CVS and Cliven Bundy – Two faces of Racism.

[riqster]

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/cvs-and-cliven-bundy-two-faces-of-racism/

"Mr. and Mrs. Blunt and Cranky, for all that we are white, sometimes use “Ethnic” (a euphemism for “black”) hair care products. Hey, ya use what works. So we went into a CVS store today, looking for a jar of Doo Gro, and could not find any.

After we asked several times, one of the (white) store clerks told us (with a church-lady sniff), “we don’t carry THAT type of product”. To say that we were shocked doesn’t begin to capture our reaction. To say we were hugely pissed off doesn’t either.

This is an example of “soft racism”. By not providing a product to a community, members of that community know they are not welcome, and so they self-exclude. So this particular CVS can claim that they are not doing anything overtly racist, but by taking these actions, they are acting in a hugely racist manner.

The other face of racism is the hateful, constipated, ignorant mug of Cliven Bundy, the thief and terrorist that lays his racism right out there. Vis and to wit:

“I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro,” he said. Mr. Bundy recalled driving past a public-housing project in North Las Vegas, “and in front of that government house the door was usually open and the older people and the kids — and there is always at least a half a dozen people sitting on the porch — they didn’t have nothing to do. They didn’t have nothing for their kids to do. They didn’t have nothing for their young girls to do.

“And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do?” he asked. “They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.”

That is hard racism, the racism that everyone sees and acknowledges. It is vile, contemptible and has no place in this great nation. But is it any worse than the sneaky, passive-aggressive, cowardly, chicken-s*** racism at that Midwestern pharmacy?

No. No, they both suck. Racism is an evil that needs to be rooted out, thrown on the dung heap of history and set alight, burnt away and the ashes dumped in the ocean, never more to be seen again. No matter the “style” of racism, it is all equally despicable.

Note that not all Nevada ranchers are thieving, scumbag hate machines. Nor is every CVS stocked by bigoted f***wits. It is a good thing that most of us have traveled beyond the days of yore, and I do not minimize the progress that has been made.

But as long as places like that CVS store and people like Cliven Bundy can become rich or famous (or both) by hating black people, we are still SO f***ed. Let’s help to marginalize the lot of them, so they can no longer spread their poison across the globe."

Source info at the link.

[amb123]

1. The subtle and the gross

and both are equally evil.

[riqster]

16. Indeed.

[lunasun]

2. Actually the CVS close by is a CVS stocked and clerked by bigoted f***wits too.

just sayin...........


''Note that not all Nevada ranchers are thieving, scumbag hate machines. Nor is every CVS stocked by bigoted f***wits''.

[riqster]

9. It's interesting...

The other two CVS stores in town are in whiter neighborhoods and DID carry ethnic hair care products.

Obviously, individual store management has a lot of discretion when it comes to stock.

[lunasun]

42. and who the store manager hires too

[zonkers]

51. My CVS happens to be manned by the coolest heads of all time. Just sayin.

They are so kick back and easy going, I look for excuses to go in there. Quarters for the wash? No problem Bring my dog in even if its against the rules? No problem. Pharmacists give great advice -- I sometimes forgo seeing the doctor and just ask Helen what to take. Just sayin.

[lunasun]

53. You are lucky to have one where all employees are helpful and so firendly to people of color !

[ananda]

56. ... staffed

.. not manned.

[OKNancy]

3. CVS sells it. The clerk was just a dumbass.

[riqster]

5. Read it again. That particular store did NOT carry it.

Others do.

[Comrade Grumpy]

4. CVS is racist because a store didn't carry Doo Gro? Okay....

[riqster]

7. Not all racism comes equipped with a flashing neon sign.

Talk to some victims of racism and ask them if this is not an example of such.

[Comrade Grumpy]

18. I did. They laughed out loud.

[riqster]

26. Well, the folks I spoke with also laughed. At my naïveté.

Their message was "we see that shit every day". Not that it did not exist.

[bravenak]

55. We see this shit every day.

I have to go to the beauty supply so my hair doesn't fall out. Way across town. Used to it.

[riqster]

60. That's pretty much what our friends said.

Laughed at our naive outrage, and wished us well, as we went off to tilt at the windmill.

[Marrah_G]

6. CVS stocks hair products according to customer base

I worked at one in a very white area and most of the products were for Caucasian hair with a small section for African American hair.

I now live in a very non-white neighborhood and the hair products are alot more diverse.

Not defending it- just giving information.

[riqster]

8. I understand marketing. This store was in a diverse area.

So that reason won't wash.

[Marrah_G]

10. no idea then....

[riqster]

11. Racism then.

Why else cut down on sales opportunities?

[Marrah_G]

13. I wonder if the store manager is the one doing the ordering

I was only a cashier, so I don't know.

[riqster]

15. Speaking as a manager type, I can offer this insight:

Local management is graded on a variety of criteria, and one of the biggest is sales. P & L is not far behind.

So a smart manager orders a variety of product, within the permitted lines, to increase the likelihood of sales. To do otherwise requires a non-business reason.

[Enrique]

12. this comparison seems ridiculously half-baked to me

are you the author of this blog?

[riqster]

14. You are entitled to your opinion, and yes, respectively.

Says so in my profile.

My opinion is informed by Dr. King's: he too pointed out that racism comes in many shapes and sizes, and that all of it is wrong.

[Enrique]

19. good, i have a question if you are open to it

how do you know the lack of Doo Gro is because of racism?

[riqster]

20. The attitude of the store personnel for one.

And the fact that it is in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, which means they are losing sales by excluding the products.

Particularly since the CVS stores in less-diverse neighborhoods DO offer a fair few ethnic hair products.

Finally, the call I made to CVS Corporate was met with shock and alarm, which tells us that this is not corporate policy. They expect stores to stock such merchandise.

I can't think of another reason.

[hack89]

22. So a single snotty clerk = CVS is a racist corporation?

have you every considered that the store was simply poorly managed?

[riqster]

24. Actually, yes. Incompetently and with racist intent.

Also, you chose to ignore 80% of the post to which you just answered, so what is your agenda?

[hack89]

25. And the racist intent is proven how?

because of the snotty clerk?

[riqster]

29. By the deliberate choice to forego sales.

Which you repeatedly ignore, and which anyone with a soupçon of business knowledge would recognize for what it is.

Look up the retail choices made back in the days of legal segregation, and the parallel is clear. Back then, as now, merchants chose to take a financial loss in service of a racist agenda.

Because, you see, more customers buying more products makes for more revenue. Deliberately excluding the members of an existing customer group is antithetical to good business practice.

[hack89]

31. Can you show that this store has lower revenue than the other nearby stores?

What if the store actually had higher sales and profits? Is it now a racist decision or a smart business decision?

[riqster]

33. I should support racism if it increased profits?

I certainly hope that is not what you meant. Because I sure as Hell will never support such a position.

Besides, the case at hand would not be an exemplar of such. For reasons already stated.

[hack89]

37. You said that forgoing profits is proof of racism in this case

are you now saying that picking the most profitable mix of goods to sell is also racism in this case? I am confused.

Not selling one particular brand of hair product is not proof of racism. What if there were other, more popular brands of ethnic hair products for sale? Did you ever consider that? Why is Doo Gro a racial litmus test for retailers?

Your entire belief that this is racism rests on one snotty clerk and a lot of unsubstantiated assumptions.

[Hoyt]

35. I think you missed point of the blog. Surely, you think gun toting white winger Bundy

is a racist, as well as the armed militia types who came to his defense?

[hack89]

38. Is there is any doubt? I certainly have none.

the case against CVS, however, is ridiculous.

[Skip Intro]

45. +100. n/t

[dilby]

17. The Alberstons near me does not have a Kosher section, you don't see me crying Antisemitism.

I stopped by the store before Passover to pickup some stuff and could not find the Kosher section so I asked a clerk and they looked with me but did not find anything so they got their manager and he explained that in my neighborhood there was not much of a demand for Kosher goods so they got rid of the section and expanded the Hispanic section which there was a large demand for. The guy was very empathetic and offered to call some of the other Albertson's to see if they carried the products I was looking for. I kind of got the feeling the manager was feeling embarrassed like he was afraid I was going to call the store racist for being the only one without a Kosher section. But I understand in my neighborhood I am probably the only Jewish person for 5 square blocks.

[Throd]

21. I have to drive many miles to get authentic carneceria goods because Safeway hates Mexicans.

There can be no other explanation.

[riqster]

23. As I have said elsewhere, this is NOT a monocultural neighborhood.

It is at least 20% black.

So, if your local store, faced with a 20% Jewish population, still did not carry kosher products, would you still pooh-pooh the idea of a discriminatory agenda?

[dilby]

27. So a store does not carry one product that is only used by black people but not all black people

just a small percentage of them. And because that one product is not available the store is racist, are you really saying that?

[riqster]

30. They don't carry ANY ethnic hair care products.

As was stated in the OP:
"After we asked several times, one of the (white) store clerks told us (with a church-lady sniff), “we don’t carry THAT type of product”. "

[NaturalHigh]

44. I honestly have no idea...

where one would go to find kosher products anywhere near me.

[Behind the Aegis]

28. "Soft racism"

I don't think I have ever seen that term. This story, IMO, falls under "sin of omission." Whether by design, which would definitely be racist, or by accident, it shows a disregard for a population of people. I wrote about a similar thing back in February when I went to get an anniversary card for my partner...there were no gay-oriented cards. Granted, this is a small town, about 40K, but still, one would think they could manage one or two cards. Of course, the AA section isn't much better, but it is there. During Passover, Wal-Mart doesn't even carry matzoh, nor any cards for Passover, or any Jewish holiday for that matter.

It simply isn't possible to carry every product for every group, but having some, even as a form of tokenism, shows the owners are aware of the diverse nature of their customers.

Want some real fun? Try finding Chanukkah wrapping paper in this town!

[riqster]

32. I hear you.

As you say, smart retailers at least put out a few products to show diversity and inclusion, and to grab some extra sales. And they also stock in proportion to the local populace.

When they don't, they need to be called out.

[cyberswede]

36. .

[Kali]

39. like you?

[cyberswede]

40. I think there are a LOT of things poor iluvw doesn't understand.

[riqster]

41. Well, if they love Dubya, they are pretty much idiots.

[NaturalHigh]

43. Maybe it just doesn't sell very well.

I'm not ready to call someone racist over "a jar of Doo Gro."

Not every store is required to stock the products that you might want. There's only one store in my town that stocks tonic water, but I don't take it as some sort of personal affront.

[Nye Bevan]

46. If CVS has made a high-level corporate decision to deliberately forego sales of this product,

knowingly reducing their profits, but not minding, because they are willing to reduce their sales and profits in order to stick it to the black race, then that is indeed appalling.

[riqster]

49. Not at a corporate level, but at the store level.

It's appalling no matter how many stores are involved.

[Nye Bevan]

52. So the store manager willingly reduced his store's sales, profits, and his personal bonus,

deliberately reducing his own income, because he is a racist.

This person needs to be named and shamed.

[Scootaloo]

57. I'm not sure you get the concept of "soft racism"

it's not that the manager is on some sort of anti doo-gro crusade "becuase black people!" or whatever... or even the clerk (though fro, the description, who knows?)

It's that the customer base for such a product clearly exists, but that product - or any similar products - are not stocked. Okay, let's presume it's a harmless oversight.

Well... Why is it an oversight? What is being said, when you say "we just didn't think to stock hair care product marketed towards black people"?

That's soft racism. And not just racism, there's a lot of such "soft" bigotry out there in general. it consists simply of not realizing that there are people who are different from you, assuming that the "default" is a white straight middle-age male (or whatever).

[woolldog]

61. Good explanation. nt

[spanone]

47. k&r...

[Skip Intro]

48. So CVS didn't stock a particular item, so they're White racists against Blacks?

Because they didn't stock that one product.

Is that it?

Oh, the clerk you asked, "several times," didn't respond with the proper tone?

And he/she was White?

That's the whole thing?

Wow.

[riqster]

50. No, because they carried NO. Products. For. Black. People.

This in a mixed neighborhood. That is racist.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

58. It's terrible what that store is doing, you're right. Most here get it too or are just playing dumb. Thanks for calling this brand of soft racism out - someone needs to.

[greatlaurel]

54. Good post.

You really hit a nerve with this post judging from some of the comments here. Well done. As a fellow Buckeye, I really enjoy your blog.

[riqster]

59. Thanks, and thanks.

Living in a state that chose the nickname of a poisonous nut can be "interesting", to say the least.