Member-only story
Because I am not one of “us”
I loved my local Hobby Lobby store. Note the past tense. With the boom of online selling and sites like Etsy, the demand for craft supplies for making handmade beaded bracelets or all-natural soaps is booming. Those crafters have to get their supplies somewhere, usually one of the big chains: Michael’s, Joanne’s, and Hobby Lobby.
I am an avid cross-stitcher and bought my embroidery floss at my nearby Hobby Lobby store. Unlike the two other stores in my area, this store was always clean, well stocked, offered great coupons, and had friendly, efficient staff.
Hobby Lobby stores are owned by the Green family, known for supporting Conservative causes.
“The family has funded initiatives to put religious propaganda into public school classrooms, demanded the right to fire people for being gay, passed off forgeries as the “Dead Sea Scrolls,” stole antiquities from Iraq, and, of course, refused to comply with COVID-19 pandemic restrictions for fear of losing profits. They also successfully sued to block their employees from using their own health insurance to cover contraception.” Salon
I went to Catholic schools which effectively stamped out religion in me, so I’m generally indifferent to messages about Jesus’s love or his desire to save me.
