Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with these businesses? Do they need attention so badly that even negative press is good for them? Market of Choice is an overpriced grocery store that obviously caters to white people. Fuck them and fuck their business. Everyone on the wrong side of history regarding this matter will feel it one way or the other.

Stadium Fred Meyer is not allowing anything BLM related either. I've worked for Fred Meyer for 10 years but I will be moving on when more things start to open up and I can find a different job that pays close to what I make now. Kroger has shown their ass through this whole pandemic and now this. It's sad what Kroger has done to our once beloved local Fred Meyers.

Fuck. It’s a private business. They get to choose what is appropriate or not inside their business. They’ve opted to not have employees wear political emblems of any type while working. If employees can’t handle that, then they can fucking quit.

Black Lives Matter is not a "political emblem."

Black Lives Matter is Love.
Black Lives Matter encompasses every subject matter that humanity must confront and understand. It is more than politics.

It is about demanding equality and equity; making up for the past wrongs enabled by actual laws.

Each state had their own laws- “Black Codes” that were created to prevent earlier African-Americans from generating wealth and maintaining health.

As it relates to our grocery stores- consider all the products on the shelves and especially (my area of expertise in) alcohol beverages.

In Jim Crow era South Carolina, free Black people were prohibited from selling and creating alcoholic beverages.

Alcohol has always been a money maker, and African-Americans were heavily involved in its creation (Look up Nearest Green teaching Jack Daniels, for a primer with the most documentation that has been compiled so far). Because of laws, they were denied or punished for any attempts to act on their success and skills with products, and forced only to recoup meager wages from “employers” who still had the right to violently punish and dock wages when quotas weren’t met.

There were many other areas in which Black people were prevented from enterprise until civil rights laws were strengthened.

For a quick glimpse at the oppressive laws of early South Carolina, you can look here: https://ushistoryscene.com/article/excerpts-south-carolina-black-codes-1865/

While a business would understandably not want many political issues (Like views on taxes, party affiliation) to be something interfering with employees working-relationships and customer relationships, it is past due for our country to understand the centuries of harm inflicted on Black citizens- and people in general.

And in the sphere of food and beverage, the participation of African-Americans in the food and beverage world have been covered up, and grossly under-compensated to the point that there was no chance for them to become a part of the legacy in the majority of staples that we put on our grocery store shelves.

Harm is way beyond politics. How can one even argue that someone should not be expressing that they are anti-harm in the workplace?

If anyone disagrees, then it is simply because they are unaware of history, and their position in upholding the systems of harm.

We all have been failed by our education systems, and history classes, which left out the details to connect the dots, such as those issues I mentioned above.

In conclusion, I looked forward to the day where I could apply to be the wine and beer buyer for one Market of Choice store. But now I have to cross the company off my list, as they will now cross my name off the list of highly eligible candidates, because I have voiced this.

I can not work for a company that is careless in understanding this matter, or any other humanitarian message in support of progress and harm reduction.

I hope MOC can pause and discuss this matter with an organization who can help them navigate these concerns and find knowledge and solutions that are fair and logical for their business.

Until this is addressed publicly, I will no longer shop at Market of Choice. Feel free to reach out if you have questions on my input.