Ahh, Priceless.

[kali-kali.livejournal.com]

So liberals have their knickers in a twist over the fact that the CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey, doesn't support ObamaCare. They feel they have been misled, that the company is being "hypocritical" and this corrupts the "ethos of caring for the community" that Whole Foods purportedly supports. Here is the editorial he wrote.

Now, not being an American, I have never shopped at Whole Foods (though I do find now that they have a small number of branches in the UK, where I currently live, and Canada, where I normally live). So I'm not entirely certain of the image that the stores put up, but I think the articles give a pretty good idea.

So who says that healthy food that is environmentally sustainable and good treatment of employees is a purely liberal notion? Well, liberals, clearly, but to a libertarian like myself, it is just common sense. You want to make sure food you sell is good for you, so customers are healthy and keep coming back for that, you want it to be sustainable so that you can keep your business in business, and happy employees are good employees. But somehow people think that only liberals do that?

Sigh. I've known that John Mackey was a libertarian for years, even though I'm not American and have never shopped at Whole Foods. But when I get down to London, and then go home to Toronto, I will make sure to stop in there!

EDIT: Oops, missed that there was already a post about this. Just saw the article on BBC myself though. But we can have a conversation about liberal assumptions about everyone believing the same things regarding food and sustainability and such, yes?

Comments

[eajou.livejournal.com]

The assumption is definitely true. I work in the industry as a therapist and everyone assume that I have to be a liberal. Also because I have black hair and lots of tattoos, I've been told that I'm "no conservative" and that I am just being rebellious when it comes to my political beliefs. It's like, people think that because I work in a certain place and like certain things, that I canNOT be anything but a liberal, even though I despise liberal politics.

Professions that are liberal? Teachers. My crazy ex roommate was a teaching major and thought that she "had" to be a liberal despite having all conservative political beliefs (if she cared about anything political at all).

More assumptions. Yesterday I saw that there were liberal individuals all butt-hurt about the Foundation for a Better Life because the sole contributor happens to be a conservative and Christian. Because of such, apparently the messages that the commercials promote, such as encouragement, are deemed as hypocritical. However, it's obvious just WHAT is hypocritical about the kind of attitude being displayed by the would-be supporters.

[mprice.livejournal.com]

My son is a Massage Therapist and has the same problem. He also has hair down to his waist and is a furry, so he HAS to be a liberal. (And gay, too, apparently.) *eyeroll* Since a large portion of Massage Therapists are self-employed, he tells me that most of them are conservative. Or lean right of center.

There are no Whole Foods in my area. We have Wegmans, which is also known for holding to a higher standard of quality in its produce--and being non-union in UBER pro-union New York State. Consumer reports just scored them as number 1 in the country as having the best value and selection. *gasp* And without the aid of the Unions!

[leahfu.livejournal.com]

Ooooo! I'm thinking about going to school for massage therapy! Does he make decent money?

[mprice.livejournal.com]

Not yet, but he's only just started. The reason we're moving to Texas is because there are more job opportunities there. He already has a job prospect lined up for when we arrive. (He submitted a resume and they replied within the hour!)

Every state has different requirements for licensing. New York State has one of the highest, requiring 1000 hours as well as passage of the state board exam. Jim went to New York Institute of Massage, which just happens to be located in my area and is one of the best schools in the State. The study course consisted of 4-12 week semesters and only took 1 year to complete.

For Texas, Jim had to also pass the National Licensing Exam, which is recognized in several states. (He said it was a breeze compared to the state exam!) He absolutely LOVES this job! He has been volunteering his time at the local Senior Center, giving free chair massages twice a month.

Yeah, I'm a proud mom.

[leahfu.livejournal.com]

We have a Massage school right down the road from where I live. Its what I wanted to do when I graduated from highschool, but life had other plans

[mosinging1986.livejournal.com]

How strange to hear this. For bizarre reasons known only to my brain, I woke up thinking about this industry and wondering what's involved in getting into it. Which is weird, since it's not like I ever had an interest in it. I could use a massage, though! I'm up to my ears in stress lately.

Anyway, thanks for the info!

[mprice.livejournal.com]

Synchronicity at work again!

If you have a Massage Therapy school in your area, they probably have a clinic. You can get a massage at a reduced price, and the students get experience.

With all sorting, packing, lifting we're doing, Jim keeps saying he needs a massage. (The one draw back of his profession is he can't give himself a massage!) So he's going to the clinic this week.

Not surprisingly, since Massage Therapists fall under the aegis of healthcare workers, they are not fans of Obamacare, either. They don't want some government bureaucrat telling them who they can and cannot have as a client.

[ninepointfivemm.livejournal.com]

One of my friends started doing chair massages at the local Whole Foods-style knock-off, which got him in touch with some people who own a massage therapy place. They fixed him up with a job ASAP.

[kali-kali.livejournal.com]

My son is a Massage Therapist and has the same problem. He also has hair down to his waist and is a furry

Is he single? ;D I've been starting to worry that "long-haired man" and "right of center" were mutually exclusive terms. I love long hair on men, and I've only ever met one long-haired man who wasn't a die-hard liberal.

[mprice.livejournal.com]

Is he single? ;D
Heh. As a matter of fact. . .

Jim, my (25 year old) baby elephant Massage Therapist.
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a82/fullprice/365%20project/012709Jim1.jpg) (http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a82/fullprice/365%20project/012709Jim2.jpg)

[kali-kali.livejournal.com]

*covets hair* I'm 25 too! He looks familiar somehow... reminds me of a friend of mine who coincidentally also has long hair and is a furry, but alas not a libertarian or conservative. And I recognize that wardrobe - he's got to be a geek too, right?

[mprice.livejournal.com]

Of course he's a geek. Did you not notice the computer and Guitar Hero box in the background. ;-P

People always assume that, because of his size and build, he's into sports. The only sport he was ever into was Martial Arts. Ironically, he isn't into any of the typical "guy" stuff. I know more about cars and home repairs than he does. In fact, I just finished fixing the brackets in his closet.

[kali-kali.livejournal.com]

Non-geeks have those things too these days, so it wasn't a sure thing :P Man I miss geeks. Having been traveling for the past ten months, and prior to that having moved back to my parents' place in a different city from all of my geeky friends, I haven't had much geek contact (well, except for the Internet of course). I feel very out of place here at my workplace/living place (same thing, I work at a hotel/restaurant in the Scottish Highlands, where all staff are live-in since we're so far away from everything), where there are no geeks or fangirls/fanboys or anyone else along those lines :(

[caromiofic.livejournal.com]

We know heterosexual conservative furries. And a flamboyantly gay one. But we've also learned that the furry community helps each other out like no other group. They really want to take care of each other. Kinda weird. :P

[mprice.livejournal.com]

As he's become more politically active, Jim says he's noticed how many furries actually are conservative or lean right of center. Like a friend of mine in England, they say they're liberals, but when discussing specific issues, they're views line up more with the right than the left. (Jim is introducing them to the Libertarian point of view.)

Furries are a unique breed. They have to fight multiple stereotypes, which seems to be one of the reasons they band together.

Jim went to his first Furry Con in July and had a blast. It was the first time he'd been around several hundred fellow furries.

[ccr1138.livejournal.com]

There's nothing like gainful employment to turn a liberal into a conservative.

[kali-kali.livejournal.com]

My current pet annoyance is the assumption that all long-term backpackers/young travelers/working holidaymakers are liberal. I've been in Europe for the past ten months, and most other travelers I meet are liberals and assume I am the same. What, because I want to see the world while on a budget means that I'm a hippy and/or a liberal? Hardly.

The one shred of sanity in the liberal-dominated backpacker scene that I've found is one of my Australian co-workers, who claims she doesn't really care about politics, but voted Liberal in the last Aussie elections (the Liberals in Australia are the conservative party, while Labor are the left-wing party), because she "liked the way the country was and didn't want it to change" (the Liberals had been in power for the last eleven years) and thought that the Labor candidate's campaign promises (such as giving all Year 12 students a laptop) would waste tax dollars. Sounds pretty conservative to me :)

[arkadelos.livejournal.com]

"the Liberals in Australia are the conservative party, while Labor are the left-wing party"

You have just stated a very good example of why I hate the terms "liberal" and "conservative"!

[kali-kali.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they mean different things in different places (and times). I'm a classical liberal, but that bears no resemblance to modern-day liberalism and is better called libertarianism (in North America, in Europe libertarians are what we North Americans would all anarchists).

Then there's degrees of left-wing vs. right-wing. For example, Canada's Conservatives are right-wing - in Canada. In the US, they'd still probably be considered further left than pre-Obama Democrats. Australia's Liberals are probably also to the left of US Democrats, but right-wing for Australia.

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

My husband and I did a short-term backpacking trip early this past summer and we got that assumption all the time too. We were happy to inform people (when asked) in several countries that not all Americans love Obama. Apparently their news does not tell them that; they have been told we all worship at his feet. We corrected that belief.

[izuko.livejournal.com]

Rise of the crunchcons.

[mosinging1986.livejournal.com]

So who says that healthy food that is environmentally sustainable and good treatment of employees is a purely liberal notion?

This has confused me for years!

(I have never shopped at WF, but only because they didn't have them in my area. They do where I am now, but I've been unemployed for what seems like forever, so I never got a chance to try it.)

Anyway, I don't get it either. I don't know whether WF meets its lofty goals, but I would love to shop at a store that offers healthy alternatives and cares about the environment. (In a SANE way, not some of the extreme things that go on in the name of environmentalism.)

***

The sad part is that if the store loses significant business, this guy will never speak out about anything again. And neither will any other business owners. Which means whatever insanity Obama tries next, business owners will feel they have no choice but to support it.

That angers me most of all.

[anastasis.livejournal.com]

liberal assumptions about everyone believing the same things regarding food and sustainability and such, yes?

Um, story of my life. I care about what I eat and like to cook with stuff that doesn't have strings of numbers in the ingredients, so therefore I must be super left-wing.

(Although it can be fun... the last food co op I went to in the US there was a guy walking around greeting the employees carrying a 'PEACE' sign. I was with my fiance and we're a military couple, so I was daring him to ask for a military discount at the cashier. He wouldn't do it, though :) )

[onceuponapillow.livejournal.com]

At my old job people were surprised to find out I had not voted for Obama -and was a Republican. I hate to jump to conclusions but I assume they thought I would have based on the fact that I am of mixed race.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Everyone knows right wingers beat their employees, pay them nothing, and force them to read the Bible on the job, right?

[kali-kali.livejournal.com]

*smacks forehead* Silly me! I totally forgot. Though when I open my own business, I'll look a bit silly handing out Bibles to my employees while simultaneously being an atheist myself. Can I get a note from the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy exempting me from Bibles? Pretty please?

[tulleskirt.livejournal.com]

TOTALLY AGREE SO MUCH, OH MY GOD. People are always shocked--shocked!--that I'm conservate because I'm agnostic, into niche fashions (rockabilly and gothic lolita, right now), wear emo glasses (I know, but people have told me such), go to a college with a no grades or majors (though I AM one of the only conservatives--but the idea behind the school is inherently libertarian! no one realizes it!), and watch an absurd amount of anime. And because of the art I like and the books I read--it's ridiculous. But you know, because I love Phoebe Gloeckner (and graphic novels in general) and Fafi, yeah, I have to vote to the left. *eyeroll*

Sorry, I've been holding that in for a while. -_-;

[kali-kali.livejournal.com]

Not to worry, I totally understand :) Because I'm a polyamorous bisexual atheist goth-geek who reads/writes fanfiction and likes fantasy/sci-fi in general, I must be left wing. SO OVER IT. I guess people forget that many sci-fi writers are libertarians ;)

[writerspleasure.livejournal.com]

the left believes it has a monopoly on caring and cleanliness. simple as that.

[nisie.livejournal.com]

The thing is- I'm a localovore and shop places like Whole foods and earth fare because I believe in small businesses, the importance of family farms and am afraid of what the drive to lower food prices does to us as a nation... and now I see more McCain bumperstickers when I go to Whole Foods

[kali-kali.livejournal.com]

I would expect that. Politicians of the left doesn't support small business. Well, to be entirely fair, neither do many politicians of the right. Sure, they all *say* they support small business, but they don't. The left supports big labour (unions), which are detrimental to small business, while the right supports lobby groups from big business, and in doing so, bring in legislation that strangles small business while letting big ones expand and take over.

This is why I'm a libertarian. Minimal government, not one that can be bought by other unions or CEOs, and one that lets people control their own lives and businesses without a mountain of paperwork.

[ninepointfivemm.livejournal.com]

Noticed the Earth Fare and Dcon pirate party stuff in your userinfo... Southern Dconner, I would assume? (I say this, because I know Earth Fare is not really anywhere but NC/SC/GA/TN.)

Huh. Didn't know there was a Dconner on this comm!

[nisie.livejournal.com]

Yep. Used to live in Greensboro, now in Atlanta/Athens area.