Whole Foods argues it can ban BLM masks because the Supreme Court let a Christian business owner refuse same-sex couples

You can get mad at Amazon, but really it's the Supreme Court you should be mad at. Amazon is going to take advantage of whatever it thinks will make them more money. The government is the thing that is supposed to keep them in check.
Edit: A lot of people seem to be reading something different from what I wrote. I didn't say you shouldn't be mad at Amazon, or that Amazon isn't at fault for their own actions. What I did say is that you should expect this type of behavior from a business and should expect our government to do a better job at keeping this behavior in check.
- I’m mad at both. Amazon is trash. The current court is trash. And all the ghouls that got us this shit ass court are trash, from Mcconnell to Trump to every dummy that votes for Trump to the stupid stupid Democrats who didn’t fight tooth and nail when Obama’s pick didn’t get a hearing and didn’t pack the courts at the 1st opportunity. Oh and fuck RGB who should have fucking retired at the start of Obama’s 1st term. Octogenarians who survived multiple bouts of cancer don’t have the luxury of hanging out so the 1st female president gets to appoint their successor. Democrats are so fucking inept it’s hard to believe that they aren’t sandbagging us on purpose
  
  it’s hard to believe that they aren’t sandbagging us on purpose
  It’s hard to believe that they’re not doing it on purpose exactly because they are doing it on purpose. The system isn’t broken, it’s doing exactly what it is designed to do. You cannot use the system against itself. Voting helps prevent the greater evil but that just gets you the lesser evil. If you want an answer that is not evil at all, we need to create that entirely separately, outside of the established system and politics.
  
  I don't disagree with anything you said. You're right on every account. We're still seeing it in action as Feinstein refuses to step down and backing up the appointment of judges. RBG and Feinstein both destroyed their legacies by hanging on to power for far too long. It's insane that Mitt Romney, of all people, is the one I agree with. He's not going to run and encouraged other old people to stop running and let the next generation have a chance.
- I’ll take both please
  
  When the corporations can fund the politicians there is no difference between them.
- “Amazon is going to take advantage of whatever it thinks will make them more money.”
  Yea I will in fact get mad at that kind of behavior. Lots of businesses doing it (and commenters like you normalizing it) doesn’t make them less responsible for their shitty behavior.
  
  They specifically said you can be mad. It's the first sentence in OP's comment. WTF are you on about?
- what the fuck is this shit, on my lemmy? fuck them both is the only sane conclusion, not "it's a business so it's fine"
  
  I didn't say it was fine.. I said it's to be expected and the reason they need guard rails.
- I can get mad at Amazon and Supreme Court at the same time, but not for this. Having uniform requirements is reasonable thing to do, especially for customer facing employees.
  
  why?
- These people are morons with 8th grade reading comprehension skills.
  Come to think of it, maybe they are in fact 8th graders?

Fuck Wholefoods
None of my homies shop at Wholefoods
- You don't shop at Whole Foods because of it's policies.
  I don't shop at Whole Foods because I don't believe in paying $4 for a apple.
  We are not the same.
  
  It’s $6, grandpa.
  
  It's Amazon/Whole Foods' policies that lead to charging such ridiculous prices for their items. You are the same, even if you don't realize it.
  
  I absolutely would be willing to pay 4 or more for an apple, if it were local, and profits go to a local farm. I'm aware that means I eat in-season then too
- There isn't one in my town so boycott goin strong for N years?
- Idk that 5% cash back is hard to beat. I mean sure, fuck amazon for being anti-union, definitely need to trust bust them to but until then I can't get 5% cash back when buying household goods anywhere else.
  
  That 5% would be great, if WF wasn't like 50% more expensive LOL
  https://finance.yahoo.com/news/whole-foods-vs-trader-joe-180008164.html

It's not "Whole Foods" it's Amazon. Whole Foods died when Amazon bought them.
source: I'm from Austin and know several people that work there from employees to management. They killed everything that was whole foods.
- Pretty sure Whole Foods had shitty conservative executives back then too didn’t they?
  
  You can't escape those fucks living in Texas. They're everywhere.
- It's been like that about Whole Foods since the 80s. John Mackey is a libertarian fuckhead and it's been a series of people realizing it ever since.
  They hired union busters all the time.
  In the 10's he tried to sell his book "conscious capitalism" on the shelves. Surprise surprise, no one bought it.
  
  I think I've heard about this.

Reminder that Amazon is funding cop city https://news.littlesis.org/2022/11/15/meet-the-major-corporations-and-cultural-institutions-helping-build-cop-city-in-atlanta/
- Delta City

iiuc, wf is not saying that customers can't wear BLM masks. They don't want to show a political stance and, as a result, don't want BLM masks worn by their employees, because that could be misconstrued as wf or Amazon taking a political stance. I can understand that. However, they, then, must ban ALL shows of politics in their store by them and their employees, and that includes LGBTQIA+ stuff. Otherwise, they're just banning BLM stuff, which will be ~~mis~~construed (notice the crossed out 'mis') as them taking a political stance against black folks.
- imagine realizing this and going "they should ban queer people" instead of "banning politics is impossible because there's no such thing as an apolitical stance"
  
  You're right. Banning politics is impossible. That's my point. I don't think anyone can logically argue against the stance that black lives matter nor against the stance that the LGBTQIA+ folk lives matter. However, by taking the stance that BLM masks are not allowed but other masks are allowed, Amazon is also taking the stance that black lives don't matter. Whether or not this is intentional, is irrelevant.
  I'll give you an example of a workplace doing it mostly right. My old employer didn't do many things right, but for political stances, they did. "No graphics, logos, or lettering, unless Company's, on shirts, jackets, pants, etc. is allowed while inside the building, whether on shift or off" When covid hit, this extended to the masks with the "etc." part. When George Floyd was murdered, for example, some of the employees (myself, and HR, included) wanted to wear the "I can't breathe" masks. We weren't allowed. Some of us did anyway, and just prepared to take the write-up. The write-up never came, because corporate silently supported us and the stances we took. However, rules are rules, so we got a "talking to" and a tisk-tisk finger wave.
  Banning potentially offensive political stances in the workplace is important to a degree, but you have to understand that some things are not political stances so much as they are supporting the lives and rights of other humans. After Amazon management staff had pools going on who of their floor employees would die next from covid during the start of it all, I highly doubt that the company understands (or cares about) the value of human life, so it's no surprise they're banning BLM masks from their employees. Whole foods, I know. But wf is Amazon.
- On one hand, I agree with you
  On the other hand, how do we live in such a fucking hellscape that "black lives matter" is a politically charged statement and not an obvious fact. Same for LGBTQIA+ folks deserving equality. (frustration not pointed at you, but at the social climate)
  
  I agree with you completely. It's unacceptable.
- Interesting that pride stuff is considered political because my shitty mega corporate big box employer considered a BLM shirt political but let us wear our pride pins whenever because that was within the dress code
- How dare our employees imply to the general public that we think Black Lives Matter!

Being tired and thinking Bureau of Land Management made this very confusing at glance.
Also fuck the courts for that BS.
- There’s a joke in an episode of the new Reno 911 where they go out on a call about BLM setting fires.
  
  This mix up is also included on The White Lotus
- Why is it "fuck the courts"? This whole thing is about what a worker can do while on the job... If a company doesn't want to be associated with something it should have a right to employ whatever restrictions on dress it wants. That's kind of the point of dress codes with companies to begin with.
  
  dress code is also completely made up bullshit that has no reason to exist in the modern world
  why does a company's right to "employ whatever restrictions on dress it wants" overrule the person's innate wish to express themselves?
  
  Do workers have the right to refuse to be associated with something that the company want them to display on their dress code? For example, a corporate sponsor? If no, why do companies deserve more rights than people?
  
  If someone had a necklace with a cross on it, can Amazon ban it? Should they ban it?
  How about non-religious ear rings or other jewelry? How about a hair bun? Wedding ring?
  There's generally some leeway given for cultural adornments. So the question is what specifically is bad about a BLM adornment?

Time to start wearing a mask that says Union

What a wild hill to die on.

Holy shit. So Amazon and Whole Foods are just openly racist now. Not even trying to hide it anymore.
Conservatives will be celebrating as soon as they have someone read this article to them.
- Amazon bought Whole Foods, they're the same company now.
- Jesus y'all. Let me spell this out plainly.
  BLM is a political organization.
  Wearing BLM gear is a political statement.
  Whole Foods doesn't want employee uniforms to make a political statement.
  Bet every single person here would be pleased if this was about banning Trump masks. I'll give you a crisp $20 bill if those are allowed. Or any other sort of political speech.
  
  The fact that there is an organization of the same name does not mean they own the slogan. People using the slogan almost never do so in reference to this organization nor are necessarily even aware that such an organization exists.
  BLM is more of a human rights statement. Anything is "political" if the right choses to whine about it. An example is putting pronouns on name tags. It's a great idea to ensure employees are addressed correctly and frankly shouldn't be any more political than a name tag containing your name, but the right choses to view them as political because they need a constant culture war.
  
  This might mean something if "BLM" was owned by an organization.
  
  The statement Black Lives Matter is not political, you absolute ham sandwich..
  
  BLM is a political organization.
  This is like saying "Trump has Little Hands" is a political organization because some guy wants to copyright "Trump has Little Hands" to sell on merch. Absolutely ridiculous take and it clearly show where you stand on these sorts of issues.
  
  Let me spell it out plainly:
  BLM is a movement concerned with police brutality against minorities
  There is a political organization called BLM, but nobody but right wing whack jobs gives a shit about that organization
  There is also the Bureau of Land Management that is also refereed to with the acronym BLM,
  Somehow you know BLM on a mask doesn't refer to the Bureau of Land Management but you're being deliberately stupid it referring to a political organization and not the movement.
  Jeff Bezos isn't going to give you any money no matter how wide you spread your asshole for him.

Why does anybody think it’s a good idea to wear political statements into work? Just do your job.
Imagine if you ran a business and one of your customer-facing employees showed up in a MAGA hat. You’d probably want them to leave it at home right?
- You think equal rights and fair treatment for all is “politics”?
  
  They aren't banning masks that say "equal rights and fair treatment for ALL" , they are banning BLM masks, BLM is a political movement/organization.
  
  Unfortunately it is.
  
  Being neutral about racism is effectively being racist.
- Either employees should be allowed to wear personal accessories to express themselves, or they should not. How do you define what is and is not political?
  
  Also, this article’s vague, but “no slogans, logos, or advertising except for Whole Foods branding” is Whole Foods’s official dress code. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/whole-foods-black-lives-matter-mask.aspx
  The plaintiffs were told they had to remove their Black Lives Matter face masks because they violated the dress code, but the workers refused and were sent home. After being sent home several times, they were fired for violating the company's attendance policy.
  
  Up to the business. If they don't want political statements or and statement made at work, I can understand it.
  
  Agreed, if I ran a grocery store chain I’d just have the employees wear uniforms with no personal expression.
  At the end of the day it’s the business’s right to set whatever policy they want though. If the government decides employees have a constitutionally protected right to wear whatever they want to wear to work, we’re gonna see a lot of crazy bullshit.
- So, we can ban crosses? I'm obviously going a bit far, but both somewhat touch on the way people believe rights should be secured, and both involve human rights (one to free expression of religion, another to life and fr33dom from unfair treatment in general). Both make statements to others that others may find uncomfortable, depending on their beliefs.
  
  …yes? Why shouldn’t a business have the right to ban their employees from wearing a cross? Go work somewhere else if wearing a cross is that important to you…
  
  so we can ban crosses
  When there's comments here bringing up the first amendment and apparently forgetting that it includes that whole thing about not having a national religion, which is exactly what's happened/continuing to happen with christianity. It's just a little bit different than "black lives matter," which is just..a fact?
- Except BLM and LGBTQ isn't political. It's Civil Rights. This isn't Dem vs GOP, it's ethical vs unethical treatment of humanity. Unfortunately certain individuals in the US portray this as political, but that's so they can use it as leverage for their goals. You wouldn't say "stop beating a slave and set him free" because your political affiliation says so, you say it because you see a human being suffer.
  
  Except BLM and LGBTQ isn’t political. It’s Civil Rights.
  I’m sorry but you just sound naive. These are not mutually exclusive. Civil rights are part of politics. All you’re arguing is that you think the politics you like should be allowed in the work place, and the politics you don’t like should not. That’s the hottest take in the entire post.
- is lemmy being brigaded? seriously, what the fuck is this. "just do your job" is never an adequate response to worker complaints
  
  Yeah, I'm seeing this kind of trash on a lot of posts when lemmy was not even close to this bad just a month ago. It's fucking gross.
  
  It is odd. I’m a Wilsonian Neocon with the caveat that I understand not everyone can always get what they want, but Lemmy’s usually “I hate the US so much that I support Russia” not anti-union shit. I suppose the GOP just made the UAW strike into a political talking point so the bot account goons are trying to steer conversations against unions even when the community never wanted it.
  
  Ah the old, "an influx of normal opinions not in my extremist progressive echo chamber is brigading"
- Imagine if you ran a business and one of your customer-facing employees showed up in a MAGA hat. You’d probably want them to leave it at home right?
  I think it's good when people support good things and bad when people support bad things. Amorally applying the rules for their own sake is actually not a virtue; the rules should be oriented to promote good outcomes and discourage bad outcomes. Otherwise, what's the point?
  
  Who decides what's good or bad?
  
  I actually had to talk to the boss and tell him that this manager's motherfucking confederate flag hat made me uncomfortable, like he was a floor manager who wore the stars and bars every day, in a western state that didn't exist during the civil war... and they didn't say anything to him until a customer complained. He wore that shit for like a month. The good ol boy's club is unreal
- That's where the constant disclaimers to the effect of 'the views expressed do not nessecarily reflect the position of the company blah blah blah' whenever someone speaks who isnt the principal executive of the organization. The problem being though it doesn't go both ways, when one of the high leaders speaks it's portrayed as 'our company believes' which then at least somewhat implies the employees of said company are in agreement. Individual expression is just leveling the field by letting the employees say 'the views of the company do not reflect my own.
  It's less common for any smart business to make highly charged statements unless they happen to be sure the majority will support them for it, but not unknown. I've seen a couple small ones around here that went as far as to plaster Q slogans all over their signs. From a business perspective they just alienated a major portion of their potential customers without anyone setting foot in the door.
- I would agree with you, but this is pretty blatant far-right bias and with the genocidal turn that camp has taken, it's vitally important to take sides.
  Otherwise, I agree with you.
  
  Lol "genocidal turn"
- Why does anyone think whether black people matter or not is political?
  
  Because BLM is a political movement
- But if I can’t wear my rainbow onesie to work it’s literally genocide.
  
  Lol apparently people here don't see sarcasm.

In that case, the workers should wear union masks instead.

Companies have no rights unlimited genocide on corporate personhood

After reading this, why am I getting a feeling in my stomach that reminds me of being on a roller coaster right before a big drop? Why do I feel like all of America is going to be like that very soon?
- My gut says it's going to be more complicated than that. I believe in people and at a certain point the reactionary stuff is going to overplay their hand and I think we're already seeing it.
  At a certain point this stuff just breaks down, people will lose their patience. In my wildest dreams the 2020 riots were a kind of dress rehearsal for something more organized in the future. Eventually I think liberals might lose their ability to usurp movements.
  Don't get me wrong, we're headed for bad times, but we don't have to feel doomed. Believe in people.
  
  I believe in a subset of people. But that subset of people is not enough to prevent things from getting very ugly.
  I expect we'll have something to eclipse 2020. But I also expect there's going to be a very strong reactionary backlash waiting in the wings again. I'm hoping to secure more viable refuges by that point.

Very simple fix
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management
Now Amazon is an anti-governmental organization

Free speech for me but not for thee.
- The first amendment is in regards to what the government can impose onto citizens... What does this have to do with what amounts to a dress code for work?
  
  False equivalence. Free speech and the first amendment are not the same thing.
  Amazon spends millions on lobbying politicians, but prevents their employees from wearing a badge which expresses support for an extremely marginalised group.

That Bill of Rights isn't for humans. It's for corporations.
- Don't forget, Corporations are Peopleᵀᴹ
  
  Corporations are people the same way Soylent Green is people, in that it is made of them. That's it.

Exsqueeze me? What the amazon fuck, WholeFoods.
- Reason 9,000,975 for not shipping Amazon/Whole Foods.
- You can't seriously be surprised by this. When you work for a company, especially one that interacts with customers, you're almost guaranteed to have to follow uniform requirements. This isn't new.

When I worked at a big box store for years I wasn't allowed to wear my BLM shirt or anything "political" but my Trumper coworkers got away with wearing their Trump shirts or Let's Go Brandon shirts, and they even put Let's Go Brandon stickers up all aroubd the employee facing areas. If you told managers about it they addressed it as a dress code violation and regarded you as a snitch.
- Got to love selective enforcement
- So what stopped you wearing your BLM shirt?
  
  Like fuck you very much for implying that I don't believe black lives matter? When I literally just described the repression of political speech in the workplace I faced?
  
  Idk if you've ever worked a shitty oppressive "essential" job during the peak of a pandemic because you couldn't afford to quit, & the US unemployment system doesn't pay out if you get fired for a cause dress code violations, so I had to not wear it in order to stay employed. I hope you understand, random who is casting aspersions on me and blaming me for the oppression and double standard and my workplace taking a racist political position, that I just described.

It seems like this would hurt their brand to pick this fight, since moronic "conscientious" labor aristocrats are their target demo.
- I think they’re counting on a large amount of them not caring once the symbols are out of sight, and after they smooth over the initial outrage with a bit of PR.
- moronic "conscientious" labor aristocrat
  What?

I'm hoping this will break liberal fantasies about trusting certain corporations, but it probably won't. It'll push more suburban white liberals into the maw of being reactionary.
Is it accelerationist of me to want comfortable suburban liberals to just become conservatives already? They're already most of the way there and it would help more properly delineate where the political divides really are.
- Shit, that's kinda what I want. I want to quit having to pretend I want to coddle them and start shitting on them at every possible opportunity.
- Shit I'm way past that. I'm ready to watch the world burn so people are forced to deal with the consequences of their treachery toward this planet and her people. Complacency needs to be eliminated.
- You people have some really weird ideas about liberals. Wow.
- I have worked for companies that have rules stating no logos/brand names could be noticeable. So a black pair of shoes that had a Nike check on it would be considered unacceptable. I always worried the dickies emblem on my work pants might cause issue. White socks were an issue which since you are wearing long pants and shoes... shouldn't even be noticeable. All tattoos had to be covered, no facial hair allowed, and no piercings. Hair color must be a natural color.
  I think the concept behind BLM is good, but I would have never thought wearing a mask with their logo on it would be allowable work attire.

I'm with Amazon on this, seems a reasonable ask for employees to not wear any political/cultural/social things at work with their official uniform.
- Guys is it Political to not want to get killed by the police or just get seen at the hospital when you’re having chest pains?
  Interesting take you have there.
  
  It's political to insist that getting shot in response for attacking the police is just "because you're black".
  
  BLM is a brand though. The lady who founded it just bought a £1.25M house in LA's exclusive Topanga neighbourhood for all cash.
  That doesn't sound like some sort of grass roots, help lift people up, Mother Teresa sort of organisation to me.
  Hence yeah, people don't like BLM. Some don't like what it stands for, while others, like me, don't like it because the founders used it as a massive vehicle for grifting and lining their own pockets.
- So if they’re banning BLM as political, do they have to be even handed and ban all political iconography?
  Is a rainbow political? Obviously anything with an American flag is political, so those need to be banned. Anything like a cross obviously would be forbidden - necklaces would have to be tucked in and invisible. Christianity is far more of a political thing in the US than BLM, as it’s being used to specifically and actively drive legislation. Would they then have to ban employees from other religious dress, like wearing a hijab or yarmulke? I don’t recall Muslims or Jews passing legislation in the name of their religion at the national level, but do activities in Dearborn or Williamsburg count?
  Are wedding rings heteronormative? They’re certainly both a cultural and a social thing. Makeup is also both cultural and social, and additionally potentially has gendered implications. If we ban rainbows, do we ban anyone wearing makeup or require everyone to do so, since they’re potentially signaling gender identity?
  
  I'm going to start using GOP rhetoric and replace rainbow flag with wedding rings.
  Wedding rings is woke propaganda.
  
  So if they’re banning BLM as political, do they have to be even handed and ban all political iconography?
  Yes... because the policy is
  no slogans, logos, or advertising except for Whole Foods branding
  https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/whole-foods-black-lives-matter-mask.aspx
  
  I think you're way into the weeds here and forget the most important thing to remember about "freedom": things like the Bill of Rights and the Constitution are a compact between you and the government, not you and private companies. Private companies don't owe you anything besides whatever the government has expressly legislated, such as explicit protection for religious clothing and icons like crosses, Sikh turbans, etc.
  However, beyond that, individual companies have the right to request their employees look and dress in certain ways. The flip side there is, if you don't like those rules, you are free to not work there anymore.
  Of course, legislators can always choose to pass laws forcing companies to allow more exemptions, but that hasn't happened yet for displays of a political organisation.
- I agree, but then I started thinking "why the hell do I think it's so reasonable for a corporation to strip away the humanity of its employees" and I'm not sure where I've landed now.
  
  They're not doing anything if the sort, that's hyperbolic nonsense. When you're paid to represent a company, you shouldn't be displaying items that link them to a course they're not corporately linked to. Once you leave at the end of the shift you can put all the political regalia you like back on.
  
  "strip away the humanity"
  I'm dead. That's got to be the greatest use of hyperbole I've seen in a long time. Bravo, sir. Bravo.
  
  It's not just a corporate thing, police, military, and fire brigade aren't allowed to wear overt political badging either.
  There's a general rule that if you work for an organisation which asks you to wear a work related uniform of some kind, you don't get to add anything to it, political or otherwise. You don't see bobbies with a Pink Floyd sticker on their chest.
- Yeah, it just seems like common sense to me that you don't wear political regalia to work, and that's coming from the UK where our workers rights are a big stronger.
  Like it or not, while you're on the clock, you're on the companies time and the only political stuff you should be promoting, if any, if causes they've aligned themselves too corporately.
- Yeah, I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. Agree or not (and I agree with what BLM stands for), it is sadly controversial. And I get why a business would not want employees overtly supporting or opposing something some customers could find controversial.

It seems to me like WF is trying to avoid a bud light situation. Employees wearing BLM stuff will certainly put off a lot of people in many areas. So it's about not alienating a big portion of their customers, which would be a significant hit to sales.
Anyway, I find it odd to some extent that a business was not allowed, possibly, to limit what employees wear, especially if they interact with customers. A key tenant of sales and customer service is to make the person feel respected and to take an interest (fake if nothing else) in the customer.
- Alienating racists isn't a bad thing.
- It’s sad that a significant portion of their customers don’t believe black lives matter and that as usual money is more important than that to corporations
  
  No, you are conflating the organization with the phrase. Probably why they picked that name. People oppose the org and their Marxist agenda, not so much (I hope) black people.
  
  I can easily see this being a safety issue. You don't usually want employees wearing stuff that could anger other employees or customers, no matter the reason.
  
  Or maybe it's the embezzling and theft of funds by the leader.

Pin the BLM mask directly to Jeff Bezos fucking face. Staple it if necessary.

Time to go to Wegmans, y'all.
- HEB baby
  
  We don't have either of those in my area, unfortunately. Trader Joe's is pretty awesome, but even they have some fucky sourcing and, at least at the one here, a really high turnover rate for employees.
- I wish there was a Wegmans in my area. In college, the one near me put discount deli food out at 8am. So I'd get a $2 sandwich and a $1 soup (which would have been like $9). I survived off of discount food.
  
  Same. Wegmans fed me through college, and oh did they feed me well.
- Wegmans is extremely regional. And when I did live somewhere that had one, I almost never went because it was always massively over crowded.
  
  Fair enough. I guess I should have specified it was for those with one in their area.

Another reason to avoid Whole Foods.
- Another title gazer thinking authors have his best interest in mind
  
  Should be a giant red flag to bring this up 8 months after the lawsuit was dismissed... This is trying to stir something up.
  https://www.reuters.com/legal/judge-dismisses-whole-foods-workers-lawsuit-over-black-lives-matter-masks-2023-01-23/

My business my freedom
- And it's also everyone else's prerogative to identify bad faith identity politics running a business and run far away from said business.

Another example of a company with street cred giving it up. If employees felt safe wearing BLM masks to work that meana the company's image as is consistent, even internally.
And they just threw it away.

Tell us how you really feel, Whole Foods!

If they have a dress code for their employess, it's their right to prevent their employees from wearing anything not up to code. No matter if it's making a statement or not.
- They'd have to be uniform in its enforcement. For instance, "no pins" would be fine, but "no BLM pins, but MAGA pins are fine" wouldn't stand.
  
  I agree.

- spoiler: it's still privately owned

I am getting tired of being surprised that out of 77 comments not one mentions that the SCOTUS did NOT allow "Christian business owners to refuse same-sex couples." This was and is against the law. SCOTUS said they don't have to create pro-same-sex materials. It should be a straightforward and obvious conclusion that only went to SCOTUS because of the current anti-religious sentiment.
Would a liberal sign maker be required to create pro-life materials? Of course not. Should a conservative sign maker be required to make pro-choice materials? Of course not.
The law cannot force you to make materials or statements that you do not agree with.
- This.
- I hope this is a joke.
- Being pro-life isn't a protected class. Sex is a protected class. Your example doesn't work

Welp, just cancelled Amazon Prime. Never shopped at Whole Foods, so can't do any more there.
Kinda the straw that broke the camel's back for me. Probably should've done it a long time ago with all the union busting and general shittiness they are towards employees. But FFS if you're gonna pay people the bare minimum, treat them like cogs, at least allow them to have something they care about on their person while they're doing that shitty job.
Saying that black people are humans and their lives matter as much as any other human should be the least controversial thing ever. But a bunch of racists made it controversial and Amazon is just going along with that.
- This is what made you cancel Amazon Prime in 2023? lol
  
  Don't worry, he's lying
  
  Yeah I am really lazy about shit like this. But hey better late than never, right?
- A company not wanting it's employees to wear politicized materials while at work is what makes you mad? I suppose you also want them to be able to wear rebel flag or SS masks? A Trump facemask with MAGA on it? Maybe you just read the title?
  
  Black Lives Matter is a unambiguously good stance.
  The rebel flag signifies support for people who fought a war against their fellows for the right to hold others in chains. SS signifies support for a mass murder's campaign to subjugate the world and drag the world into darkness. Support for Trump is support for an autocrat who would replace Democracy with a cult of personality.
  The fact that you cannot distinguish these beyond lumping them together as political stances doesn't speak well for your analytical skills. How about you can support your fellow man but you can't support evil?
  
  It's not actually a problematic political stance to state that Black Lives Matter, it's unambiguously good, whereas the other things you mention are hate speech, hope that helps.
  
  No I don't want them to allow Confederate, Nazi, or Trump symbols. Because those things suck.
  What is it with people that think that we're supposed to be fair to racist assholes? Learn a little about the paradox of tolerance, ok?
- Which fucktards decided to downvote this comment?
  
  Bootlickers (not the good kind)

Honesty, imo, shame on Amazon for not barring anything but solid-colored, patterned, or Bezos-Empire-Branded masks, explicitly, in their dress code.
I’m a (mostly) vegan, liberal AF, solidly middle-class, homeowner married millenial parent (i.e the portrait of a Whole Foods customer), and I agree with BLM, but I would be put off by any political or politicalized messaging in a supplier/customer relationship. I’m here for your general tao seitan and a TTLA…not for your influence.
- bro you're absolutely right bro the status quo isn't political
  
  “ Ask yourself: is there something sinister in moralism? And then answer: no. God is in his heaven. Everything is normal on Earth.”
- So you don't agree with BLM then
  
  Believe it or not it is possible to fully support a political ideal while still thinking corporations should stay out of politics.
  For example, I think that cops taking money from people (Civil Asset Forfeiture) without charging them with a crime is amoral, unconstitutional (4th amendment), and un-American.
  If, however, I saw a sign about it in my local McDonald's I would definitely be like WTF?!?
- politics? in my treats?
- I agree with BLM, but
  liberalism.txt
  Death to America
- Saying that black people exist and should remain alive is not a political statement. Do you want to ban hats that say "veteran" too? Or maybe charity and cancer awareness logos?
  Being a live black person is not a political act. Think about that when ordering some seitan and being "liberal AF", whatever that means.
  
  This feels very similar to me to businesses freaking out and trying to prevent their employees from wearing rainbow flag or pronoun pins. Or rainbow masks, for that matter.
  I think employee uniform requirements should be just enough to make employees identifiable so they can do their jobs (e.g. answer customer questions about where the lettuce is or whatever). Just a mandatory hat or shirt is enough to do that. Beyond that, they're humans. Let them be fucking humans.
  
  Political - adj - Of, relating to, or dealing with the structure or affairs of government, politics, or the state.
  I don't know if you really don't know the difference between being black and supporting the BLM movement, but there is a definite difference. A good quick measure is would a politician hold an opinion on it? For a specific example do you think Tim Scott (one of the black Republican Presidential Candidates) would wear a BLM face mask?
  I will assume that you are arguing and good faith and genuinely don't see the difference, so here are a few contrasting examples:
  Wearing a hat that says Veteran is a statement of fact, like wearing a hat with your college's logo. It is not inherently political or supporting any particular political ideal.
  Wearing a VFW hat on the other hand, would be political. The VFW seeks to educated and change the opinions of legislators regarding veterans.
  If a black person was wearing a hat that said I am Black. That would be a statement of fact and not inherently political or supporting any particular political ideal.
  Wearing a BLM hat on the other hand would be political. The BLM organization and supporters of the BLM ideals seek to educate and change the opinions of legislators and the public regarding black people.
  Without typing out the same comparisons again, cancer awareness and most charities would fall under political ideals also. They almost always seek to influence government legislation or funding.
  
  Saying that black people exist and should remain alive is not a political statement
  It's absolutely political because it sits on the false premise that others argue otherwise. Nobody does, it's a false premise used to create racial divide and lower the moral of the black community
- I’m a (mostly) vegan, liberal AF, solidly middle-class, homeowner married millenial parent (i.e the portrait of a Whole Foods customer
  you could have left this description out and we would still know this about you from this bootlicker take
- Politics are everywhere. You cannot (and don't deserve to) escape them, brunch gremlin. Ooga-booga-booga.
- 😤
- Politicize the idea the that an ethnicity shouldn't be arbitrarily beaten by police.
  Ban that idea because it's "politicized"
  Everyone is ok with it because despite politicize is a verb we're supposed to pretend this isn't being done by someone that thinks it's ok for police arbitrarily beat the shit out of minorities.
  It's almost like this a system of some kind. And maybe racist? A racist system? So not only aren't we doing enough to take on systemic racism, corporations like Amazon are creating new forms of systemic racism.
- stunning satire
- That idea has no bearing on reality, you likely support many businesses owned by right wing assholes indirectly just by living somewhere that doesn't use 100% renewable energy for all of its power needs, for example, and so do I, you can't really help it. Corporations are people under US law and they have been doing political speech under that regime in the form of unlimited spending for over a decade. If Amazon actually believes that black lives matter they should indeed say it. False neutrality and saying that black lives matter is too political a stance for them to want to take is a stance in itself.
- How Cool And Liberal and definitely not two faced. So while black people begin to avoid Whole Foods, you'll still be shopping there because its not a problem for you. And as a good liberal of course, you agree there's no reason people can state "black lives matter to me" on their clothes. Sure, in the privacy of your own property but not in Massa's house. Bezo's free speech quashes the protections of the speech of his lessers and... that is simply the law. You're relieved of guilt.
  You know, I'm not a tankie, but the self deluding, boot licking, and casual racist assumptions about whose lives are "political statements" based on their lamenting of being constantly murdered and stepped on by society, do give me a sympathetic window into their specific disgust of neoliberals. People like you go along to get along and nothing more.
  You're quite fine with racism because Whole Foods is cheap.
  
  But this is specifically about workers wearing a BLM mask. Not the general public.
  Amazon/Wholefoods are totally within their rights as employers to enforce a dress code. That’s it. That’s the end of the line.
  Now, if they had previously let workers wear “FJB” masks without enforcing the dress code, that’s obviously a bias and something that should be dealt with.
  This is, quite obviously, a worker violating a dress code and seeking publicity by riding the coattails of a heated issue with their own persecution complex.

This is the best summary I could come up with:
Amazon.com’s Whole Foods Market doesn’t want to be forced to let workers wear “Black Lives Matter” masks and is pointing to the recent US Supreme Court ruling permitting a business owner to refuse services to same-sex couples to get federal regulators to back off.
National Labor Relations Board prosecutors have accused the grocer of stifling worker rights by banning staff from wearing BLM masks or pins on the job.
The company countered in a filing that its own rights are being violated if it’s forced to allow BLM slogans to be worn with Whole Foods uniforms.
Amazon is the most prominent company to use the high court’s June ruling that a Christian web designer was free to refuse to design sites for gay weddings, saying the case “provides a clear roadmap” to throw out the NLRB’s complaint.
The dispute is one of several in which labor board officials are considering what counts as legally-protected, work-related communication and activism on the job.
The original article contains 159 words, the summary contains 159 words. Saved 0%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

- “Also, I love to spread extremely racist and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories alongside my neofascist buddies!”

I never go to whole foods. I wish I did, just so I can start wearing a BLM mask going there. But don't wanna give them any of my money for protesting.
- You can always just buy the loss leaders - win-win!

Sadly, if Republicans had their way, wearing masks at all would be a political statement.

This is the best summary I could come up with:
Amazon.com’s Whole Foods Market doesn’t want to be forced to let workers wear “Black Lives Matter” masks and is pointing to the recent US Supreme Court ruling permitting a business owner to refuse services to same-sex couples to get federal regulators to back off.
National Labor Relations Board prosecutors have accused the grocer of stifling worker rights by banning staff from wearing BLM masks or pins on the job.
The company countered in a filing that its own rights are being violated if it’s forced to allow BLM slogans to be worn with Whole Foods uniforms.
Amazon is the most prominent company to use the high court’s June ruling that a Christian web designer was free to refuse to design sites for gay weddings, saying the case “provides a clear roadmap” to throw out the NLRB’s complaint.
The dispute is one of several in which labor board officials are considering what counts as legally-protected, work-related communication and activism on the job.
The original article contains 159 words, the summary contains 159 words. Saved 0%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

I wish people wouldn't wear political masks at work. It's your right, sure, but please don't.

- What a psychotic lib take Jesus Christ.
- Do you have any friends? You know like actual friends you can rely on and won't drift apart from as soon as you stop giving them something?
- mass arson
  but it's a BLM mask not a Fraternal Order of the Police mask?
- Thanks for yet another post proving this place was better before we federated
- I wish we would ban something affiliated with posting dumb bullshit.
- Arson is based. This shit needs to crumble already
- mass arson
  
  Death to America
- Yeah, we should ban workers from being able to wear the American flag (see: Napalm, Vietnam War Atrocities)
- Wow, now this is one hell of a shit hot take.

Im ok with this. While BLM is a good thing, having to wear uniforms that promote any organization other than your employer is a problem. Imagine being forced to wear a pro-Trump t-shirt. Or an anti-union vest. Or some anti-gay, pro-religion hat while flipping burgers.
- Huh? This isnt about wholefoods not wanting to force their workers to wear blm masks, this is about wholefoods wanting to forbid their workers from wearing them
- Wow that was a trip down red herring lane.
- Not at all what they're saying. It's about the employee's speech in a work context not official policy.

- imagine doing free PR for a man with as much money as Jeff Bezos
  
  I assume you mean "doing paid PR", since they are at work and getting paid for it?

Obviously, no business wants to be associated with BLM any more than they want to be associated with the KKK. Every company I've ever worked for has had dress codes that prohibited divisive political slogans and offensive language.
- That’s quite the false equivalence you’ve made there
  
  Nah, it's spot on
  
  They're both reprehensible political extremist movements. BLM has the added stank of being a fraudulent money-laundering scam on top of it, too.
  I guess the Summer of Love didn't happen.
- How is the statement Black Lives Matter a divisive political slogan? Take all the time you need.
- Sorry you live in a shitty town where a BLM sticker triggers snowflakes.
  Go to any city in America and you'll see all sorts of BLM, rainbow flags, signage on storefronts. This isn't just mom & pop shops, but major companies too.
  
  Great, and each company is entitled to its own rules on those things. Whole foods have decided on theirs and their employees can lump it or go and get a job with the more progressive companies that do allow it.
  
  The left has no leg to stand on when bitching about ideological symbols when kids are getting kicked out of school for having a Gadsden flag patch on their backpack.
- Uniform is uniform, no politics in work is how every job I've had was. Can I wear a Spanish flag pin cuz it's my heritage? No it violates dress code
- False equivalence fallacy.
  
  The BLM/KKK thing is a false equivilance, but his right to say that companies have the right to decide if employees can display political iconography on their uniform and most of them won't want it due to the hassle it will bring and also that it may indicate a corporate connection that isn't there.
- 6 day old account with -900 karma... I think it's a troll, guys!
- Are you seriously equating BLM to the KKK?
  BLM's message is "Please stop murdering us"
  How the fuck is that divisive, political, or offensive?
  What's divisive is morons like you saying "No, ALL LIVES MATTER".
  You're either completely missing the point, in which case you're dumber than I thought possible, or you're willfully ignoring it, in which case you're just a racist.
  Which is it?
  
  All lives matter is an anti racist way to say that black lives matter.
  
  I never said, and I never say, "All Lives Matter." That's what stupid conservatives say because they don't understand that's exactly the rhetorical trap BLM has set for them in order to call them racists. Please notice I didn't step in that trap, so don't shove me into it.
  When it comes to "What belongs on people's clothes while representing their employer," BLM and KKK are the same.
  BLM's message isn't really "Please stop murduring us." It's "You white people are all a bunch of racists."
  It's slanderous (which is why it's offensive), it's obviously political at a glance, so inherently so that I don't know how to explain it, and a lot of people don't go for that shit and a lot of other people do (which makes it divisive).