Watch This Trader Joe's Manager Use Kindness To Calmly Diffuse Anti-Mask Protestors
This Trader Joe's manager is all about keeping the peace.
QualityHD / Shutterstock Trader Joe’s employees are consistently some of the happiest people you’ll come across when running your weekly errands. But this video proves that kindness can conquer all.
The company policy of positivity creates more than just a joyful shopping experience, it can also be used to solve social divisions, as demonstrated in a video of a Trader Joe’s manager named Karim dealing with anti-maskers that's going viral across social media.
The video, filmed outside a Trader Joe’s location in Salem, Oregon has been viewed over 7 million times on Twitter alone since it was first shared.
The 8-minute long video shows an exchange between one Trader Joe’s employee who has been identified as the store manager, and shoppers who are attempting to enter the store without face coverings.
Videos of this kind have been prolific across social media since early coronavirus guidelines recommended the use of face coverings in public to prevent virus transmission. Often, distressed store employees struggle to deal with uncooperative customers resulting in verbal disputes.
This Salem Trader Joe’s manager is receiving praise across social media for his handling of the situation. Remaining calm and polite, he proved that we really are all in this together in the fight to end virus transmission.
Karim, the store manager, stresses that his goal is not to force anyone to wear a mask or change their belief’s on the use of masks. He tells the protestors, “We're just trying to work, make a living,” and reminds them that individual store workers do not have control over these rules.
“The difference you guys are trying to make is not gonna be made with us. But it could be made with your government. I am not here to debate policy.”
Trader Joe’s store policies on face masks are explicitly clear on their site, "We require customers wear a face covering that meets the standards of applicable health authorities while shopping in our stores. Unless otherwise directed by local rule or law, this does not apply to young children and those with medical conditions who are not able to wear face coverings."
As a store manager, it is Karim’s job to enforce these policies, regardless of his own opinions.
The anti-mask shoppers insist that they are protected by The Civil Rights Act to shop without a mask, though this theory is incorrect.
The store manager also appears to offer to shop for the protestors and bring them their items outside but amid growing shouting, his solution is ignored.
Seeing other masked shoppers enter without restrictions, the protestors then attempt to push past the manager to enter the store but he is quick to calmly intercepts their advances.
“I just want to have a conversation with you and I'm just asking that you show me the same courtesy.”
Though masks were not recommended in the early months of the pandemic because of shortages, guidelines about the importance of wearing masks have been clear in mid-2020 and leading medical experts have stressed their success in containing the virus.
As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in the U.S, collective adherence to these guidelines can be vital to saving lives.
Essential workers in stores and restaurants face a high risk of contracting the virus in their jobs. Wearing a mask both protects these people on the frontline and protect us individually from contracting the virus.
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. She is a generalist with an interest in lifestyle, entertainment, and trending topics.