Recent editorials from Georgia newspapers:
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March 24
The Daily Citizen-News on the COVID-19 vaccine:
“I just want to encourage everybody to get the vaccine. There’s no doubt that we’re seeing this across the country, but especially in the South, we’re seeing vaccine hesitancy that is concerning. People should not be hesitant. This is a medical miracle. It’s safe. It’s effective.”
Governor, we couldn’t have said it better.
Those were the words of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday in announcing that all Georgians 16 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting Thursday.
Those words were notable not just because of their import, that more and more people will soon be vaccinated, but because they came from a Republican governor.
The “vaccine hesitancy” that Kemp spoke of is particularly pervasive among members of his party.
The Associated Press reported recently: “While polls have found vaccine hesitancy falling overall, opposition among Republicans remains stubbornly strong. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 42% of Republicans say they probably or definitely will not get the shot, compared with 17% of Democrats — a 25-point split.”
So we commend Kemp for going against many in his party, including most notably former President Donald Trump, who have been less than enthusiastic about the importance of the vaccines.
“Trump expressed his support of vaccination in an interview last week, but he did not participate in the public service announcement that other former U.S. presidents took part in touting the vaccines,” The Hill reported.
It would have been helpful if Trump had participated, as there are still many in this country who look to him for leadership.
In any event, many people have been waiting for this expanded eligibility in Georgia, and now it is arriving. We are glad to see this momentous change, and we encourage people to take advantage of this new eligibility rule and get vaccinated.
We need this pandemic to end, and we all must do our part, both for ourself and for our fellow citizens.
As the governor said, the vaccination of the state’s residents is “our ticket back to normal.”
Online: https://www.dailycitizen.news/
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March 23
The Brunswick News on an anti-riot bill that would increase penalties for participating in “tumultuous” protests:
Opponents of state legislation that would make it a felony to harm others during permitted protests lack a clear understanding of the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It guarantees that “Congress shall make no law … abridging … the right of the people peaceably to assemble …”
Exactly what part of that right do those objecting to state legislation that would explicitly outlaw violence against others fail to understand?
The original Senate bill designating protests that evolve into physical attacks against others - others often being innocent victims who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - unlawful in this state lacked the support to warrant a committee vote. It prohibited the commission of other acts of mayhem as well, including blocking street traffic or torching buildings, during any legally precleared demonstration.
Its sponsors have revived the measure on the back of a House bill that successfully crossed over to the Senate.
Law-abiding citizens are that committed to its passage. Georgians in all 159 counties witnessed the nonsense and brutality that occurred in Atlanta during the height of anti-police protests last year. Firebombs flew, bystanders were injured, and property was destroyed.
Worst of all, 8-year-old Secoriea Turner was shot and killed as her mother was forced to drive around illegally placed barriers almost three weeks after the riots started. None of that constitutes or comes anywhere near any legitimate definition of a peaceful assembly.
Most everyone supports peaceful protests. In 2020, protesters in Brunswick managed to get their message across without disrupting or harming lives. Their strength and conviction were reflected well in their sheer numbers.
Georgia Sen. Randy Robertson, a Cataula Republican, feels all protests should be conducted in the proper light of the U.S. Constitution. His Senate Bill 171 would have written the requirement into state law, but the measure lost wind in the Senate Judiciary Committee for lack of a vote.
A few nameless committee members refused to show their hand and for good reason. No one in their myopic political mind would want constituents at home to know they honestly consider the destruction of lives and property valid under the protection of the “peaceably assemble” clause of the U.S. Constitution.
State Senate and House members have an opportunity to extend real constitutional protections to innocent people by supporting and voting for this legislation.
Online: https://thebrunswicknews.com/
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March 21
The Valdosta Daily News on the deaths of six Asian American women and two others in the Atlanta-area massage parlor shootings:
Reach out.
See people who do not look like you or talk like you.
Be kind.
Be thoughtful.
Be present.
Do not deny that hate exists.
Asian Americans are hurting.
And for good reason.
Call it what you will.
Call it hate.
Call it racism.
Call it xenophobia.
No matter what you call it, we must be better.
Racism - in all its forms - is always wrong.
Asian Americans have been the target of hate crimes and violence for generations but during the course of the past year, the hate and violence have increased exponentially.
Make a concentrated effort to show kindness and understanding, knowing that it is not enough to not be racist. If we are ever going to be any better, we must be actively and vocally anti-racist.
To be perfectly clear, Asian Americans had absolutely nothing - zero - to do with the novel coronavirus.
Any suggestion otherwise is steeped in ignorance and misinformation.
The way Asian Americans are being treated throughout the nation is just despicable.
Reach out.
Be kind.
Be thoughtful.
Just be a good person.
Online: https://www.valdostadailytimes.com/
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