shore health department spoke to our government and reassured us that we will open on June 1st no matter what.(of course if it's a health reason that makes sense it would be understood).they asked us to reconsider the gathering because of the support they are giving us.At that point no need to gather anymore to prove a point.We were all in agreement.Maybe you can help us out and start something for hairdressers?let me know if you're interested.BTW I did not put together that rally in New Haven,and maybe it wasn't perfect but I give my colleagues a hand for at least trying (right or wrong)it was at least a effort.Most of us just love doing the art of our craft,watching people smile with a twinkle in their eye,seeing on how great they look and feel .At least that's why I love being a stylist.I hope that you spoke out to Lamont on his make no sense decisions..I personally don't pass judgments on what people wear or what political parties they like,I care less.Those people at that rally we're mostly Democrats the salon industry is mostly Democrat (But not anymore) I've heard from Multiple of African-American, Latino and woman's groups that they would never vote for that party again.Super bad move from Lamont and our state senate reps. I will not keep going back and forth on this.Im truly happy just going back to work on the first of June.Thankyou for bringing light to certain things that would make a lot of sense for the hair industry.

Allowing barbers and hair salons to open is not a requirement and a forcing of them to open. Each business can make their own decisions and determination as to whether to open or not open.

The dis-allowing of a business to open should be based on science and not fear. Can you imagine if you were not allowed to drive because you could get into an accident. Just as business make decisions on how to do what they do, customers also make choices on whether to partake in this participatory activity of grooming; there is no law that says that a person is obligated to get a haircut and a person can make choices where to go to get their hair cut.

What people are protesting more is government intervention into a mundane activity because government fears that service providers would be reckless and consumers would be reckless as well. Government fears recklessness and intervenes by shutting businesses down and this is what people are protesting.

If government fears people will get killed in car accidents will government close the highways and ban driving? Some 50,000 people die on the average every year from car accidents. People risk death crossing a street in New Haven so does government issue a ban on street crossing by pedestrians? How about smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol? Should government ban cigarettes and alcohol sales based on fear of injury?

This protest wasn't about cutting hair as it was about government intervention based on government's fear of injury. Truthfully, there is no vaccine and there is no proven medicine to cure COVID-19 so opening up places now instead of later where people meet is risky and only customers should be left to make that decision instead of having government intervene.

okaragozian1...Your comparisons are not comparisons. Car accidents are not viruses.

"I think that's a false equivalency to compare traffic accidents with — I mean, that's totally way out," Anthony S. Fauci, a leading voice on the president's coronavirus task force, said Friday. "That's really a false equivalency."

How do you or anyone know how many people in the U.S. will die in one year of the virus? You don't know,
so how can a comparison be made?

Your analogy is false on another level because the bounds of the virus are not similar to that of car accidents.
Car accidents and the virus are two different public health problems.

Car accidents can be avoided with stricter enforcement of traffic oversight and laws and public participation in a driver safety education effort, however, this virus knows no bounds it is everywhere throughout the world.

Yes, our public policy from the bad government has proven effective. Social distancing, wearing masks and washing hands and surfaces helps contain the spread from person to person.

Here are other ways that car accidents and the virus are NOT equivalents.

Car accidents are usually on highways, you don't catch a car accident from someone else.

Young children under driving age can't drive, but they can get the virus.

Car accident rates can be reduced.

We have ways to reduce the spread of the virus, but not in the same was as reducing car accidents.

If car accidents increased 100-fold in 2 weeks time, as the virus did, a similar increase in car deaths would be an serious public health problem. At that point wouldn't most people want the CDC and/or our Federal and State governments to step in with some public health policy to stop them?

As Dr. Fauci points out...car accidents and the virus are not equivalent comparisons.

wesunidad:.

Your counterargument isn't on-point.

Are you trying to say that the passage of 2 or 3 weeks if time will reduce the coronavirus infection rate? If, infact you believe this fallacy, then why bother opening up on May 20 - let's just wait to open the beginning of June instead!

My arguments regarding government intervention are quite analogous:. Government intervenes to protect. But my objection is that the intervention by Government is implausible in the case of barbers and hair salons is not grounded in sound reasoning.

There is no evidence or even a hint that coronavirus will "all-of-the-sudden" be less infectious in the early part of June as opposed to May 20. Specifically, if 50% of salons are ready to open (because they have prepared precautionary procedures and have sufficient supplies for disinfection and PPE) and 50% are not ready to open should then all salons be banned from opening?

I'm not sure you are really aware as to why business were really closed. The fear was that social interaction would increase coronavirus infection thus overwhelming the medical care system. Once medical care rates stabilized and reduced, business openings are slowly permitted to open for the only purpose so not to put too much strain on the medical system.

Now, all of the sudden, opening/closing decisions are being made as to which salons are ready to open and which are inot ready to open. That is wrong. Individual salons determine readiness not the Governor. The Governor has 100 letters and 100 phone calls out of a total of 1000 salons and he decides to keep all 1000 salons closed. The Governor should allow all the salons to open and then individual salons can determine if they want to open or not because the individual salons can determine their own preparedness.

People who believe that coronavirus will magically disappear or become less infectious in the begining of June and that's why salons can open in the begining of June instead of May 20 are not thinking rationally.

The Governor's intervention into business operations is permitted when it's rational not when such intervention is based on nonsensical grounds of "Well, some salons are not ready so I'll keep them all closed." premise. Having a small group of noisy salons close down all salons because the Governor what's to appease a small group of whinning whiners is really an abuse of his powers.

Remember, coronavirus will not disappear or reduce infectability the beginning of June! The Governor is keeping all salons closed just because a few salons have not yet fully prepared to open. That is wrong.

Remember, an allowance to open is not a forcible order mandating opening. Just because salons are allowed to open doesn't mean all salons must open; salons can choose to stay closed if they wish.

okaragozian1...You make some very good points in your last two missives.

To clarify, no, I never, ever thought the virus would go away by June 1st. And about 24 States are today reporting the highest amounts of cases and deaths...that's almost half of the U.S.!

This is way from over, and I just hope that people do not let down their guard and start assuming it is.

In fact, after reading some history on the 1918 flu, if the Coronavirus is anything like that, experts say we will have a resurgence that is even worse than what we are going through now.

Hard to imagine, but China gave us a gift...the gift of time, and 45 sat on his ass and did nothing. That's gone and we've lost way too many people. As someone said to me, "Trump has blood on his hands." There is no denying that.

This pandemic did not need to happen (look at what New Zealand did) and your profession is suffering beyond belief due to the mishandling of the pandemic starting with trump himself. He was warned time after time and documents exist to prove this. It's not a hoax, it's not Lysol pumped into people...all coming from the mouth of a man who has lost and who is going down.

Anyway, I have empathy for you and your colleagues - we depend on you. It is not your fault and as you've reported, you are all going through a living hell.

However, I don't agree with your point about each business deciding for themselves. If we don't have a public health policy what are we supposed to do...start calling area salons to ask each of them what they have done? Doesn't make sense to me.

Unfortunately, life is not fair. Hopefully, most of you will be able to laugh this off and go on, focused on your craft and your customers.

My only advice is that change is certain, and maybe it's time for salon owners to get your heads together and speak in one voice. by calling SEIU1199 and join that union?

MAGA is a myth put out there to fog up your mind. Stay away from those people wearing red hats!