A North Carolina-based grocery store chain, Food Lion, is now permitting employees to wear American flag-themed face masks while working at the stores after a viral dispute.
69-year-old Gary Dean left his job at the Food Lion in Havelock after being told by his employer he could not wear a face-covering depicting the American flag while at work. Dean, a veteran himself, was shocked the American flag would be offensive to anyone, especially in a military town.
“That’s my friend who was killed in Vietnam, he was a ranger. David Toler. Got shot right through the heart, they brought him home. That’s an emotional subject for me, When you lose a friend that is fighting for your freedoms you get angry. You get very angry when people disrespect the flag,” Dean said.
He explained that the corporation came down to tell him that somebody was offended by the image of the American flag on his face covering. He didn’t understand what the issue was. He had been wearing the mask for months without issue and felt that taking off the mask was against his values.
“Food Lion deeply respects the American flag. We listened to our associates and customers about our uniform policy. We require that associates wear masks without writing, insignia or symbols. We will allow associates to wear masks with the American flag that meet this standard,” the company tweeted after the dispute went public.
Many wrote in response thanking the company for recognizing that the flag symbolizes freedom. A lot of long-time customers were considering going elsewhere after hearing about the issue. It is unclear whether or not Dean will return to work following the newly instituted policy.
If a mask is going to be a part of a uniform, then there needs to be a company dress code policy along with it. It’s a shame to have to say “displaying the American flag is okay” at all but at least the company corrected the issue.
We need to remember who fought for our freedom and have respect for that. The left has completely stomped all over that idea.
