[GeorgiaMa'am]

Headline from CNN: "In one hour, Atlanta-area spa shootings left 8 dead, including 6 Asian women, local reports say"

In the news, there has been some speculation that the shootings were racially motivated. The shooter has been caught, and is a white 21-year-old male from a rural suburb of Atlanta. They caught him headed south.

Okay, here's the thing to know: there are three kinds of "spas" in Georgia, because of statewide licensing rules. The first is the kind that may come to mind for you, with saunas, hot tubs, indoor swimming pools, workout rooms, massage therapy, facials, and the like. They are standalone buildings with their own parking lots, or they are located in high-rent areas of the city with parking decks attached and/or valet parking. Some are in high-end hotels. I have been to some of these. These are operated by different races of people in Atlanta. This is _not_ the kind of spa that the shooter targeted.

The second kind of spa sort of imitates the first, except that generally only aesthetic services are offered, such as massage therapy, facials, foot spa treatments, natural treatments, etc. They tend to be a lower class of establishment, often found in strip malls, and some of them are quite nice. I have also been to some of these. These are usually operated by Asian people and/or New Age practitioners/naturalists in Atlanta. These are also _not_ the kind of spa that the shooter targeted.

The third kind of spa are what are known as "jack shacks" or "massage parlors" in other parts of the country. These are the lowest of the low, usually found in standalone buildings with private/hidden entrances (usually in the back), and in sketchy parts of town. I have never been to one of these, although I have known three people who worked in them at one time or another. They offer sex for sale. They are occasionally discovered to be engaged in human trafficking, and they employ primarily Asian women, although also a few women of other races. I do not know what kind of people own these places, although I have heard of white men, gay men, and (mostly) Asian men and women operating them.

The third kind of "spa" are the kinds of places that the shooter targeted. This is speculation on my part, but it is based on my knowledge as a resident of Atlanta. I reviewed news photographs of the locations, as well as looked up their addresses. I expect that the women who were shot will turn out to have been sex workers (not, of course, that this in any way justifies them being murdered). These third types of "spa" tend to have lots of cash on hand (because what patrons of these places would want to use a credit card?), as opposed to the first two kinds of spa, which basically run on credit cards. I expect this will turn out to be the reason the shooter targeted these businesses, for the cash.