New Year's Day W/ Vons STILL At It & We're Still Hanging w/ Chads

I don't rant, because a rant is like a temper tantrum, I EMPATHIZE, AFTER I have done my research, i.e., investigative reporting. Clerks are not supposed to complain and they don't, nor do managers, who, like the clerks, are not allowed even to give me their names for attribution in a story of ANY kind...that doesn't mean there isn't a specific problem AND a MACRO one- there are both.

As a person with integrity and on behalf of my role at PATCH, which requires integrity from me, as a contract I have with integrity of journalism, as I am sure my colleagues, such as Paige Austin and Heather Tappen have just as much as me, not to mention, my boss and editor, who is my boss, and he has allowed me the latitude to be playful, because he takes me seriously as he does his job and PATCH.

He doesn't approve these stories in advance nor do I enjoy repeating myself, I do it for others, in this case, people at Pavillions who are not allowed to make a case for themselves. They are such great people- always helpful, they work hard for their salaries but in this day and age, working hard is almost making a living.

VONS is treating them poorly, as this self-cashier is an annoyance they must tune-out but never enough, because customers complain to them about it all the time. All I am suggesting is to complain to VONS. Disparaging the people who work for you, without even claiming there is a financial incentive for debasing them, I know WE ALL think is intolerable but think what you could do for them, if you considered this is the same as one vote matters- that is the chad part, but the sad part is we do assume it's ok, when no one's complaining, and we also find complaining annoying, complaining is EMBEDDED IN THE BILL OF RIGHTS- the same Founding Fathers, some people are dying, we think they wanted the NRA to make money off innocent lives, our seemingly most treasured Amendment- #2.

We are not PATCH enough, no matter whether cabbage nor doll nor thread count of a quilt, nor number of staff reporters, if what we report, makes no impact, it's a shame for all of us forever.

If you are invested in knowing the great lengths, we, at PATCH have gone to, to get VONS just to say, "We're on it," you can find our story still online at PATCH. VONS refused and they are flipping the bird to you AND to the people who work hard for them who serve all of us.

I promised my Aunt in Ohio I would not stoop so low, as to bring THE HOLIDAYS into this workplace issue. I said,

"Dearest, Most Favored Aunt, you do know, I cherish you but even my most SHREWISH AUNT or (fill in YOUR most shrewish family member here- mentally, we don't know them and have our own shrews to vent about, I say respectfully- Boss, I SAID, respectfully- I think they know it means I am not grumpy with them, our most essential readers, ok- tell me how many apology letters I need to write, I will do them all cursively.)

We all tolerate whatever abusive behavior we are able to tolerate, some are unable to do so because they have been disabled, somehow, but the point is- THESE ARE OUR FAMILIES- they have been there, by and large, when we needed family, or tried to be, or failed, or denied us, but this is VONS! What have they done for any of us, to forgive this behavior, and what have their employees not done enough of, to be so silenced and shamed? You can make a difference, if you complain.