Well I AM EXCITED. I AM THE VERY FIRST BERNIE SANDERS LIBERAL TO BE "CANCELLED" BY A PET FOOD STORE! How did this happen? Well, a group of woke (if you don't know the term, put "Woke Liberals Bill Maher" in your YouTube search engine) young people at the Castro Valley PFE assembled a set of insane allegations against me--and their bosses bought it... without any question! My dog and I visited this store 2-3 times a week for more than 5 years (she loved the staff, so we'd walk there & they'd give her treats) and NEVER ONCE had a problem... nor did I ever change the way I conducted myself.
Let us review the alleged offenses as reported to me by Dan, the District Manager:
(1) I ASKED TO SEE THEIR FACES. Yes, in these days of COVID, when merchants have been nice to me and I visit them frequently, I like to, just one time, see what they look like. Note that I asked them to pull down their MASKS. If they didn't want to, all they had to do was say "No".
(2) I "TALKED WITH THEM ABOUT THINGS THAT WEREN'T PET-RELATED". Now this one IS my fault. You see, I am a friendly person. And I'm a retired teacher, so I care about young people. So, for example, there were several PFE clerks over the years who really stood out, and I encouraged them (both male and female) to go to college and get a degree because they really were something special and I felt they could do better than simply working at a pet store for the rest of their lives. I'm just like that. (I'm willing to bet I never had that conversation with any of the woke folk who filed these complaints.) BTW, I also routinely say "Hello" to strangers as I'm walking in the neighborhood--and sometimes we chat, too! We used to call this "being neighborly". You know... "random acts of kindness". Apparently it's now considered attempted assault.
(3) THE STAFF SAID I "CORNERED THEM" IN THE STORE (I could not make this stuff up, folks). Now, how anyone could "corner" anyone else in this store is beyond me, but it gets better--because I am a handicapped man in his 60's who walks with a cane in his right hand & has a 12-pound terrier on a 6-foot leash in his left. And I am now going to let you in on a big secret as to how to extricate yourself if someone like me ever "takes you hostage" by "cornering you": put your hand on his shoulder and give him a gentle push. Man loses balance. Man falls down. You run away. Threat's all gone. Rinse. Repeat.
(4) I WAS ACCUSED OF SAYING THAT "ALL ASIANS LOOK ALIKE." I find this one particularly offensive because I am a member of TWO minority groups (in addition to being disabled)--groups that are regularly the victims of hate crimes to this day. In addition, I taught public school in Los Angeles (a very diverse community of 4 million) for more than 20 years. And among the courses I taught was English as a Second Language. And yes, I had many Asian students in my classes. Now I have no idea what these PFE children (they may be in chronologically adult bodies, but these people are definitely still children) think they heard or how they chose to take it out of context. But more importantly, the way management handled this incident is what really takes the cake.
You see, PFE management informed me that I HAD committed these sins--without first asking me about them or offering me an opportunity to respond (although I truly don't know how one responds to this type of insanity)--and then summarily banned me from the store. I was simply told, "We can't have our employees being made to feel uncomfortable, so you can't come back." (I swear--that's what Jack, the store manager, and the aforementioned D.M. Dan told me, verbatim. And when I mentioned that I'd been coming to this same store for more than 5 years and had never had a problem, District Manager Dan said that perhaps the employees AND THE STORE MANAGERS were just AFRAID to say anything before this! My goodness... I had no idea a handicapped senior brandishing a terrier could be so scary!) I emailed Mark and Michael, the owners of PFE, twice at the email address given to me by their corporate operator & asked to speak with them; they ignored me. (Perhaps they felt "cornered" by my email and were too "afraid" to respond?) So now you get to read this & then vote with your pocketbooks. (BTW, guess what I found out? It's cheaper to order the exact same items from their online competitors--who deliver to your door FOR FREE!)
There's a lovely town about 20 miles northeast of Boston known as Salem. And at this time of year, PFE and 17th century Salem have a lot in common. They're both full of snowflakes, and now they're both known for conducting witch hunts. If you want to continue funding businesses like these, have at it. But beware: if you, too are a nice, caring, social person, you could be next on PFE's hit list.
(NOTE: If any part of this review made you smile or roll your eyes, please click "Funny" and "Useful" below.) read more