Telling on businesses, struggling to stay afloat during pandemic, hurts the community

Editor:

This is directed to the individual who called to report lack of “social distancing” at 39 Problems in Albion. You have learned well from the Brown Shirts of the Nazi era, as they also obediently called on law enforcement because they, too, thought that by doing so, they were being a good citizen.

You just wiped out another small business in downtown Albion. You put a hard working, community loving couple out of business. I hope that every time you pass that building, you remember that it was you who financially ruined your neighbors. You also made a permanent stain on our community.

As a result of your “patriotic” actions, you will make the rest of our small businesses suspicious of opening again at all. The owners of these businesses will be afraid of the nameless Brown Shirt neighbor, shamelessly patrolling the neighborhood for the slightest infraction by anyone not maintaining “social distancing” or not wearing a mask at all times.

You have single handedly made everyone nervous to bring life back to our town; small businesses out here have suffered the worst economic mess this pandemic. But instead of looking forward to opening their doors again, they will be wary of the snake out on the streets looking to put others out of business, ruining lives of people you don’t know, and possibly destroying any potential we have as a community to breathe life back into a small town.

Worse, you have created a probable solution to anyone else who is a castout to seek revenge on their neighbor who they don’t like, whose party you and they didn’t get invited to, on a former boss who fired them from their establishment, a weapon for cowards who don’t have the guts to confront the owners themselves, and anonymously ratting out an enemy of yours simply by picking up the phone and alerting our totalitarian NYS government.

You did didn’t just harm 39 Problems, you hurt all of us – small business owners, the customers who keep them in business, your neighbors who rely on employment that small businesses create and have made the atmosphere toxic in the age of the worst pandemic since 1918, and you couldn’t care less about us all.

So you got my attention, too. What a great job you did. You not only ruined the life of the couple who ran a small bar, but any ideas about how to make life better for everyone else, maybe even one of your children or grandchildren.

But I’m guessing you really didn’t think that through, right? Or worse, you did think it through but really didn’t give a damn about anyone, just wanting to wield your own, cowardly power.  Shame on you.

Kim Kennedy

Medina