We are all sick of the effects of Covid. Pained by the loss of life, saddened by the illness and frustrated by what has been taken from our daily lives. But that is NOT a reason to take our feelings out on others and certainly not on teens just trying to do their job scooping ice cream.
As summer wears on and the heat and our frustrations rise, we could all do well to think about the experiences of this ice cream parlor.
Sadly Mootown Creamery in Berea, Ohio had to remind the public not to reduce their employees to tears. We are in a very sad place when yelling at a teen trying to do her summer job is acceptable. Angela Books, the owner of the shop took to Facebook with a reminder we all need to hear. Her employees, including her own daughter had been cursed at and call “paranoid” and “anti-American” for wearing their face masks at work. The shop asks its customers to wear masks as well.
Angela asks the public,
Does it feel good to make a 16-year-old girl cry in the bathroom? Or sob on her way home from work? Does that make you feel better about Covid? How would you feel if someone did this to your child?” And then she speaks directly to those who have brought the teens to tears, “You are not welcome here if you have that little respect for us. It is not about the sales. Go somewhere else if you want to behave that way.
Mootown created a virtual tip jar with all, every single cent of the proceeds going to their employees, many of whom are teens and some of whom will be leaving for college in the fall. The response has been extraordinary, raising over $8000 to date (although the initial goal was only $500). Mootown told Grown and Flown that,
When I made the post on Tuesday morning, I had no idea no idea it was going to explode the way it did! We’ve had calls of support from almost every state in the US! We even had a lady donate a tip to the Virtual Tip Jar from Australia!! It’s been overwhelming!!! Although the mask debate is a heated one, on both sides, this isn’t a mask issue. This is a human decency issue! We need to choose kindness and respect, above all. No one deserves to be yelled at, especially when it pertains to something over which they had no control!
You might also love to know which are the most popular masks that Grown and Flown readers recommend – Your Teen Might Need Face Masks in the Fall: Here are Our Favorites
