Name: Mayor Eric Johnson: I see no value in the hubbub about a Dallas hair salon
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Mayor Eric Johnson: I see no value in the hubbub about a Dallas hair salon

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1:30 AM on May 9, 2020 CDTI don’t know Shelley Luther, the owner of Salon à la Mode. I don’t know her life or her character beyond what I have read in court documents and in countless news stories. And because our city attorney has pursued litigation, I have avoided commenting on the details of the case.But I will say that I have been troubled by the reaction to this spectacle. The intense reaction we have seen is endemic of the larger devolution into partisanship during this COVID-19 response.I ran for mayor in part because I wanted to leave behind partisanship and focus on solving problems. Partisanship offers a reprieve from nuance by providing for the tantalizing convenience of a simple us-versus-them narrative featuring white hats rather than shades of gray.In this made-for-TV conflict, state District Judge Eric Moyé is either the honorable hero or a sinister villain for sentencing Luther to jail time for contempt. Some may have made heroes or heavies of Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton or me.We’re all characters in this story to varying degrees, but it’s not really about any of us. It’s about all of us, and it’s about fear. We’re all afraid right now. We’re afraid for ourselves and for our loved ones and neighbors.Related:For many, Luther’s story has tapped into a very real economic anxiety, a fear that the cure, in the aggregate, is worse than the disease, and hardworking folks will be ruined by these restrictions. As someone who grew up in modest-at-best circumstances, I am dismayed at the thought of those who were one crisis away from financial despair. It is a trauma that doesn’t go away easily or at all.But for those who have tried to follow all the terrible and ever-changing news about this disease and the risks it poses to everyone, and particularly to vulnerable populations, this story of a salon owner gone rogue is terrifying. It’s a fear, underscored by rising death tolls and the irresponsibility of those who won’t take precautions they find inconvenient, that greed will win out over the pricelessness of life.Worst of all is the fear that we don’t have the answers right now. We don’t know how to make everything better. So we lash out — a temporary and addicting comfort that makes us feel, for a moment, that we have some control. We make straw men and tear them to shreds.Issuing stay-at-home orders, as the governor did through April, was difficult. So was his decision to reopen some businesses in a limited way. I have heard plenty of arguments about the timing and wisdom of both decisions, but I mostly have chosen to stay out of it. State law says this is the governor’s call to make. And as much as I relish a good debate, the world has no shortage of people with strong opinions.The governor’s reopening plan, as initially announced, was a workable one. But he definitely took a gamble, and he doubled down this week even as cases continued to rise. He bet on you and me to take individual responsibility — a central tenet of his conservative philosophy — and to follow the limited rules he created. I will still work to make sure his plan is successful even as I worry about the pace of these decisions, because lives are at stake.That’s why I see no value in all the hubbub over a hair salon. We can’t afford to make martyrs out of those who flout the rule of law. And we can’t send the mixed message that public health guidelines are critical unless it’s unprofitable for you to follow them. That is an affront to those who follow the rules and act responsibly in these incredibly challenging times.But we also shouldn’t downplay any business owner’s plight in these desperate times or minimize the effect of this disease on people’s livelihoods.We are going to have to continue living in uncertainty, and we will have to learn to make our peace with it, even as we look for treatments and cures and push for increased testing, contact tracing and public health measures.Bravado, haircut photo ops and partisan antics are not cures in this fight of our lives. Put down your arms. Only love and empathy will see us through.Eric Johnson is the mayor of Dallas. He wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News. Editorial and commentary from op-ed columnists, the editorial board and contributing writers from The Dallas Morning News, delivered three days a week.By signing up you agree to our

1:30 AM on May 9, 2020 CDTI don’t know Shelley Luther, the owner of Salon à la Mode. I don’t know her life or her character beyond what I have read in court documents and in countless news stories. And because our city attorney has pursued litigation, I have avoided commenting on the details of the case.But I will say that I have been troubled by the reaction to this spectacle. The intense reaction we have seen is endemic of the larger devolution into partisanship during this COVID-19 response.I ran for mayor in part because I wanted to leave behind partisanship and focus on solving...

Mayor Eric Johnson: I see no value in the hubbub about a Dallas hair salon

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