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Antiwork

A Story of Class Solidarity

Yesterday while at the self checkout for the grocery store, a man approached me and asked if I could buy him some food because he didn't have any money. I thought about it and said sure. I sent him off to grab what he wanted while I kept scanning. The minimum wage workers saw this and, enforcing corporate policy, several of them tailed him around the store trying to get him to leave. When he got to the front, I scanned his items and nicely pushed him out the door so they wouldn't have to deal with him in the store anymore. Funny how in that moment, I was helping him, helping the workers, reducing the stigma of being poor in public, and stealing hundreds of dollars in groceries while they chased this man around for wanting $5 of food to eat. I'm white, he isn't, if that wasn't clear…


Yesterday while at the self checkout for the grocery store, a man approached me and asked if I could buy him some food because he didn't have any money. I thought about it and said sure. I sent him off to grab what he wanted while I kept scanning.

The minimum wage workers saw this and, enforcing corporate policy, several of them tailed him around the store trying to get him to leave. When he got to the front, I scanned his items and nicely pushed him out the door so they wouldn't have to deal with him in the store anymore.

Funny how in that moment, I was helping him, helping the workers, reducing the stigma of being poor in public, and stealing hundreds of dollars in groceries while they chased this man around for wanting $5 of food to eat.

I'm white, he isn't, if that wasn't clear by his treatment.

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