Still Boycotting Kroger



Anecdote relayed to me from a Roselawn resident: I went to Kroger in Roselawn for something as simple as orange juice. It wasn't until I got it home, that I realized it had already expired for 7 days. I can't imagine that happening to me in any other neighborhood Kroger.


Just one person's story but it's a single example of the many ways Kroger let it's Roselawn customers down. But Kroger insists that the store isn't necessary and that the store lost money, not because of their poor marketing, but because people don't just don't shop there anymore. Except for the hundreds trying to keep the store open. I suppose they don't count, being elderly, low income & mostly black.

Speaking of "mostly black", it seems that many white people in the city have their theories as to why the Roselawn Kroger closed. The comments I've seen online show that bigotry in Cincinnati is as nasty and insidious as it ever was. Prepare to have your stomach turned.



When members of the community do not support the safety of their own community by reporting crime and helping authorities to solve crimes that occur in the particular community then that crime will affect the business community to the point that it is no longer profitable to stay.

But NO. Armed robberies are people with guns or knifes and usually significant drug and/or alcohol problems which manifests itself in killing people to satisfy that addiction. This can result in loss of life or harm to employees. No amount of profit is worth that risk when the risk gets as high as it is in Roselawn.
4/25/2010 10:20:53 AM

where are the stories of the unhappy biggs customers? 4 of those are closing why isnt ms mayor mallery talking to them? could it be white folk just shrug and move on?channel 9 mentioned the bus and changing busses.are they saying these folks do not own cars? come on folks do something for yourselves.jeeez.next we'll be tuckin you in at night.
davidencinci - 4/25/2010 4:19 PM

I am sick and tired of the black community whining about what THEY DESERVE. If you took better care of your neighborhood and raised your children better, Kroger probably wouldn't be leaving. Oh but wait.....it's never YOUR fault is it? Give me a freakin break!!!
Apr. 19, 2010 1:35am EDT | from chrismcp

I guess Mr. Thomas and his group are trying to make a racial issue out of krogers wanting to close a store that has been losing money for over a year.I am sure that some of the black community is at fault for that million dollar lose,because of their shop lifting.1 out 2 people leaving that store has hid something on their person. so you people can blame the store closing on your own kind.cannot blame the white folk for this one,but i'm sure someone will try.
Apr. 18, 2010 12:09am EDT | from cchseal2

maybe the citizens of the neighborhood should clean up the place so krogers and other businesses would want to stay. eventually all that will be left in that area is the roselawn park that the thugs have fun in. oh yeah and the new cps school where the kids will never do well in anyway, as their parents are the thugs in the park...... rediculous
Apr. 17, 2010 9:38pm EDT | from justsharon1

Whats the crime rate in Roselawn? Maybe these residents should help influence the good of the community and make it a better place so business can thrive and grow.Thomas should hold a rally to make better citizens starting with his trashy ghetto daughter.
Apr. 17, 2010 3:19pm EDT | from xavier1

That is the most ghetto Kroger ever! Good riddance.
Apr. 17, 2010 1:53pm EDT | from kasper923

It would seem to me that a private corporation could open or close any store that it wants. Unless of course if it's in a racially charged neighborhood..Call rev jesse and uncle Al (sharpton), they'll stop it
Apr. 17, 2010 1:44pm EDT | from nobodiesfool

Considering how much in groceries they must be losing to theft for the store to have a $1M loss for the year. If it isn't theft, then that means the store isn't being shopped at. Either way, it's a sound business decision. Of course I know it means people will have to travel farther to get their groceries, and that many of those people don't have cars. I also understand it means a loss of jobs. But rather than boycott Kroger (which is kind of silly considering that the people involved in the boycott aren't willing to travel to a farther away Kroger anyway), shouldn't they focus on fixing the problems that led to Kroger not being profitable int he first place? That's the problem with some of the leadership in the African American community. They are muckrakers and pot stirrers, not leaders. Rather than address the real problems, like children who don't care about education, crime sprees and gangs, they focus on boycotting Kroger for closing a store thats losing a boatload of money. Having a Kroger in Roselawn won't slow down "black-on-black" crime. Having a Kroger in Roselawn won't raise test scores at Roselawn-Condon. Having a Kroger apparently only made it easier to steal food.
Apr. 30, 2010 9:01am EDT | from PhineasDelgado

Boycott will eliminate the shoplifting. Great idea. Instead of losing money the company will break even. No sales , no loss.
Apr. 30, 2010 8:43am EDT | from irishdanny

It is not Kroger's fault that the generations of kids in that area were not raised right.
Apr. 30, 2010 10:15am EDT | from KennedyHtsDr



So Roselawn deserves being without a grocery store in a 10 mile radius because as we all know it's a common fact: black people steal.

My level of disgust with the white people who made those comments cannot be described. Some of the other comments seem to think that boycott of Kroger is "stupid" because it proves the people of Roselawn can and will shop somewhere else.

I suppose they must think that either all black folks live in Roselawn or that black people elsewhere will not be sympathetic to what's happening there. So I replied:

I hate to break it to some of you but black people do live in other neighborhoods besides Roselawn. And when I make the extra trip to take some of my church members to the grocery store - now that they don't have one in their own neighborhood - do you think I'm going to take them to another Kroger?

And knowing how Kroger is choosing to starve out my friends & family Roselawn, do you think I'm going to spend my own hard-earned shopping dollars in Kroger? A boycott makes perfect sense. I and my family will not spend another dime in Kroger stores or buy gas at Shell Stations that are in partnership with their shopper card. And I'm not the only one.

Kroger is going to lose a lot more than a million dollars in the end if people get serious about the boycott. They're banking that people won't care and in this day and age, they might be right. But they've lost my family as customers for good. Here's hoping other people follow suit.


The boycott continues...let's hope it catches on.

Comments

  1. Maybe we should boycott Enquirer's comments section.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Since you saw fit to include my comments, and make a decision about my thoughts on race without at least talking to me first, I felt the need to post a comment here:

    For the record, I've probably done more, by proxy, to help Roselawn than 90% of it's citizens. My wife, Stacy Buening-Koontz has been a teacher at Roselawn-Condon elementary school for 10 years. There is no greater support a person can give to a community than to teach their young.

    What I see, year after year, is a problem that is growing worse and worse with each passing class. Children who are taught that they don't have to take responsibility for themselves, or their actions. Children that are taught to ignore authority figures other than family members. Children who are taught to run away from the police. Children who are taught that they don't need to have goals because somewhere, someone will give them everything they want. Now, this doesn't represent ALL children, nor does it represent ALL African-Americans. No more than the ideas of the Democratic or Republican parties represent the ideals of ALL Americans.

    It's obvious there is a cultural difference between your community and mine. I grew up in a poor section of Middletown. A smaller city, cure, but the problems were no different. We had a lot of crime, and most of the crime there was committed by white people. Kroger moved it's store that was within walking distance of me all the way across town because they were losing money and wanted to take advantage of new growth on the other side of town. At the time, this moved them out of MIddletown and into Franklin. Did they ask for permission? No. Did the city ask them to reconsider. Of course. Did they? No. And to this day, the only Kroger in Middletown is by the Towne Mall.

    I understand why the community is upset, but why is it that they immediately draw the conclusion that everyone is a racist, so that's why the store is closing? If they are losing over a million dollars a year, and people are shopping there in droves, then there HAS to be so much theft as to be insurmountable. If you were a business owner, how long could you keep a store open that was losing even $1,000 every year. No profit, only loss.

    And for the record, According to the Kroger website, there are 37 Kroger stores within 10 miles of 45237. 32. That's a lot more than the "none" you seem to think there are. If you want to make change... REAL CHANGE... then find a way to get into the minds and hearts of the youth... and stop limiting yourself by the color of your skin.

    Everything I said was based on personal observation or fact. I never implied that black people steal. I stated that the children my wife teaches are taught that they deserve to have everything someone else has, even if they didn't work as hard for it. Is that really the right message? Make that change. Teach your children and others that they world can only have so many ball players and rap star (when asking her 6th graders 2/3 of them said they would do one or the other of those things.. of those, only a couple currently play in an organized sport or play music).

    I'll agree that things need to change, and I'm willing to help with that, but this isn't the right place to start. Find REAL injustice. The injustice of cuttting school funds based solely on test scores. The injustice of allowing teachers to talk and text in class because they are only held accountable for test scores and not grade performance. The injustice of having leadership that spends more time boycotting a massive national company than trying to educate its children.

    Find real change, and I'll meet you there.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 1. If you think your explanation here is better than your original posted comments - somehow less bigoted or racist - you are sadly mistaken.

    2. If you ever feel like walking 10 miles to a store, buying a weeks worth of groceries and then walking 10 miles back carrying those groceries, please, contact me and allow me to film it.

    Sincerely,

    ThatDeborahGirl

    ReplyDelete
  4. You have a funny view on what's racist. My words are realist. I would say exactly the same thing if the Roselawn were predominantly white and the leadership of the community were acting the same way.

    This isn't about race. It's about making money. Kroger isn't so they are moving on. Pure and simple.

    And i said there were THRTY-TWO stores WITHIN a 10 mile radius. You said there were none. I would add that there is not a Kroger within walking distance from my house now, nor has there ever been since I've lived in the city. Transportation is easy to come by.

    And by the way, I have slogged far more than 10 miles with much more than jut groceries to carry and a member of the United States Air Force, and not just in basic training. So, before you begin to criticize the "fatty and happy racist white man" you should try to get to know them first.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 1. Why should I try to get to know you? You certainly haven't made any effort, that I am aware of, to get to know me.

    2. So let me get this straight? You routinely walk 10 miles and back to the grocery store, carrying a weeks worth of groceries or more? Would you please confirm this claim.

    3. I think you should spend some time reading the site, Stuff White People Do. You will see that many of the arguments you present in your first, second and third posting here are sandbag arguments that simply cannot and will not hold water here.

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Stuff White People Do?" honestly? If I had the capacity to be offended, I think I would be. Talk about racist.

    No, I do not routinely slog with a week's worth of groceries 10 miles, and as I've said before, there are 32 Krogers WITHIN 10 miles, 10 of those within 5.

    I also said that I do not live within walking distance of a Kroger, nor have I ever since I've lived in the city. I currently live in Madisonville, and previously in Kennedy Heights.

    I also commented that the Kroger where I grew up moved for the same reasons given here and we were forced to adjust. Was it easy? no. But we did it because we didn't have a choice. Wasting time on a pointless boycott does nothing but create distrust, unrest, and stir a pot that doesn't need stirring.

    Kroger is not concerned about a few hundred people boycotting stores that they may not have visited anyway. Did you know that 75% of the people who shop at that kroger visited one of the other nearby Kroger stores? Or can we not trust Kroger to provide that data? Is this all a conspiracy to move a Kroger out of a black neighborhood and make the black people work harder.

    It sounds ridiculous when I say it, why don't you think it's ridiculous when you do. The truth is what it is. Kroger is closing a store that's losing money. They are also closing the Kenwood store. It's in a high dollar neighborhood with little crime and lots of potential. Why? BECAUSE IT'S LOSING MONEY.

    Are the people in Silverton and Deer Park and Sycamore Township boycotting?

    I wonder...

    For the record, my name is Chris Koontz. My family and I live in a very mixed neighborhood and do what we can to support it. We always have. My daughter attends Sands Montessori, a CIncinnati Public School, and has absolutely no concept of what it means to be white or black. I won't allow it. She sees other children and chooses to play with them... well every time.

    Racism is alive, and it makes me sad. It's alive in people of all color. It's time to look past what race people are and treat them based on their actions.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Stuff White People do is not a racist site. It's hosted by a White man who is aware of overt & subtle racism & the ways white people perpetuate that racism in general. Your comments meet so many of the stereotypical criteria for having a conversation about race, I think you might be surprised as to why your arguments are not familiar to me.

    Your whole concept of "not allowing" your daughter to see color is a fallacy.

    It may be time to look past race but if you think your comments & Kroger's desertion of Roselawn have absolutely nothing to do with race, you really need to rethink what you believe you know.

    Can you honestly tell me that you never stopped to ask why 75% of people who could go elsewhere shopped at another Kroger when they had one in their own neighborhood? Did you never stop to question Kroger's "data" or do you just believe them because they said it? Where is the corroborating evidence or data?

    Kroger said it so it must be true. You meant well so your comments can't be racist or bigoted.

    You seem to be so very certain that you are right and that I'm pointing out racism where there is none.

    I think I have far more experience with the racist actions of others than you do. Furthermore, I think I'm more than willing to do what you won't - call out racism & bigotry for what it is, rather than turning a blind eye.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This will be my last comment:

    What we have in this country isn't racism, it's ignorance. It's passed on from mother to daughter and father to son and it's sickening.

    I've seen real racism. I've seen what happens when you try to force people who've hated each other for CENTURIES to live as neighbors. I've seen, first hand, the systematic slaughtering of an entire people because they had different tribal markings than another group.

    Don't tell me I'm racist.

    You bleed red, and so do I. Less than 1/10 of 1% of our DNA creates ALL the genetic diversity in himan beings. DOGS, CATS, and MICE have more genetic diversity than human beings do. You may think it's naive, but it isn't.

    Did you know that human baings are the only mammal species that doesn't have delective pigmentation? See, if you breed a white cat and a black cat, you won't ever get a grey cat. It takes a mutation to get a grey cat. That pairing will give you either a white cat, a black cat, or a black and white spotted cat.

    People aren't like that. If I had a child with someone with darker skin tone than me, more than likely, that child would end up somewhere in the middle. Why do you think that is? Am I the only person in the world that honestly believes that there should be no difference between you and me? And because of that I see no sense in proliferating senseless ideas.

    Kroger closes a store in Bond Hill and everyone throws a fit. They close a store in Kenwood and no one says a word. Same exact circumstances. Are they lying? Who knows? I choose to believe them becuase there is no purpose served by lying. They service cities with much higher rates of crime in Atlanta, to be honest about it. Bond Hill, Roselawn and Avondale have been nests for violent crime for years, and rather than building up to fight that, you are boycotting Kroger.

    My wife teaches children who are TAUGHT BY THEIR FAMILIES that it's better to sell drugs and join a gang than to get an education when the truth is that there is opportunity for anyone who wants it. If you think the system is broken, then change it from within. Fighting it with a counter-culture won't work. Ask the next hippie you see... oh wait.. there aren't any anymore. They joined the mainstream and run the country now. I forgot.

    The bottom line is that you can either choose to make a difference, or just yell and hope someone notices. The bad part about yelling is that it only drws attention to you and not the problem. Rampant crime is the problem, not the race of the people involved. And I will believe that until it is proven to be otherwise true.

    I apprecaite your opinions and your right to express them as you will. What I do not support is your right to label me a racist because I disagree with you, or you think my ideas support some racist agenda. I am no more a racist than you are.

    Fight the real problem and stores like Kroger won't feel compelled to leave.. for any reasons.

    ReplyDelete

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