A brand new Washington Post report has garnered backlash for blaming empty retailer cabinets on “capitalism” and referring to the surge in crime studies as a conservative-driven “moral panic.”
“America is a sticky-fingered nation built on stolen land, and its current moral panic is about shoplifting,” tradition reporter Maura Judkis wrote in a Friday piece titled “The zombie CVS, a late-capitalism horror story.”
Judkis painted a narrative of a Washington, DC, CVS retailer that had been looted a lot that just about nothing was left on the cabinets earlier than it will definitely closed down in February.
“Blank CDs, for example — the thieves don’t even bother with them. The greeting card section has been left alone,” she wrote.
“Everything else that remains in the store in Northwest D.C., which is not much, is under plexiglass: Dawn dish soap, L’Oreal shampoo, MiraLax, a handful of Clairol root touch-up hair dye kits, flu season combo packs of DayQuil and NyQuil.”
“Other shelves, stretching entire aisles, are totally empty,” Judkis added.
RELATED — “FOR LEASE”: Closed, Vacant Businesses Line San Francisco Street as Retailers Flee
Tiny-Remove-3734 / LOCAL NEWS X /TMX
Shortly earlier than the shop shut down, staff told FOX 5 that crime was the explanation.
“They said dozens of kids were regularly going in to steal chips and drinks before school, after school, and late at night,” the native outlet reported.
Store staff additionally mentioned thieves had been organized sufficient to focus on the enterprise when shipments had been coming in.
“Some even alleged that street vendors were paying people to steal from the store so they could re-sell the goods,” the station added.
But as an alternative of pointing the finger on the culprits of those crimes, Judkis complained that conservatives had used the uptick in crime to criticize liberal-run cities.
“It became a horror story of Late Capitalism,” the Washington Post report said, including that “the empty CVS had somehow become a stand-in for all that is wrong with American cities — and liberals (and liberal democracy?) — in 2024.”
Calling the retail theft spike a “political talking point,” she argued that such crimes have “gotten worse in some cities but better in others.”
RELATED: Brazen Shoplifting Activity in San Fran Continues…
“In certain conservative circles, there’s a wild narrative about cities as terrifying hellholes of crime, theft and lawlessness. The bleakness of the D.C. CVS played right into this belief.”
“While it’s true that the Columbia Heights CVS, as well as parts of the surrounding neighborhood, are experiencing crime and theft, it’s hardly the dystopian nightmare that outsiders make it out to be,” Judkis continued.
Footage captured earlier than the shop closure confirmed miserable scenes of naked cabinets and road distributors simply throughout the road, allegedly hawking stolen items.
The cabinets of CVS in Columbia Heights (in DC) have been empty for over a 12 months.
Street distributors a number of inches away from this CVS retailer brazenly resell the stolen gadgets at cheaper charges.
CVS simply introduced that this location is completely closing subsequent month.
On this similar block in… pic.twitter.com/GoZTe4nDj7
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 24, 2024
According to the tradition reporter, crime is “either underreported or over-exaggerated” in numerous cities throughout the nation, and “anecdotes and vibes have filled in the gaps.”
Author and commentator Michael Malice referred to as the piece “propaganda” written by a “demon.”
Corporate journalist @maurajudkis–who’s a literal demon–tries to border this empty CVS as a perform of “capitalism.”
“The reasons this particular CVS’s shelves have been empty are complex,” claims the demon.
propaganda right here:https://t.co/dQ96IWFClM pic.twitter.com/UawJc2v1sF
— Michael Malice (@michaelmalice) March 1, 2024
“I can’t even,” wrote Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Victor Joecks, alongside screenshots of the controversial article.
A CVS in Washington DC is shutting down after thieves stored stealing the cabinets naked. The @washingtonpost blames “late capitalism.”
I can’t even. https://t.co/nI4WqINV00 pic.twitter.com/C3G02AY4r3
— Victor Joecks (@VictorJoecks) March 1, 2024
More Stories
Trump Accepts Invitation to Fourth Debate as Biden Ducks Out
Justices Spurn Parents’ Challenge to Schools’ Gender-ID Policies
George Clooney’s Wife, Amal, Involved in ICC Warrant Against Netanyahu
Household Wealth Graphs Show Dramatic Difference Between Trump, Biden Years
Judge Blocks Biden ATF Rule Expanding Gun Background Checks