Today, on the Morning update, it’s another edition of FAFO. Another retailer has had all it can take, and it’s not taking anymore. They are closing another store, leaving another neighborhood. And the neighborhood, along with its so-called political leaders who turned it into an impossible place to do business, refuses to accept the blame.
00:00 The Impact of Walgreens Closures on Communities
01:59 Crime and Responsibility in Urban Areas
Watch on the ‘Grok Rumble Channel if the embedded video does not load.
Ep 171 Lik(s)
- https://granitegrok.com/blog/2024/01/minorities-blame-walgreens-for-store-closing-when-they-should-be-blaming-democrats-or-perhaps-themselves
- https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/05/12/chicago-walgreens-shuts-doors-over-theft-reveals-eye-popping-number-1638430
- https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/2051393146102137066
- https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2053664801507676363
Transcript [lightly edited]
Welcome to your Thursday, May 14th, 2026 morning update.
Back in January, Walgreens announced that it was vacating its premises in Roxbury, Massachusetts, south of Boston. It is a notoriously crime-riddled shithole. When they announced they were leaving, the local community got pretty uppity.
This Walgreens is critical not just to this community but the surrounding communities and the seniors. That’s Reverend Minyard Culpepper.
The communities where they’re closing these pharmacies are communities where people are disparately impacted by disease, two or three times higher rates, and cancer, diabetes, heart disease; life expectancy can be 15 to 20 years less. That’s former Boston NAACP president Michael Curry.
What happens to our seniors and our single parents that have nowhere to get a Walgreens or another pharmacy anywhere near their home? And so we think it’s insensitive. It’s unjust. Is it unjust? Is it insensitive? I guess. I mean, it’s not a good thing. It’s not something anybody wants.
So now we go to the south side of Chicago, and this asshole.
Sounds like a similar message, right? Walgreens is leaving. It’s Walgreens fault. Is it really? Is it really Walgreens fault? Is it their fault that there’s crime? Is it their fault that there are drugs? Is it their fault that their employees get assaulted? Is it their fault that in the case of the south side of Chicago, the Walgreens after 20 years had to shutter their doors because they lost a million dollars last year, plus the cost of $400,000 for security, and they still couldn’t keep the merchandise and their employees safe. Whose fault is that? Let me give you a hint. It’s called permission structures. Remember Obama? Permission structures.
You gave kids and criminals permission to loot stores, to mug, harass, and assault the neighbors in the neighborhood, including the seniors and the single parents. The people you elected to be in charge of your public safety will not prosecute these people. They will not find them. They will not arrest them. Heck, they can’t even or won’t even educate them so that they have some sense of opportunity and purpose that might lead them to a life other than one of crime and violence.
As I noted the other day, over 50% of all the violence and murder occurs in 2% of counties in the entire United States. These are all places where a Walgreens or a CVS or a local mom and pop store is likely to have to close and leave, not because it’s their fault, but because it’s your fault. You did this. You let it happen.
As I wrote back in January about the Roxbury situation. Your Walgreens is closing because your elected officials can’t or won’t prevent or police crime, but you knew that. Few know more about crime than urban-dwelling minorities.
And Lucille Culpepper-Jones can’t walk to the next Walgreens because it’s not safe. So the question should not be why it is unjust for Walgreens to leave her without any other options. The question is, how did it get to be that way?
There is a solution. You can fix it. But it’ll take time, and you’ll need to change your behavior. You have to own it. It’s your responsibility. It’s your neighborhood. It’s your elected leaders. If you don’t hold them accountable, they’re just going to blame somebody else for the things they allowed to happen to you. That’s it for today. We’ll talk to you tomorrow.
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