SEE IT: Trader Joe’s manager artfully stops anti-maskers from entering store, claps back with Constitution
A Trader Joe’s manager has gone viral for his artful dodging of a bunch of anti-maskers who he eventually turned away from the store after 8 minutes of cajoling and firm refusal.
He’s now being lionized for his calm, cool and collected demeanor throughout the argument with the group of grocery shoppers who tried to enter the grocery store without a face covering as COVID-19 continues to plague the nation.
“Hi, how you doing guys,” the manager says, approaching what is apparently a group of unmasked people seeking to gain entry at a store location in Salem, Ore. “Having a good day? I know why you guys are here.”
“We’re here to shop,” says a woman’s voice.
“We don’t want special treatment, we just want to be honored as shoppers,” says another.
“I understand,” the manager says repeatedly, and patiently, but unyieldingly, as the group of people attempting to get into the store without masks squawk about their rights and their need for groceries.
When they point out that others are entering the store unimpeded, he patiently states the obvious: “They are wearing masks.”
He offers to pick up their stuff and bring it curbside, but they turn him down, with one woman explaining that she needs to roam the store and see what’s in there before she knows exactly what she wants.
When they try to talk to him about civil rights, he claps back by bettering them on the U.S. Constitution.
“You cannot deny somebody the right to commerce,” says one woman, mentioning the Constitution and her civil rights.
“The civil rights act protects your religious freedom,” the manager replies.
The maskless shopping, he says, “is not going to happen.”
The shorter, Twitter version of the video has been viewed more than 8 million times, and even retweeted by actor and producer Zach Braff, whose close friend, Broadway actor Nick Cordero, lost his life to coronavirus last year.
“One day I want to be as patient as this man,” Braff wrote.
