
In 50-50 Georgia, unhappiness with the choices but urgency about voting
CNN
Rebel Teahouse is Christine Nguyen’s business. And her happy place.
Rebel Teahouse is Christine Nguyen’s business. And her happy place. Nguyen, 29, was a neuro ICU nurse, often treating patients who suffered a stroke or had brain cancer. Stressful enough, and then Covid-19 hit. “We were right there – frontline,” Nguyen told us in an interview. “There were all these battles about whether or not we should be vaccinated. … Seeing all the death didn’t help either.” So Nguyen left her nursing job and became an entrepreneur, opening a boba tea shop in a place that, like her, is in the middle of giant change. “Two or three years ago, I would definitely be in scrubs. I would be tired,” Nguyen said. “Nowadays, if you come into the shop, you will see I am always happy. There is just this different air – that I feel I can bring something to the community.” Decatur is in DeKalb County, one of the growing Atlanta suburbs that in 2020 rebuked Donald Trump and helped Joe Biden flip Georgia blue and win the White House. Trump’s caustic tone is one source of his suburban struggles; his erratic handling of the Covid-19 pandemic – things like questioning science and suggesting ingesting bleach might help – made things worse.