I have been struck by how easy it is to DO THIS to help your community stay "clean", no matter where you live. All you've gotta do is open your mouth.
Sorry for such an ugly subject, but have you noticed the current Sports Illustrated issue? The cover is a half-naked woman, and I'm not talking the swimsuit edition. Nate and I have successfully been able to get them off the shelves at Malama, Foodland Wahiawa and Foodland Pupukea {in Hawaii}. I'm not sure if this publication is still running, but more "traditional" magazines are using porn on their covers.
Next time you're grocery shopping or in any store that has magazines, if you see an inappropriate magazine cover, ask to see the manager. What I have done is, while showing the manager the cover, I say, "I am surprised that a store like this would carry porn." Usually that's all you have to say. If they start giving excuses, you can say, "For the sake of the children, and all your other customers, will you please have this removed from your shelves?" Usually, that's it.
And you know what we've found? Usually the manager isapologetic and grateful that you've brought it up and they remove the magazines immediately. When you have success stories, I'd love to hear about it! If you have friends or family that could help "clean up" the publicly displayed magazine racks, please ask them to do the same!
When I read this, I was thinking that the Stater Bros. by our house usually has pretty tasteful magazines so I wouldn't have to worry. But today I went grocery shopping and lo and behold there was the Sports Illustrated Magazine. I felt pretty strongly that I should say something but I started getting pretty nervous. I'm not very good about expressing myself, especially when something bugs me. But since I'd read the blog post, and already had in my head how the conversation should go, I decided to go for it.
I asked to speak to the manager, he was close by. I said, "I'd like to make a complaint about the porn you have in the check out aisle." He sounded pretty alarmed at first: "What?" And I said, "The Sports Illustrated magazine, have you seen it?" Then he became very apologetic (just like Heidi said!) He said he'd talk to the store manager and hopefully get it removed. I thanked him and told him that I bring my kids here and don't want them to be exposed to that kind of thing. He pretty much repeated what he said before so hopefully he'll actually do it!
I was totally sweating when I left the store, but I felt good. I didn't make a scene, didn't get mad, didn't cry, just expressed my concerns. So we'll see if the magazines get removed, but at least I did something right? Thanks Kerri and thanks Heidi!
5 comments:
Way to go Holley! I'm very impressed with your boldness. I'll do the same thing at the stores I shop at too.
Wow! Good for you Holley!!! I am so proud of you, and proud that the nerves didn't end in tears! I'm also so grateful that Heidi gave us the words to say. That gives me so much courage! I'm going to send her to your blog, ok? You're amazing!
Right, on Holley! That is great. This is Heidi, Kerri's sister. Now that you've done it once, do it again! It gets easier as you see that managers really do care about what their customers have to say. BTW - beautiful blog.
That's awesome - way to go.
So I found out today that the lady who lives right below me is the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editor. How crazy is that? She used to be the fashion editor of Glamour. There are only 8 of us who live in this building, so now I am wondering who else has a good story to them.
Holley, you are a stud! I usually just turn it over and felt pretty good about that little lazy way out. I also turn over Obama covers. But that is a great idea and so simple. You are awesome!
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