SALEM, Ore. — An 8-minute long video of a Trader Joe's store manager tactfully talking with a person who is unwilling to wear a mask into the store went viral this week.
A store representative confirmed to The Oregonian that the video was taken outside a Trader Joes in Salem last weekend. In the video, you can see the Hawaiian-shirt clad manager with his mask on start a conversation with a person or persons behind the camera who say they are “here to peacefully shop” and aren’t wearing masks.
Oregon currently has a mask requirement in place at all indoor public spaces, including grocery stores.
“I don’t want to tell you guys what to think, what to do, what to believe, anything like that,” the store manager says in the video. “I would ask kindly that you guys understand here at TJ’s we are just trying to work, make a living. The difference you are trying to make isn’t going to be made with us, it can be made with the government.”
The anti-mask demonstrators continue to try to walk into the store and are stopped, as more store representatives block the entrance and tell those gathered they must wear a mask to enter, the video shows.
The back and forth exchange has more than 390,000 views on Instagram and and more than 6.8 million views on Twitter. Many praising the patience and firmness the Trader Joe's employee shows.