Essential: "essential, fundamental, vital, cardinal mean so important as to be indispensable. essential implies belonging to the very nature of a thing and therefore being incapable of removal without destroying the thing itself or its character"
"absolutely necessary; extremely important"
"fundamental or central to the nature of something or someone"
Nonessential is not equal to not important! Many beauty professionals are extremely upset by the term nonessential, but the reality is that the services we provide are not among the basic needs for survival. While our services are important to all our dear clients you could still live without them, your vanity just would not be satiated.
In the beauty industry, not only do we learn about safety and sanitation in school, we practice it with every service and we have to devote many of our continuing education hours to it as well. But anyone who has entered into a salon, spa, or barbershop can tell you that there is no way to perform those services at the safe social distancing guideline of 6ft. During this global pandemic these hot spots have been closed down to help prevent the further spread of the coronavirus because of the close environment in which we work with clients. Even with all precautions in place it is impossible to sanitize enough to properly ensure that you or your client wouldn't potentially spread it to others, especially if it is airborne.
Deregulation is something that the beauty industry has been battling for several years. The deregulation of our industry would mean that anyone could perform services without a license! In such a highly regulated industry why would one be facing deregulation? And why make mention of that now? With the debate of safety and sanitation its important to note that in my state alone there are an astounding number of safety and sanitation violations reported on a monthly basis so even though the measures are there they are not being properly executed on a normal basis. This is where our problem comes in. Also during this crisis you've had professionals offering at home services which is in direct defiance of our licensing regardless of a pandemic as well as stylists offering haircolor and other chemicals to be used by their clients at home. While I admire a good hustle putting our industry at even more risk of deregulation is wreckless.
Furthermore, to be viewed professionally our industry needs to act like it. If we want to be seen with the same respect we need to treat our industry that way. The 2018 industry wage median average, per reported by U.S News & World Report is around $24,730 per year.... why is it so low? Yes, there are entry level stylists just starting out, yes there are chain salons where stylists make minimum wage but the numbers are largely skewed because of the lack of reporting income. In times like a global pandemic where there have been changes made to the unemployment to include self employed individuals I bet some are wishing they had been claiming more than what they had. Also for those screaming we are essential and we just want to work, we're not asking for handouts... that's great, but I can't help but wonder if our industry were viewed with a more national respect that we might not be in the predicament that we are in. But who knows? It's still a global pandemic.
Civil right vs Civil Liberties and what are Constitutional Rights? These words are being thrown around like beach ball right now with no serious understanding of what they are. All people can say is "I have rights"... I get that, but please keep that same energy for your counterparts when their actual rights are being infringed upon... you know like women's rights, lgbtq+, racial injustices just to name a few. If you have spent any time watching press conferences and assembled task forces during this time I would hope that you can at least have a bit of appreciation (regardless of your political view) for all the moving parts involved in trying to cover all bases during such unprecedented times. With that said, the actions that have been taken thus far have generally been to try to protect our people, not overwhelm our healthcare systems, and try in a timely manner to get our economy back up and running. There were shelter in place suggestions that were blatantly ignored...it's like people have something to prove. I'm a free citizen, you don't tell me what to do Big Brother. IT IS NOT ABOUT US! It is about the collective, the whole group. You have been asked to be selfless for once. Do I like everything that has happened? Or agree with all the measures taken, no. Do I feel like my rights are being taken? no.
A civil right is the basic right to be free from discrimination on grounds of such things as race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, color, age, political affiliation, ethnicity, religion, and disability. Also among these are the right to vote and the right to privacy.
Civil liberties are basic freedoms such as freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and freedom to petition the government.
Finally, a Constitutional Right is the rights signed to limit the power of government at local, state and federal levels. For example, right bear arms, freedom of speech, press and assembly, protection from self incrimination, protection from unreasonable search and seizure... just to name a few. If you'd like to read it for yourself to get an idea visit https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-constitution/
With that stated, how has anyone who has asked you nicely (especially in SC) to shelter in place to allow the decline of the virus taking away your rights?
In closing, I do want to empathize with small business owners in saying I understand that it is not easy during these times and the uncertainty is daunting. For many, this fear is what is driving them to make irrational decisions and honestly, it's hard to think of others when you're currently fighting to stay above water... this is what our fight needs to be about. This is what our protests should consist of "I understand that we are fighting a global pandemic and that the risk of returning to work and spreading the virus is high, I hear your suggestions and I call upon you to keep us safe, but keep us afloat by lobbying for the protections that small businesses need during this time. Offer us viable solutions, ease our fear by assuring us what funds are available and allocated to us." That is how we unite, that is how we spark a revolution to make changes and to protect us.
