I was reading another diary on the Georgia anti-democracy, anti-voting, pro-Jim-Crow bill, and one person mentioned they had contacted the state tourism department and told them they had canceled their planned business trip to Georgia, and wanted to let them know why.
I thought, “Well, I can do that too.” We have relatives in Georgia, and were planning on going down to see them once Covid was not a threat. But, if Georgia is going to pass laws like this, they don’t need my business.
So, I called the tourism office (which is part of the economic development cabinet), and left a voice message with them. “Not enough,” I thought. So, I kept digging around until I found an email address for someone.
Here, then, is the email I sent to Mark Jaronski, Deputy Commissioner of “Explore Georgia”:
Hello! Just wanted you to know that we have canceled our planned trip to Georgia to see relatives, due to the Jim Crow voting laws your state just passed and your governor just signed. (Under a picture of a slave plantation, no less.)
I will also encourage my friends and family to avoid the state.
Feel free to share this with your legislators and your governor.
Bruce Maples
If you want to add your own personal boycott, here’s the email address: mjaronski@georgia.org. (Although it’s possible that it is actually jaronski@georgia.org, so you might try both.)
Enjoy!