Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley seems to think that companies don’t need to make money, but should just be charities that cater to her voters.
Pressley accused Walgreens of “racism” for shutting down a location in Boston that was plagued with so much retail theft that the store could not turn a profit.
The Democrat accused Walgreens of “disruptive, life-threatening acts of racial & economic discrimination” against “black & brown communities” for closing the store in Boston and others in other crime-plagued inner-city areas.
In an address on the floor of the House of Representatives in D.C., Pressley accused Walgreens of shutting the store down because the neighborhood was “a community that is 85 percent black and Latino.”
“This closure is a part of a larger trend of abandoning low-income communities like the previous closures in Mattapan and Hyde Park,” she added.
“When a Walgreens leaves a neighborhood, they disrupt the entire community,” Pressley exclaimed. “And they take with them baby formula, diapers, asthma inhalers, life-saving medications and, of course, jobs.”
The “squad” member then claimed that the closure announcement was not “arbitrary” but was racially motivated.
“These closures are not arbitrary and they are not innocent. They are life-threatening acts of racial and economic discrimination,” she screeched, according to Boston.com.
.@Walgreens‘ closures of pharmacies in Roxbury, Mattapan & Hyde Park are not arbitrary or innocent.
They are disruptive, life-threatening acts of racial & economic discrimination.
As a multi-billion-dollar corporation, they must stop divesting from Black & brown communities. pic.twitter.com/iSvhFWw8Bl
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) January 31, 2024
Will more stores abandon high-crime areas?
Yes: 0% (0 Votes)
No: 0% (0 Votes)
Pressley also falsely claimed that Walgreens gave no notice of the closing and put people’s health at risk. But according to WFXT-TV in Boston, the truth is, Walgreens transferred all its patient information to another location that was only about a mile away and is offering free in-home delivery for 90 days to give customers a chance to get familiar with the other location. She did not mention any of that in her attack on the company.
Maybe it’s the content of their character? pic.twitter.com/KWgrAV73qP
— Pleasedontinfringe (@noinfringing) January 31, 2024
“Shame on you, Walgreens,” the left-wing Democrat scolded.
Of course, the real reason Walgreens is shutting down its Roxbury location is that retail theft is so rampant in the store that they can’t afford to keep it open. And since the left-wing city of Boston won’t arrest shoplifters and prosecutors won’t prosecute them, the store has no alternative but to close up shop.
Website CrimeGrade.org, for instance, rates the Roxbury neighborhood an “F” in crime overall and an “F” in theft particularly.
Here’s a pick of some of your constituents handy work at Walgreens. pic.twitter.com/VixkPBgLLY
— Michael Honeycutt (@sweetslice) February 1, 2024
While Pressley was content to falsely accuse Walgreens of racism and use its store closing announcement to pander to the far left, not everyone was buying what she was selling.
One X user who said she was a Walgreens loss prevention supervisor blasted Pressley.
“Nope! I spent eight years as a loss prevention supervisor for many Walgreens stores. You don’t get to blame it on race. If a store was closed, it’s quite simply, because whoever lived in the area stole too damn much merchandise. And now they can live without a Walgreens,” she wrote.
Nope! I spent eight years as a loss prevention supervisor for many Walgreens stores. You don’t get to blame it on race. If a store was closed, it’s quite simply, because whoever lived in the area stole too damn much merchandise. And now they can live without a Walgreens. https://t.co/ovefW5smap
— Even More Pissed Off Patriot (@POdPatriot) February 1, 2024
The location in Boston is far from the only crime-bedeviled store closing in a big city. Several retailers who have had decades of service to communities in California are also closing up because retail theft is driving them out of business.
For one, In-N-Out Burger recently announced it was closing its restaurant in Oakland, California, due to crime.
This month, San Francisco also lost Jeffrey’s Toy Store after more than 80 years in business thanks to crime in the area. The store was famously a major influence on the “Toy Story” movies and even survived the Great Depression. But it can’t survive the left-wing prosecutors and their decision to legalize theft by refusing to prosecute shoplifters and quell the violence in downtown San Francisco.
Neither Walgreens nor any other business is a charity. They exist to sell things to the public and make enough profits to pay their taxes, their workers, and their contractors, and make their owners some money. They do not exist to give free money, products and services to crime-riddled neighborhoods. Leftists like Pressley have a culture problem, not a business problem.
