As the Knox County Board of Health met Wednesday, their inboxes were filling up again with pleas from neighbors: "Do this!" "Don't do that!"
As of early December, members received 861 pages of emails so far, written in two dimensions but representing people with three. All kinds of perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic and the board's restrictions can be seen in them.
"I am literally crying typing this because I'm so scared of what's going to happen," wrote University of Tennessee senior Jordan Robinson.
She works as a waitress at a restaurant downtown and was worried about how limited capacity could cut her pay.
"I think it would really wipe us out, wipe a lot of our income out," Robinson said.
"I just want to survive," said retired social worker Patricia Hooper. "I really want the board of health to intervene with ordinances to protect us."
She supports a broader mask mandate—and wishes more people would wear them.
For Dina Brazzanovich, limiting bar hours means less time at an LGBTQ lifeline.
"Bars are one of those safe spaces," she said. "It's about just being with your community and being with like-minded people and being in a place where you are accepted for who you are without judgment."
It's not about drinking, Brazzanovich said but feeling safe when a person's home might not be safe.
Most of the letters support the board's actions, almost all explain the reasoning behind their views, adding to the chorus of voices lobbying the Board of Health as it considers what to do now.