{"id":2169891,"date":"2024-02-07T03:22:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T08:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/is-walgreens-racist-or-is-ayanna-pressley-just-ignorant\/"},"modified":"2024-02-07T03:27:09","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T08:27:09","slug":"is-walgreens-racist-or-is-ayanna-pressley-just-ignorant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/is-walgreens-racist-or-is-ayanna-pressley-just-ignorant\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Walgreens racist or is Ayanna Pressley uninformed"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fis-walgreens-racist-or-is-ayanna-pressley-just-ignorant%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2169891&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>Is Racism\u200d the Go-To Accusation for \u2062the Left?<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>If \u200cpatriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, the charge\u200b of racism has become \u200bthe first refuge of the liberal. And few people in\u2064 Washington epitomize this problem more than Democrat Rep.\u200c Ayanna Pressley.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Her latest\u200c target? Walgreens. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/02\/01\/news\/rep-ayanna-pressley-accuses-walgreens-of-racism-over-boston-store-closure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Walgreens<\/a>, it is planning to close its Boston-area Roxbury location \u201cdue to several factors including the\u200d cost of operating, low\u200b prescription volume and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgias-proposed-medicaid-expansion-is-the-wrong-solution-for-the-wrong-problem\/\" title=\"Georgia's Medicaid expansion proposal is misguided and ineffective\">low reimbursement rates<\/a>.\u201d \u200cPressley, a \u2062member of the House \u2064of Representatives\u2019\u2063 ultra-leftist \u201csquad\u201d who\u200b represents Roxbury in Congress, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/02\/01\/news\/rep-ayanna-pressley-accuses-walgreens-of-racism-over-boston-store-closure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shot back<\/a>, \u201cThese closures are not \u2064arbitrary and they are not innocent. \u2063They are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/squad-democrat-pressley-slams-walgreens-for-closing-locations-in-minority-communities-demand-answers\/\" title=\"Democrat Pressley criticizes Walgreens for shutting down stores in minority areas: 'Seeking explanations\">life-threatening acts<\/a> of racial and \u2063economic discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-262849903\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-72366f340daaf44406990d94457fb40b fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-72366f340daaf44406990d94457fb40b\"><\/div>\n<p>Joined\u200b by Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, the three\u2063 \u201cdemand answers\u201d\u200c from Walgreens\u200c for its\u2063 actions. <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/02\/01\/news\/rep-ayanna-pressley-accuses-walgreens-of-racism-over-boston-store-closure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Because<\/a> \u201cwhen a Walgreens leaves a neighborhood, they disrupt the entire community and\u2062 they take with them, baby formula, diapers, asthma inhalers, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-to-lower-insulin-prices-without-democrats-price-controls\/\" title=\"How to Lower Insulin Prices Without Democrats\u2019 Price Controls\">life-saving medications<\/a>, and, of course, jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The private sector can\u2019t\u200c win with the left. When \u2064it stays it is \u2063accused of \u201ctaking\u201d \u200bfrom \u200ccommunities, and when \u2062it leaves it is also accused of \u201ctaking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Pressley\u2019s diatribe of indignation, there \u2063is no mention of the neighborhood itself. \u2063However, Roxbury\u2019s reputation is no\u200d secret.\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/massbaymovers.com\/blog\/boston-crime-rate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Roxbury<\/a> \u201chas 104 percent more crime than Boston overall with a high\u200d violent crime rate of 1,271\/100k people. Roxbury has a higher\u200c rate of rape and attempted rape and it\u2019s most known for drugs and violent crime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A\u2064 quick scan of the internet shows <a href=\"https:\/\/usaestaonline.com\/bad-neighborhoods-in-boston\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">site<\/a> after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.southwestjournal.com\/us\/massachusetts\/worst-neighborhoods-in-boston\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">site<\/a> after <a href=\"https:\/\/propertyclub.nyc\/article\/most-dangerous-neighborhoods-in-boston\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">site<\/a> listing Roxbury as \u2062the \u200dsecond most unsafe neighborhood in the Boston area. And Boston is having its shoplifting problems; WBUR in Boston ran a segment recently in which David Johnston \u200cof the National Retail Federation \u200bstated: \u201cI\u2063 can \u200dtell you in my 35, 36 years of doing this, \u200dit\u2019s unprecedented and unmatched. First and foremost, we\u2019re seeing the frequency of theft, the openness and \u2064the brazenness of \u2063the criminals, the quantities and the type of merchandise that are stolen.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-915a25bc69813b23aec00da30f61ff8c fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-915a25bc69813b23aec00da30f61ff8c\"><\/div>\n<p>Perhaps these factors played a role in Walgreens\u2019s decision. What might help? More policing, especially in\u200d neighborhoods with high\u200b crime.\u2063 But of course, Pressley <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/5857571\/ayanna-pressley-defund-police-time100-talks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">supported<\/a> efforts\u200d to defund the police. Then in a police-for-me-but-not-for-thee\u2064 move, Pressley also <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/03\/08\/squad-rep-ayanna-pressley-spent-50k-on-security-in-2021\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">spent $50,000<\/a> from \u201cher \u200bMember\u2019s Representational Allowance (MRA)\u201d on \u201csecurity services\u201d in the second half of 2021. House rules say the MRA is \u2062\u201cintended for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/squad-member-defund-the-police-advocate-spent-taxpayer-dollars-on-private-security\/\" title=\"\u2018Squad\u2019 Member, \u2018Defund The Police\u2019 Advocate Spent Taxpayer Dollars On Private Security\">individual member offices\u2019 expenditures<\/a> and receipts during a single\u2062 legislative year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Apparently, Pressley\u2019s constituents are not so fortunate.<\/p>\n<p>If Pressley\u2019s charges of racism against Walgreens were serious, she\u2063 would have produced evidence that Walgreens\u2064 was not closing \u2064stores in neighborhoods with similar\u200d crime statistics but a different population demographic. \u2062This would isolate the variable, race,\u200c that she is interested in examining and eliminate crime as a factor.<\/p>\n<p>Pressley did not do that. Instead, the action she dislikes is reflexively labeled racist.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-56997805421a65b1b557d69a19589c3d fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-56997805421a65b1b557d69a19589c3d\"><\/div>\n<p>What Pressley really wants is made clear in another remark made on \u2063the House\u2063 floor: \u201cTalking points about health equity and underserved communities is not enough. Walgreens is\u2063 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/5-woke-corporations-who-condemned-georgia-while-still-doing-business-with-china\/\" title=\"5 \u2018Woke\u2019 Corporations Who Condemned Georgia \u2026 While Still Doing Business With China\">multibillion-dollar corporation<\/a> that needs to put their money where their \u2062mouth is and stop divesting from black and brown communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What Pressley wants\u200b from this \u200d\u201cmultibillion-dollar corporation\u201d is a subsidy \u2014 someone else to absorb the costs of operating in Roxbury \u2014 because they can afford it and we deserve it.<\/p>\n<p>This economic\u200c reasoning, or rather lack thereof, makes perfect sense to someone like Pressley and the ultra-leftists who dismiss the private sector and the profit motive.<\/p>\n<p>What \u2064Pressley and\u2064 other leftists really want is to be done with the private sector altogether and have the government \u200ctake charge. There, economics need not apply \u2014 as witnessed by the federal government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbo.gov\/system\/files\/2023-11\/59640-MBR.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">spending<\/a> $6.1 trillion last fiscal year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbo.gov\/system\/files\/2023-11\/59640-MBR.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">running<\/a> \u200ca $1.7 trillion deficit, and amassing a $25.8 trillion debt equal to <a href=\"https:\/\/view.officeapps.live.com\/op\/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbo.gov%2Fsystem%2Ffiles%2F2023-05%2F51118-2023-05-Budget-Projections.xlsx&#038;wdOrigin=BROWSELINK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">98 percent<\/a> of America\u2019s GDP.<\/p>\n<p>If government-run drugstores sound far-fetched, then remember that\u2064 just last September, Chicago\u2019s mayor was exploring city-owned grocery \u2064stores in response to private stores leaving. And if you want to know how such government-run options will turn out, just look again\u200c at the federal government\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n<p>Racism has become a catchall accusation by the left for getting what they want. Their constant cry \u200cof \u201cWolf!\u201d short-circuits\u200c thought in \u200ctheir pursuit of results. It also cheapens real racism, which sadly does \u200bexist \u2014 especially notable in the left\u2019s \u2064antisemitism and radical <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/billackman\/status\/1742441534627184760?s=57\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DEI initiatives<\/a>. In\u2063 actuality, the left no longer knows what racism is, \u200bnor do they care to know;\u200b they just know what they want \u2063and the easiest way to get it.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How does the knee-jerk reaction of accusing Walgreens\u200b of racism\u200d by left-leaning politicians undermine legitimate instances of racism?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Solve the problems of the neighborhood. Instead of advocating for effective solutions \u2062to\u200b crime and economic issues in Roxbury,\u2063 Pressley \u2064resorts to accusing Walgreens of racism without any concrete evidence. \u2063This type of knee-jerk reaction is becoming increasingly common among left-leaning politicians, who seem to default to accusations of racism whenever they encounter\u2064 a situation they disagree with or want to gain attention for.<\/p>\n<p>It is \u200cimportant to note \u2063that racism is a\u200c serious issue \u200bthat \u2062needs to be addressed and combated. However, using it as\u200d a go-to accusation whenever convenient not only cheapens \u2062the seriousness of the problem but \u2064also \u2062undermines legitimate instances of racism. By crying \u2064wolf and making baseless \u200cclaims, politicians like Pressley are doing \u2064a disservice \u200cto\u200c the cause they claim to support.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, their reliance on\u2064 accusations of \u2062racism deflects attention away\u2064 from the real issues at hand. Instead\u2063 of addressing the root causes of\u2062 problems \u200blike \u2064crime and\u200b economic disparity, they prefer to point fingers and assign blame. This approach does \u2064nothing to solve\u2062 the \u200bproblems faced by the communities they claim to\u2064 represent.<\/p>\n<p>In the case of\u200b Walgreens, it is clear that their decision to close a\u200b store in Roxbury was based on a multitude of factors, including low prescription volume, low reimbursement \u200crates, and the cost \u2064of operating. These are valid concerns that any business would\u200d consider when making such a decision.\u200c To\u200c label this decision\u200c as an \u2064act of\u2064 racial and economic discrimination without any evidence is not only irresponsible but also counterproductive.<\/p>\n<p>If politicians \u200blike Pressley truly care\u200c about\u2062 the well-being of their\u200d constituents, they should focus on finding practical solutions to the issues \u200cat \u200chand. This means working \u200cwith businesses, community leaders,\u200c and residents to address the \u2064underlying causes\u2064 of problems\u200b like crime and economic disparity. It means\u2064 advocating for policies that promote\u2062 economic growth, job creation, and public safety. It \u2062means looking beyond\u2062 simplistic accusations and political \u200cposturing to actually make a positive impact.<\/p>\n<p>Accusations \u2063of racism should not be used as a weapon\u200d to further political agendas or gain attention. They should be reserved for situations \u200cwhere there is clear evidence of discriminatory behavior. By using\u200b this accusation\u200b so\u2064 casually,\u2063 the left is not \u2062only\u200c undermining the \u200bcredibility\u2063 of the term but also \u2062hindering progress towards real solutions.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the tendency of the left to resort to accusations of racism\u200d as a go-to \u200ctactic is concerning. It diminishes the\u2062 seriousness of the issue and detracts from legitimate instances \u2063of racism. Instead of \u200dreflexively labeling every disagreement or perceived injustice as racist, politicians should focus on finding\u200d real solutions\u200b to the problems at hand. It is time to move\u2062 beyond the\u200d easy and empty accusations and start working towards meaningful change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Of operating the store and ongoing challenges with theft and security.&#8221; However, Pressley immediately accused Walgreens of racism, claiming it was abandoning the predominantly black community. This knee-jerk reaction highlights how the charge of racism has become a convenient tool for liberals to deflect from real issues and score political points<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2425,"featured_media":2169892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/pressley.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2169891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/pressley.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2425"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2169891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2169892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2169891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2169891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2169891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}