The Secret Anti-Socialist History of Supermarkets
Supermarkets are staples of our lives. But their emergence in America was far from automatic: the supermarket was used as a key piece of anti-communist propaganda early in the twentieth century against the alternative of grocery co-ops.
In the early 20th century, the supermarket was used as a key piece of anti-communist propaganda. (hxyume / Getty Images)
I was managing the front end of a grocery store one night during the height of the pandemic when a man with a bulge under his long black coat strolled through an empty checkout lane. One of the dozens of unhoused people who lived in encampments blocks from the store, the man walked past me with such confidence that I wondered if he really didn’t know what was about to happen.
The radio buzzed in my ear. “Let me know when that guy gets to the front,” said a security guard I’ll call John. Another employee had seen the man slip something into his coat, and security was already watching him. “He’s headed to the exit,” I replied.
John appeared and cut the thief off at the door while another employee, built like a linebacker, approached from behind. The shoplifter tried to run, but John grabbed him and shoved him hard against the dry ice cooler. Groceries dropped to the floor. The man screamed and tried to break free, shouting, “Get away from me!”
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