We can’t call for a boycott in the state of Illinois because it’s illegal to do so.
So that’s not what we’re going to do.
However, we are going to tell you about something utterly, unutterably STUPID.
This morning we put up a Facebook post that got scores of “thumbs up” and lots of input, both good and bad (good outweighed the bad, we’re up to 48 thumbs-up right now), griping about how people in Harrisburg didn’t get FEMA funds after the tornado, but there are plenty of people on food stamps who COULD work but DON’T.
There was some input from this chick who bitched about “avoiding Casey’s from now on,” clearly overreacting and presuming that she knew exactly who it was we were referring to in the post….when nowhere did the post indicate that the person we spoke with was an employee. She obviously also did not read the rest of the thread, wherein we explained the situation. I should have deleted her. But I’m leaving her on there for her own posterity, and am even screencapping it so you can see it for yourself before she deletes her profile and the comment…because we’re about to make her famous.
Screen cap. Tadaaaaa. Obviously, the woman MISSED THE POINT, as you can see from her somewhat vapid comment.
The girl we were talking to at Casey’s was someone we DID NOT KNOW. She was talking about HER MOTHER. We DID NOT IDENTIFY who this person was because, well…we didn’t know who she was. This was an awesome, hilarious conversation, along the lines of what we usually have when there are “help wanted” signs all over Casey’s doors as well as the businesses surrounding them…as was the case today in Albion.
Then we go in to deliver papers to Casey’s in Grayville and are told they’re no longer going to carry them…and the girl who issued this edict—whom we’ve long considered a friend—-won’t even talk to us on the phone about it. Just no papers. And oh, yeah…the girl in Albion got fired.
Yep. You read that right.
Here, folks, is a sterling example of what’s wrong in America today.
A: One person, maybe two if she rallied a friend to help her, called a private company, which can make its own decisions about such things, and bitches about something stupid.
B: Instead of the private company risking to “lose the business” of a couple of people, they lose HUNDREDS of purchases of our papers over two stores.
C: Casey’s didn’t have to identify ANYONE because NO ONE WAS IDENTIFIED….yet someone was fired.
D: They chickenshit out by not calling US (yes, they have our direct line…I won’t tell you how) and asking us to remove a comment (which we may or may not have done, but hell, have a little common decency and give a person a shot at it first).
E: This (okay, I deleted the word I was going to use; I won’t even tell what word it rhymed with) used our Facebook to voice her opinion, which we allowed her to do, but when we tell about a person voicing HER opinion on a matter, that girl loses her job. Can anyone say, “You have the right to freedom of speech, as long as I agree with what you’re saying?”
F: Worst of all….the denizens of the world we were complaining about—those who suck taxpayer dollars as a way of life, which in turn prevents others who NEED assistance from getting it when THEY need it—are coddled. As usual. Because, hey, it’s Obamaland, after all, isn’t it?
These people who discussed this had a forum. But now, that forum has been stifled. There’s no healthy debate; there’s no edification of people on the issues now. There’s only the threat of “Imma pick up the phone and call your boss and tell what you said blahblahblah,” even though the whole thing went down in the VAGUEST OF TERMS. Jesus Christ. No WONDER this country’s in the shape it’s in. People are becoming bloated, self-righteous jellyfish.
So we’re done with Casey’s, and I mean DONE. We’ll be around long after that place has turned to dust. They pussied out of carrying our paper in both Albion and Fairfield nine years ago when we first started (selling HUNDREDS OF COPIES, btw) and they’ve been a pain in the ass ever since. I’m a private business too; and I can make my own decisions too; and this one’s been made. However, I’m NOT going to tell you where to go as regards convenience stores; that’s not my place. I CAN tell you that there are LOTS OF OTHERS out there, and you, as a sovereign individual, can make your choice….because NO ONE FORCES YOU to go to their place of business…just like NO ONE FORCES YOU to read this website, or our paper. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it. But don’t prohibit someone ELSE’S First Amendment right to read what THEY want, or say what they want. That’s asinine.
In the meantime, to you 48 who gave the thumbs up to the post….here’s a link and at the bottom of the page is a number. We suggest you call and let them know what you think. There are still many patriotic Americans out there who are tired of turning over their hard-earned money every day, year in and year out, to fund the people who REFUSE TO GET A JOB when they CAN, and want to live off those of us who DO work INSTEAD…which is what the subject of the whole discussion was about, for those jellyfish who missed that. There are hardworking, patriotic Americans who are in need, and who deserve public assistance in their time of need. That’s not what this discussion was about. And there are still many patriotic Americans who know that the free speech/press debate might have attempts made at stifling it…but that won’t last long either. Because ultimately, the sovereigns will prevail…even if, before we do, this country has to sink as low as a snake’s belly in a wheel rut, such as the people who perpetrated this shit today did.
And if you go into an area Casey’s, you might want to watch your mouth, and what discussions you get into with people. Hell, you might get someone fired.