2 single mothers denied entry into a Walmart on the same day...

[TreasonousBastard]

OK, this was just one WalMart, and word is the manager is being "talked to".

But it's still astounding.

https://www.wthr.com/article/2-single-mothers-denied-entry-walmart-same-day

PUBLISHED: APR 15TH, 2020 - 10:20AM (EDT)UPDATED: APR 16TH, 2020 - 1:00AM (EDT)
NEWINGTON, Conn. (WTIC) — Two single mothers were turned away from a Walmart in Newington, Connecticut, on the same day. Both were trying to grocery shop with their child. When Stephanie Tsui expressed frustration, she said the store threatened to call the police.

"What is a single parent to do? I have no other choice," Tsui said. "You can’t tell me that I am the only single parent that is quarantining and social distancing from everyone outside of us."

Tsui and another WTIC viewer wrote to say they had been denied entry into the store with their child. Tsui said she and her son were wearing face masks when they were told by a manager that it’s “state law” for only one person to be allowed in at a time.

"She said 'you need to have somebody watch your child.' I said 'if I had someone to watch my child, I’d be at work,'" Tsui said.

...

[beachbumbob]

1. most walmarts allow shopping on line for a curbside pickup

[marlakay]

30. My daughter in San Antonio had to drive 45 min away

To get a store that would give her appt time for curbside shopping within a week.

A lot of stores have appt times and some you have to wait weeks. I didn’t realize this before she said because we wear masks and go in person taking turns only one goes.

[TNNurse]

36. Not sure about Walmart since I avoid it

but have seen posts where grocery stores have a waiting list for new curbside pickup customers so that might not have worked for her. A waiting list that is for weeks.

[cwydro]

80. Our Walmart has a wait now, but it's never more than 4 to 5 days.

I order, then pick up.

When I get back, I take stock if I’ll need anything else and order again since I won’t pick up for a week or so.

They do a great job.

[niyad]

53. Have you used it? How easy or difficult was it? Does it require a credit card?

A little compassion for the frustration these women faced would not be amiss.

[NewJeffCT]

90. Wal Mart online is easy to use, BUT

for the past month or more, most perishable items, paper products and cleaning supplies are listed as "IN STORE ONLY" so you can't order online and pick up in or at the store and you can't order online and have them ship to you. If I click on "find in a store near you" or something like that, they'll say it's not available within 100 miles or your location.

The last 3 Saturdays, I have been able to go into my local Wal-Mart and get a package of 6-8 rolls of toilet paper. However, since my local Wal-Mart doesn't sell groceries, I go to either Costco or the local grocery store.

Instacart is fully booked where I am, and similar delivery services have wait times of at least 2 weeks.

[beachbumbob]

97. I use walmart home delivery. You order online, need a CC

Been working out well and I am taking advantage of a month free, though I tip the drivers well. Reduces my exposure to others by huge factor

[NewJeffCT]

87. the Wal-Marts around here in Connecticut

and, where the person in the article is from, have a ton of items listed as "in store only" - you can't order online and pick up in the store and you also cannot order online and have them shipped. this includes most persishable foods like milk, eggs, fruits, vegetables, etc and paper products and cleaning products. Instacart and other shopping services that buy for you and deliver are fully booked.

t

[demmiblue]

2. ...

[FarPoint]

3. I support no children.

They just have to figure out something....

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. You sound helpful.

[FarPoint]

8. It can be done...

I raised my kids as a single mom...it was tough.... Infection Control in this situation is the benchmark...

[Aristus]

14. Raising a kid as a single mom without possessing a shred of empathy must indeed be tough.

[FarPoint]

17. I have empathy...

I just won't let empathy rule over the need to practice effective infection control....You don't really understand me...

[TNNurse]

40. I do not have children, am a retired RN and would love to hear your suggestions for what she should

have done. If you are not on a curbside pickup plan at stores in our area there are weeks long waiting lists.

How does she get food???

[FarPoint]

59. She can explore community options...

There is food delivery...check with churches etc....Infection control rules here....you know this....

You also probably know there are other difficult clinical decisions in the Medical field...like meeting criteria for heart transplant...for example...you can't go on a list if you smoke...must be smoke free for 6 months....if you relapse, smoke a cigarette x 1 even the patient must restart their 6 month waiting list...now that sucks.


Point needing identified....We as a country were totally unprepared to meet the needs of our citizens....the republicans have stripped away social and community services program by program since Reagan was president...government programs changed into private for profit or reduce to smittens....food stamps, WIC, welfare, Medicaid and so on and so on ...there lies the true issue. The poor can not be embraced anymore.

[ahoysrcsm]

99. Better idea, call 911 dispatch and have an officer watch the child while shopping...

If this option is not available to you the I guess you SOL. Starve, because we don't give one flying fuck about you. The American way, one for one, and all for all.

[sagetea]

41. I don't think anyone understands you

I must have missed a pandemic that happened recently, where you were unable to work and no money coming in to pay for (what little child care facilities were open) maybe you had someone to watch your child for free? Missed that whole pandemic, I must have been asleep through it.

But, hey, whatever works for you! BTW, your privilege is showing.

sage

[FarPoint]

65. I work hard every day...

Point needing identified....We as a country were totally unprepared to meet the needs of our citizens....the republicans have stripped away social and community services program by program since Reagan was president...government programs changed into private for profit or reduce to smittens....food stamps, WIC, welfare, Medicaid and so on and so on ...there lies the true issue. The poor can not be embraced anymore.

[ahoysrcsm]

100. I guess try 911, an officer should be available to watch your child while shopping. EOM

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

58. You should open up a curbside child-minding

service. Of course, it might be tricky to mind more than one little kid, but you'd actually be helping out, rather than agreeing that a single mom shouldn't be allowed in a store with her kid.

[FarPoint]

62. Let it go....

Infection control is the priority....I didn't focus nor shall I focus on the single mom and her child...it is not a priority when options are out there to meet the need.

[niyad]

68. Yet, in your prior post, you listed all the options that the pukes have systematically removed

since ronnie. So which is it? Community options. Or eliminated options? Cannot have it both ways.

[FarPoint]

70. What is your point?

Mine is the priority is infection control...No kids...That is the benchmark for preventing the spread of a lethal virus within the community...Yea, child care services are severely limited...yet...it is being done...maybe some single moms can chime in and share their strategies.

My focus is infection control...period.

[FarPoint]

73. My point was...

we have let the republicans whittled away fantastic services...now all we have left are just shadows of such services... Once we were a country that cared and assisted the poor...not so much now...

[ahoysrcsm]

103. One department that is still available and fully manned is the 911 service.

Call in and as for an officers assistance. Shouldn't take but a few minutes waiting. If 911 is not available in your area, call your local Governor's office. They will be available to provide child care when the Governor mandates one person shopping.

[ahoysrcsm]

101. Here you go, call up 911, they are available to watch your child while shopping.

May need to wait a few minutes for response. Next thing, if 911 isn't available to you, call your nearest Governors office. They will be happy to provide you with someone to watch your child when shops are mandating one person shopping.

[LanternWaste]

84. The one does not deny the other

Some seriously low hanging fruit you're peddling.

[matt819]

39. And did you raise your kids during a pandemic?

Wow!! The nastiness here is shocking.

I'm not a fan of "plus one" shoppers. The schlub of a husband pushing the cart along while the wife questions whether she should buy the organic black beans because they cost more and are the only black beans on the shelft. Or the parent with the bored teenage child who could have waited in the car. Or the roommates who have to discuss every purchase.

But a single mother who can't park her 5-year-old in the car or at home alone or with a babysitter? Give me a break folks. If there's a time to exercise empathy and compassion and random acts of kindness, this is it.

[3Hotdogs]

44. Park the 5 year old in the car while you are shopping?

C.P.S. call in 5-4-3

[niyad]

64. I believe the poster was saying you CAN'T do that.

[ahoysrcsm]

102. No, DO NOT LEAVE THE CHILD IN THE CAR!!!! Call 911, an officer can watch your child while shopping.

CPS may be available, but our local CPS office is closed to the public.

[FarPoint]

48. I don't find this issue a priority...

there are other options....Empathy in this scenario will spread the virus...that can not be allowed.... No, this is not the time or situation that requires empathy...I'm not nasty...

Have you seen people die from COVID 19 yet? ...Have you actually seen the bodies while alive then dead? I have you cared for a 1:1 COVID 19 patient? I have. …

It is known...infection control is life saving...prevent the spread of the virus.

[EllieBC]

49. If you don't have a solution or suggestion then just stop.

Should these moms lose their kids because they leave them in the car or cannot feed them? Is that your solution?

You sound bootstrappy like a RWer.

[FarPoint]

50. Now where in the heck did this come from?

Calling me a right winger is not acceptable...been here for a long, long time....You best apologize.

[EllieBC]

51. You have ZERO solutions. Just "figure it out".

That's rightwing solutions. Can't eat? Figure it out. No child care? Figure it out. I won't bow down and apologize to you.

[FarPoint]

82. There was indeed a day here on DU...

we didn't blatantly disrespect other DU'ers....I sense you were not around then...I will have to adapt to the change in people skills.

[LanternWaste]

85. There was also a day on DU...

when empathy and tolerance were given a greater priority than unsupported absolutes.

[FarPoint]

89. I have tremendous empathy...

I just prioritize the life saving fact of Infection Control from a lethal virus more important than someone who can't seem to figure out how to shop without taking her child to the store.

[ahoysrcsm]

104. Check out your local 911 service. They are fully staffed and available for on-call service.

911 the best babysitter when Governor's mandate one person shopping. 911 service is the only choice.

[Ace Rothstein]

52. This is a shitty take.

You should feel bad.

[FarPoint]

75. I was not alive during 1918...

So, no I did not raise my children during a pandemic.

[phylny]

7. What should they figure out, what are your remedies/ideas?

Should they invite the grandmother to come over to watch the child and introduce another set of germs into the household? Expose grandma? Have a babysitter come into the house where everyone is supposed to be distancing?It’s ridiculous. The parent and child can count as two people and they could wait a few minutes before allowing someone else to enter the store.

[FarPoint]

9. I don't have the answer...

Others are doing it.. I still stand for the Infection Control benchmark...

[TreasonousBastard]

42. You don't have an answer, yet you insist the Walmart manager was right to leave the mothers...

with no choice. The "one person" rules are to limit the total number of people in the stores, not specifically for infection control.

The simplest answer would be to consider small children to not be "persons" for counting. A mother and child is one person-- just like they are in so many other areas.

[matt819]

47. You have no idea how others are doing it

I checked amazon the other day to see what changes in shopping i could make to avoid going out.

The prices were ridiculous for most products, and many were not available on Prime or free shipping. And I don't have the cash, and these women probably don't as well, to buy in bulk. And she's gotta go to the store anyway for milk, produce and other fresh foods. i don't know about instacart options, but I don't presume that everyone has a computer and the wherewithal to order groceries online and arrange delivery.

[mgardener]

67. I don't understand

The child was wearing a mask.
In a cart.
Not running around.

[obamanut2012]

11. Absolutely ridiculous

You are literally advocating to either leave a very small child at home alone, or leave her in the car, or have them starve.

wtaf

[FarPoint]

18. No...

I am advocating effective infection control....there are much worse rigid standards out there.. The child care shopping thing. ...it can be figured out...There is a post in this thread about ordering and curbside pickup. There ya go

[EllieBC]

23. You are advocating for YOURSELF.

"Save meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee". No wonder the younger generations hate Boomers.

[mokawanis]

26. Is that true?

Younger generations hate boomers? How do you know that?

[EllieBC]

29. A few minutes on any social media platform

will show you that Boomers aren't very popular. Mostly because they have selfishly tried to protect and preserve themselves and their own interests while screwing up everything for everyone else.

[mokawanis]

31. I'm sure the children and grandchildren of boomers won't act that way

Brave new world where people aren't selfish.

You really seem to have an ax to grind when it comes to boomers. I've read a number of negative comments by you.

[Traildogbob]

37. Selfishly

Served the country, many died, many built the country with hard work by hand, fearlessly faught to end poisoning the planet for the Boomer haters, got locked up up and shot, killed by police trying to end useless war so Boomer haters would not have to go do the same. Paid taxes for life for infrastructure, tech achievements, Boomer haters sure do love, taxes that paid for medical research that saved Boomer hater lives. How about visiting one VA hospital and take a good look at selfish boomers and what they gave and why they still fight to get what they EARNED, respect and.... live. Precious spoiled pukes. Bring back the draft.

[FarPoint]

54. It is about saving all of us...

Including you and your family, friends, neighbors....Infection control measure when out in public does save lives.....

[cwydro]

81. Oh lordie, gotta bring up a generation hate meme?

Come on now.

[mokawanis]

25. Bad answer

Curbside pick-up isn't always available. They stopped doing it here a month ago. There ya don't go.

[TNNurse]

43. Our area has waiting lists for ordering if you had not done it before.

[EllieBC]

46. And some places are at 2 weeks waiting now on pickup

Although recently a DUer told me I should have gone out and bought everything and froze it for weeks on end. Apprently they missed that part about not hoarding. There are limits on what you can buy. If you have kids you'll need to shop more than every 2-3 weeks.

[MarcA]

63. Agreed. Sadly, some people think it's just an "inconvenience".

Well, inconveniences add up. And these type of replies on a "liberal" site.
It's one thing if the children are misbehaving, otherwise just count them
as two people.

[stopdiggin]

74. there is actually a single poster

on this string with some very rigid views on social distancing rules. Pretty much everyone else is solidly in the common sense column.

[ahoysrcsm]

105. 911 service is fully staffed, I hear they are hiring in my area due to large call volume.

When you call and officer can watch your child while you shop. Don't have a phone? Leave your child in the Car, and a friendly bystander will call 911 for you. 911 the only choice these days. (TM)

[northoftheborder]

69. The last time I checked curbside at our Walmart, you could only order nonperishables that way.

[Captain Stern]

88. I think I see what went wrong here.

You support no children, and they just have to figure out something..?

I don't think you meant that the way it sounded.

Perhaps you meant that you currently are not financially supporting your children, and that parents that are financially supporting children in these times should figure something out...just as you did (in times that weren't anything like these).

[niyad]

60. It is absolutely appalling that some people are so judgmental, impatient, lacking in empathy,

That this child has to be defended like this.

I see all the beautiful examples of people coming together, helping each other, being community, and then I see disgusting crap like this. Sickening.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. Lol at "state law." Some people just want to be tyrants.

[xmas74]

12. It was done to keep families from using the store as entertainment

Walmart allows WIC and food stamps for curbside orders and there's no additional charge to make an order. She places the order, picks the time and arrives with her child,never leaving the car.

I wish they had curbside when my child was little.

[Piasladic]

16. My local Walmart doesn't

I just placed an order for a pick up. The soonest time I can go is late on Saturday night, and they don't accept anything but credit card payment.

"The store you chose doesn't accept cash, ATM cards, gift cards, EBT cards and PayPal"

It's the nearest place around that does pick up, and it's still a half hour to get there.

[xmas74]

21. Most do and supposedly stores are switching over

My local has a sign stating they even accept WIC as long as they specify and have the vouchers with them at pickup.

[Piasladic]

27. Good to know

Because I live in Podunk, FL, no one is taking social distancing seriously in any way. They stores are packed, and almost no one is wearing a mask.

Perhaps when things get more dire here, the local Walmart will consider making the change.

[xmas74]

92. Call them

And request the service. If they have enough calls they might do it.

[TreasonousBastard]

45. "Most do" is meaningless to someone who has to the ones that don't.

[crickets]

61. +1

[xmas74]

91. Also most grocery chains are offering curbside.

Look. I was a single mom. I raised my child on my own. Life happens. You figure out ways around it.

(And no, I wasn't privileged. I was a single mom living in a rural area with no child support and making poverty wages. You fi d ways to figure things out. )

[EllieBC]

24. It's pretty funny how the petty authoritarians

on our side get mad at the petty tyrants on the other. We should give them some mirrors.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

33. I can't tell if you're including me in that or not.

[EllieBC]

38. Nah you do not strike me as an authoritarian.

But this virus has brought many out.

[xmas74]

6. They're encouraging curbside

WIC and food stamps can now be used for curbside.

The policy is in place because people were bringing entire families in to browse. I'm a single mother and I remember those days. I also know if I'd had the chance at curbside back then I'd taken it.

[FarPoint]

10. There ya go!

Excellent option!

[AirmensMom]

76. It's a great idea.

I'm seeing for the first time that you can schedule a slot a few days ahead. Just a week or so ago, they had "today" and "tomorrow" which were all taken up and there was no opportunity to choose another day. Right now the first available slot is Monday.

[xmas74]

93. If they had offered it when my daughter was young

I could have saved time and money.

I used to load 2 Walmart cards-one for groceries and one for gas. They were prepaid cards I would load once a month. I only purchased groceries with the grocery card and only gas with the gas card. I saved a ton by budgeting that way.

[sfstaxprep]

13. This Is The Dumbest Fucking Thing I've Ever Heard

Obviously both the parent & child are quarantining together. It's insane. What is the rationale?

The parent is as likely to be carrying as the child.

[procon]

15. No sympathy.

Many retail stores, including Wal-Mart, offer online shopping with either free curbside PU or delivery for a fee.

None if us have the luxury of living the same way as we did before the virus. Everyone has had to change the way we live, to adapt and work with inconveniences for things that were once routine.

These women are behaving like spoiled, entitled brats. Instead of whining and having a public temper tantrum because the rest of the world won't cater to their demands, find out how to make the new rules work for them.

They can most likely have everything they want with just a little bit of advanced planning that would keep them safe at home. With their young children, you'd think that would be their first priority.

[Spider Jerusalem]

19. No sympathy for people denied entry to a store on account of a non-existent law?

That's absurd.

[FarPoint]

20. It is an infection control issue as well...

Children can grab things, cough, be COVID-19 carriers...it is an infection control issue for me....petri dish contributions. I take this serious...flexibility is not safe.

[demmiblue]

28. So can adults.

In fact, I would venture to say that adults touch far more items in a grocery store than children do... by a lot.

I have also noticed that older/elderly folks are more likely to cough into their hands than children are. All children I know have been taught to cough/sneeze into the crook of their elbow.

[FarPoint]

34. Adults are held to a standard of compliance with rules...

Children are unpredictable and impulsive....this presents a danger for contamination and infection...Adults should be held accountable for failure to comply...or stay home.

[demmiblue]

55. Adults can be upredictable and impulsive as well.

On any given day, there are probably more unpredictable and impulsive acts committed by adults than children in a store (especially given the ratio of adults/children). Add that to the points that I previously made (which had nothing to do with rules).

[EllieBC]

57. The stores here are overloaded with seniors.

Coming in together, rules for thee not me, no masks, touching items and putting them back. But a kid in a cart is the real threat to them.

[intheflow]

96. This child was in a cart and wearing a mask.

Some people don't have family or friends living around them to call on for childcare. Some people don't have access to the internet. You really need to check your privilege. If you really are all about the spread of infection, maybe you could give this mom a kudos for having a mask for her and her daughter, which demonstrates her concern and awareness of the spread of germs and her attempt to mitigate the risks to herself, her daughter, and others.

[niyad]

71. Judge much?

[FarPoint]

78. I understand..

[spinbaby]

98. More than a week's wait for curbside here

Appointments are at least a week out at Walmart.

[ahoysrcsm]

106. And then there is always 911 service. A friendly office will watch you child...

while you shop. No phone? No problem! Leave your child in the car unattended and a friendly bystander will call 911 for you! 911 the only option, these days. (tm)

[stillcool]

22. if they have masks on...

they're not allowed in a store? Who else isn't allowed?

[FarPoint]

35. Kids...they won't keep the mask on...

Will play with it...touch their faces...it is an unrealistic expectation for kids to wear a mask for shopping...Best they stay home..

[dewsgirl]

32. I live between two military bases, my son is overseas.

At the comissaries they are doing this, Wal Mart not so much.
I'm in Florida though, maybe that's the difference.
At Wal mart they are out of wipes for the carts, I watched a 2 yr old sit in the front of a cart the other day, put her mouth on the metal of the cart, I was mortified.

[TreasonousBastard]

56. Slightly related-- I was just listening to an NPR piece about Greece...

and their low infection rate is largely due to their obsession to listening to the experts on the daily media. They do what they are told is the best thing to do without argument.

And, this is a great sacrifice for them-- they are dependent upon tourism and the country is on lockdown so they expect the GDP to be hit by about 20%.

We who are not sick are inconvenienced-- others are suffering in ways we can't imagine.

[cagefreesoylentgreen]

66. Tsui is a Chinese surname

Is the stated reason the actual reason?

[TreasonousBastard]

83. Probably-- she doesn't look Asian,and security wouldn't know her name.

[shanti]

72. Rachel brought the topic of single parents

up last night briefly. As a former single parent, I can't help but commiserate with the single parents doing this in isolation, with or without a job.

Nobody else has mentioned this issue. Thank you, Rachel.

[HockeyMom]

77. Elderly spouses as well

We live in a fairly rural area. There is no Delivery, Pick up, etc. Yes, even at Walmart. No GrubHub, Uber Eats. or anything else. Our closest Supermarket is 15 miles away. DELIVERY?

My 71 year old husband, besides a very bad heart condition, also has Parkinson's. (Good?) I went shopping all alone last week. I came home to find him on the floor. He smashed his shoulder on the baseboard heater, and BENT the heater. Fortunately, he did not hit his head. Now he is afraid to be left all alone. Our kids live in another state. There is nobody to "babysit" my husband.

Use your brains, people. Social distancing is pointless between people living in the same household; be they parent and child, or spouses. Yes, I have seen a parent and child, and even more so, elderly spouses together shopping right next to each other.

Step out of your own shoes. Not everyone is the the same situation you are.

[TreasonousBastard]

86. You bring up not just elderly spouses, but people who are out with caretakers, other relatives...

or, God Forbid, service animals.

If I had a sister in a wheelchair who wanted to go to a store just to get out of the house, I, or another relative, should not go with her?


Safety, public, health, and all are important, but so is humanity itself, or what are we doing all this for?

[TreasonousBastard]

95. As I said somewhere above-- a parent and child is not two "people" for crowd purposes...

we consider them one person, perhaps made of two parts.

We spend a lot of time shouting about the cruelty of separating mothers and children at the Mexican border-- how different, in principle, is separating them in the Walmart parking lot?

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

94. I doubt that's the law

More likely it is that they can only have a certain number of people in the store at once. It's probably around 100 being that it's a large store. It's rather silly to try to enforce social distancing between family members that live with each other.