On Wednesday, Texas removed the mask mandate for 100% of businesses, opening the door to full crowds at bars, restaurants and even concerts.
On Wednesday, Texas removed the mask mandate for 100% of businesses, opening the door to full crowds at bars, restaurants and concerts. The largest honky-tonk in Fort Worth, Billy Bob’s, hosted a sold-out concert this week – to a mostly maskless crowd. Images show a crowded dance floor, where people lined up to hear Koe Wetzel & Hardy play an acoustic set, and party like it’s 2017. According to local reports, General Manager Marty Travis said that the honky-tonk agreed to increase capacity to 50%, without requiring masks. However, Travis was quick to point out that temperatures were being taken at the door, and social distancing was encouraged. He did not comment on how couples might two-step around the social distancing markers that lined the floor. For the nation’s second-most populated state (and bottom five for vaccines), Governor Greg Abbott’s removal of the mask mandate ban has created a deep leadership conflict for business owners, patrons and health care workers. “There will be conflict,” Sylvester Turner says. “It makes no sense.” The mayor of Houston, Texas’ largest city, shared that businesses will be providing a potentially hostile environment, as many may not be able to fully embrace the freedom and liberty that Abbott has granted. And liberty really seems to be at the heart of the removal of the mandate – offering businesses what they want (the ability to operate at greater capacity) while providing people what they wish for (a world without the need for masks). Meanwhile, what if patrons feel threatened or unsafe, sharing a space with a full house of unmasked consumers? What happens when a business exposes or creates an unsafe environment? The real issue is one of timing, execution and consequence.
