Go to Walgreen’s and demand a pap smear.

51 thoughts on Go to Walgreen’s and demand a pap smear.

1. As someone who works in retail, I think that’s kind of an assy thing to do to the Walgreens employees. They didn’t endorse Fox News’ claims, they didn’t ask to be named again on Colbert Report, and they’re going to have to deal with a bunch of random people clogging up their stores and preventing normal operations? If it’s anything like other standard corporate retail, they have “numbers” they have to meet in order for it to be considered a successful day, and for them to be considered “good” employees, and if they can’t run their business normally, they’re going to catch hell from the higher ups. I don’t think that’s fair.

   Funny idea, yeah, but good thing to put into practice? Not so much.

2. Inconvenient! I have to pick up my birth control on Friday. It would be great if I could bundle my errands and activism.

3. I understand wanting to do this, but Walgreen’s never claimed to have these services. Rachel Maddow requested to film at Walgreen’s and they declined and sent her a nice letter saying they didn’t provide those services(which anyone with a brain knows). Flashmob FOX studios instead, or spend the time bombarding your representatives with phone calls.

4. Shit, they really said that? Another organizer told me that and I thought she must be mistaken. o.o

5. Jeez, I don’t know. This is just going to be a big ass annoyance for the employees at those stores. It wasn’t someone associated with Walgreens who made the statement, so doing something that will cause a potential nuisance for their stores and workers seems to miss the point. They’re just doing their job and they’re going to have a bunch of people cramming into the stores and shoving cameras and phones into their faces, laughing and asking for pap smears – I really don’t see the value of this.

6. I don’t see what the big deal is. I’ve been offered a breast exam twice by the stink guy in the trucker cap outside my local Walgreen’s.

7. Alison: Jeez, I don’t know. This is just going to be a big ass annoyance for the employees at those stores. It wasn’t someone associated with Walgreens who made the statement, so doing something that will cause a potential nuisance for their stores and workers seems to miss the point. They’re just doing their job and they’re going to have a bunch of people cramming into the stores and shoving cameras and phones into their faces, laughing and asking for pap smears – I really don’t see the value of this.

   Not to be a buzz kill, but is Walgreens on board with this? I mean, as I recall, they’ve been really great on some repo issues like getting rid of pharmacists who refuse to provide medications for religious objections. I wish they could at least include something to support or acknowledge their contribution.

8. Kristen, I do know there was a big ass hassle getting them to sell EC to men

   http://healthland.time.com/2010/11/23/aclu-sites-walgreens-for-refusing-emergency-contraception-to-men/

   They were repeatedly told they had to sell it to men and there were numerous occasions at at least a few different stores where pharmacists refused to sell it to guys who weren’t with a woman. They gave that old “Oopsie, these particular managers weren’t clear on the rules” excuse, but…eh.

   But no matter what the political standpoint of any particular store or executive employee is or what their policies are or whatever…I still am not okay with people making the sales clerks’ jobs suck even more just for the lulz of doing fake activism.

9. I have to agree with some of the commenters – if you’re going to do this, then please at least find a drug store where the staff doesn’t have much else going on at the time. Those people work hard, other people may be waiting for prescriptions they really need, and it’s not their fault that some guy on Fox News was an ignorant ass.

10. Jeez, I don’t know. This is just going to be a big ass annoyance for the employees at those stores.

    I agree. I used to work at a very similar drugstore chain, and trust me, the last thing I’d have wanted as a harried minimum wage earning cashier was to have a bunch of people trying to get me on camera looking confused because they’d asked for a pap smear, and then putting the video on the internet. WTF.

11. SOLUTION: Just show up at Fox headquarters and demand a pap smear. They’re about as likely to perform one as Walgreens is.

12. Not to discourage point-making at all, but I have a soft spot for Walgreen’s. I worked for one and they were all like “We’re going to promote you and give you a raise even though you have a kid with syndrome and need a lot of time off”. Their corporate policy is to politely escort people with cameras off their property.

    Maybe someone should say that Fox News offers Women’s Health Services? Use the old Fox mantra that if you say it enough it will be true? Breast exams in their lobby would be great!

13. My sister is a pharmacist at another retail chain and she is also a great champion of reproductive rights and Planned Parenthood. That said, I can think of few things that would piss her off more than something like this. Walgreens is the first to say they don’t offer these services. Why punish their employees for the idiocy of Fox & Friends?

14. Aw boo, I feel like I’d have fun if I worked there and this happened. Nice break from day to day life. I’m sure it can be easily adjusted though – i.e. call ahead and get confirmation that this is cool.

15. I don’t think it’s a mean thing to do to Walgreen’s employees, but then again I’d find this whole thing even funnier if I worked there. I might even sneak in a “pap smears this way” sign on the stock room door.

16. Erm… no, it’s not a “brilliant” idea. In fact, it’s an idiotic idea. You want to protest, go to the Fox studios and protest there. Walgreens (AFAIK) has never claimed to offer pap smears or breast exams, it was the morons on Fox and Friends who made that claim. How about protesting them and asking them to care more about facts, instead?

17. All this’ll do is delay or prevent people from getting actual services Walgreens provides. Which will make people who didn’t know or care about this in the first place see a feminist protest as a pointless inconvenience (in)directly targeted at them.

    Walgreens didn’t do this, the people who rely on Walgreens for health care didn’t do this. Fox did this. Flashmob Fox.

18. PrettyAmiable:
    Aw boo, I feel like I’d have fun if I worked there and this happened. Nice break from day to day life. I’m sure it can be easily adjusted though – i.e. call ahead and get confirmation that this is cool.

    Your idea of a nice break from day to day life is being harassed and bothered by strangers who think they’re totes funny and clever? Who are probably way more privileged than you and using that privilege to make a dumb fucking internet meme? Well, just because you would oddly find that to be a barrel of fun doesn’t mean other people would, and maybe you should, you know, try thinking about other people. Imagine that.

19. Yeah, my first thought was, “Oh, poor Walgreen’s employees.” The people who’d be most affected are the clerks at the individual stores, and none of this current flap was their idea.

    Don’t do this.

20. I agree with most commments. This isn’t cool. I understand the point, but it causes problems for Walgreens and its employees.

21. Alison: try thinking about other people. Imagine that.

    …like calling ahead and asking as I suggested in the very comment you quoted? But sure! Your reaction is the only legitimate one!

22. Yeah, sure – you could call the store and ask, and what if the one person you talk to says “Uh, yeah okay, sure” and the other employees don’t agree? What about the customers who are just trying to go about their day and run their errands? Calling ahead does not guarantee you’re not still going to be complete pests to people who did nothing whatever to deserve it.

    And I did not say my opinion is the only legitimate one, but yeah, I think I am right to say this is not a good idea because the cons way outweigh any possible pros you could offer. I would also point out I’m far from the only person to think this way, evidenced in small part by how many other comments here alone agree with me. I’m not the only one with this reaction, but go ahead and tell all of us we’re wrong because we’re just not fun enough.

23. I do wonder whether Walgreens would actually be on board though. I can imagine they would sell a lot of beverages and related items in a short amount of time. And…well…free press! Perhaps talking to a manager at your local Walgreens would be a good idea?

24. A) I didn’t say you were wrong. Did I say that? Did I say anyone’s opinion is wrong? I said that your opinion isn’t the only relevant opinion. Get over yourself and stop attacking me just because if I were in their place, I would have fun with it. I have worked in a customer service environment before. I liked when my monotony was disrupted. I don’t give a fuck if you prefer monotony because it has absolutely no bearing on whether or not I personally would enjoy it. That’s what I said in my comment, not every person ever must love this shit because I do.

    B) Why would you assume that speaking to any random employee is what I meant? Speak to the manager. The manager is responsible for zir employees and customers and knows whether they should be speaking to someone higher up in the organization about it. I’m guessing they can probably weigh the pros and cons a bit better than any of us. Including you.

    But fine, flip the fuck out because I personally would enjoy it and provided a better solution for people who are going to do it anyway.

25. “Flip the fuck out”. Yes, that’s clearly what I’m doing. Hold on, let me wipe the foam from my mouth before I respond.

    Fine, whatever. YOU think it would be fun. I see it as very likely annoying the shit out of innocent people just trying to do their job. We disagree. But my point is, to go ahead and do it runs the risk of causing a nuisance, annoying people, frustrating them, etc. To NOT do it runs the risk of…nothing. And nothing good or effective comes out of doing it. So I err on the side of not causing trouble for people for no reason and say this is not the way to draw attention to our cause.

26. I don’t know; I think it would be pretty unlikely for Walgreens to agree to be involved in something so overtly political.

27. Alison, you’re missing the point. This is about looking clever on the internet! How dare you be a killjoy!

    Seriously, I worked in a job like this very recently, and this would’ve annoyed the shit out of me, regardless of whether my manager had agreed to do it. Working in a drugstore is HARD WORK; harder, in my experience, than other retail jobs. When I worked in one, it was busy and understaffed, and we were constantly juggling long lines of customers, angry customers, etc., etc.

    But, you know, I probably just hate fun.

28. Your response to my opinion of how I personally would feel was completely inappropriate and aggressive. I stand by “flip the fuck out.”

    If you don’t think it’s a good idea and if you don’t think speaking with a manager is a good idea, then great, voice that. Attacking someone for daring to voice how they would experience something is ridiculous.

29. thewhatfor: But, you know, I probably just hate fun.

    …Who said this? You seriously think that because I would enjoy this, I think your opinion is irrelevant and that you hate fun? Did anyone say that someone who wouldn’t enjoy this kind of thing probably hates fun? No? Great. Glad that’s settled.

30. I really hope people rethink this. Flash mobs at Walgreens, when it Fox that made the original asinine comment, is going to make the workday difficult for the unfortunate employees on the clock that day, and make errand-running (and picking up Rxs) an ordeal for customers—many of whom don’t have a choice on where to pick up meds—insurance makes the choice). This is going to backfire.

    Look—back when ERA failed, a group of privileged women smeared pigs’ blood on the floor at the Illinois Capitol, angry that it didn’t pass. Thirty years later, few remember the reasoned arguments on why US women deserve a Constitutional amendment to protect our rights. Everyone in Illinois remembers the pigs’ blood, and associates feminism with that act. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was the act of agent provocateurs. It wasn’t. Nevertheless, it was highly effective at sabotaging any further serious consideration of the ERA, and of feminism in general. It was seen by the general public as the act of people who don’t give a damn about others, and the class implications (those smearing blood were class-privileged; those cleaning it up were not) drove one more nail in the coffin of any interclass solidarity in feminism.

    Granted, this particular flash mob action wouldn’t make a mess; it would just waste the time of people who are already (for the most part) short on time—and the action would be performed by people who (for the most part) are not as pressed for time. This is going to cause resentment. It will be seen—and certainly be presented by the media—as “rich kids making a PITA of themselves at the expense of everybody else.” It won’t make people think of the original Fox gaffe. It won’t make people think of the conservative push against birth control.

    More importantly, it’s going to backfire on Planned Parenthood.

    I seriously hope the organizers rethink this.

31. The point isn’t to punish Walgreen’s; it’s to provide video evidence that the pharmacy doesn’t provide what Fox claims it provides. I think just one person could accomplish that, though.

32. Who said this? You seriously think that because I would enjoy this, I think your opinion is irrelevant and that you hate fun?

    Nope. I was sarcastically taking issue with the idea that this sort of activism is super fun and awesome. From my perspective, it is at best annoying, and, at worst, classist and entitled.

33. My knee-jerk response was:

    What, exactly, would be the point of flash mobbing Faux studios? They’d put you on air as obvious proof that people love Faux News.

    The point is to prove that pharmacies don’t provide these services (generally). If inconveniencing some employees for a little while gets the point across, what’s the harm? Are these employees not some of the SAME EXACT WOMEN who would be harmed by the defunding of PP?

    /rant over.

    Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, in reality, I’m on the fence. I see the point, and see how it might be effective, but honestly, I think it will just backfire. The news will be ‘horrible libruls try to prevent grandma from getting her heart meds’, because American media can’t be honest about anything for even a few seconds, because that makes ratings sad. Or something.

    I’ll have to join the chorus of don’t do thises, regretfully. There’s got to be a better way of getting this point across.

34. Here’s an idea: how about the flash mob simply calls the offices of the dudes making these statements and/or pushing for these laws and ask them for info on how to get a pap smear, etc.? Record. Make videos. That way, at least you’re annoying the pig that is the source of this, instead of innocent bystanders.

    It’s very likely callers would just get the run around, hung up on, etc. but that only helps the cause, IMO.

35. Adding my voice to the “this is misplaced activism” crowd. If Fox News said that homeless people could turn straw into gold, would you go out onto the streets with straw and demand their services? No. Spend an hour of your time calling your legislators or writing a letter to the editor. Don’t “demand” services from hourly Walgreens employees — some of whom, by the way, are likely the very women you’re trying to help receive affordable healthcare.

36. Agree with the majority here: please don’t do this. It’s a really, really bad idea and it would backfire.

    Why harass Walgreen’s? What did they do?

37. Can someone explain why and how some random people coming into some random Walgreens and pointedly asking for a pap is going to ruin a Walgreens employees’ day, as has been continually suggested in the comments? Does anyone really believe that the whole point of doing this is to harass Walgreens, or that it would end up that way? They encourage taking video of the act itself, which I assumed was for the purpose of getting recorded the answer “no” and possible puzzled expressions, to indicate just how ridiculous is it to suggest that Walgreens offers such things. They’re not saying, “go into Walgreens and ruin some poor minimum wage clerk’s day.” Have you worked retail? Anything to distract from the mundane and monotonous tasks in a shift is usually enthusiastically welcomed by employees. That’s not to say that some employees might be irritated, but really, I can’t imagine it would get any more irritating than answering any other seemingly silly customer question.

38. Can someone explain why and how some random people coming into some random Walgreens and pointedly asking for a pap is going to ruin a Walgreens employees’ day, as has been continually suggested in the comments?

    It’s my understanding (I don’t know, because I don’t subscribe to Facebook—I’m just going on what was posted here) that the protest isn’t being organized as a “one person go to each Walgreens in town”. It seems from the title of “FLASH MOB ALERT!!” that large groups of people are encouraged to show up, to cram the Walgreens so as to prevent the normal transaction of business.

    So, if you have the misfortune to need your Rx filled, and Walgreens is the only place your insurance allows, you get to wade through a crowd of folks asking for pap smears and breast exams that they know damn well Walgreens doesn’t provide. Your 15-minute errand turns into an impromptu hour or two of waiting around for all the cutesy flashmob people to ask their question and pester the staff with, “but Fox News said you guys provide this stuff, what gives?”

    I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the twentieth “you don’t do pap smears here? really? but Fox News said you did!!” is going to get mighty old to most staff; it’s going to piss off more of the actual customers (staff already know what their hours are going to be; other customers are expecting a quick turnaround on their transactions).

    And that’s why it’s a bad idea. It will be publicized as a “look at what a PITA those Planned Parenthood people are; this is what they’re all about!!” even though (from what I understand) this isn’t an official Planned Parenthood action.

    Imagine instead if all those folks with the free time to clog a Walgreens took their energies out to bus stops and set up card tables or ironing boards and got people to sign petitions, or spoke to them about the need to fund healthcare adequately, and passed out flyers for a mass demonstration in favor of women’s healthcare, or registered people to vote and handed out the voting records of their local politicos.

    Y’know, something that would provide information, build community, decrease the isolation a whole helluva lot of women feel, and not be yet one more pushy representation of ‘fuck you—I got mine, you go get your own’.

39. @La Lubu,

    But that would be WORK. Facebook activism is (often, IME) more about fun and attention seeking behavior.

40. How about people all call Fox and ask which specific Walgreens to go to so they can make an appointment? Or go to Fox with signs that say “Drugstores aren’t doctors!”

    Take it to the source, don’t harass the working innocent.

41. Harassment or not, disruption or not, I don’t think we need to go to Walgreens and demand a service they don’t offer to ‘prove’ how ridiculous it is. I can look on their website at the list of services their clinics do offer to see that this isn’t one of them. I don’t have to act like Michael Moore, eagerly and pointlessly demanding senators enlist their children in the army on camera, to make this point.

42. Alison: Your idea of a nice break from day to day life is being harassed and bothered by strangers who think they’re totes funny and clever? Who are probably way more privileged than you and using that privilege to make a dumb fucking internet meme? Well, just because you would oddly find that to be a barrel of fun doesn’t mean otherpeople would, and maybe you should, you know, try thinking about other people. Imagine that.

    Yeah, not to mention the customers who are trying to pick up their prescriptions. My Walgreens often has half a dozen people in line at the window and a similar number sitting down in the waiting area after placing their prescriptions, and five or six employees in the pharmacy trying to keep up, fill orders, and answer the phone. Some of the customers are sick and feeling bad and others are trying to work out troubles with their insurance with the staff, or both. It’s possible that Walgreens may have some corporate issues that deserve protest, but why punish them for what some Fox News assholes said?

43. I don’t understand how flash mobbing walgreens will prove a point. It will just inconvenience my patients and my employees. Like everyone else said, go ask Fox for the pap. I became a pharmacist, not a gynecologist. I want to help my patients and not make them wait even longer because someone has a camera shoved in my face.

44. Sorry to be contrarian, but what would be wrong with a letter-writing campaign to ask Walgreens to publish an open statement to Fox news that Walgreens DOES NOT offer pap smears at their retail locations, and demanding that Fox STOP broadcasting that lie that Walgreens offers this service.

    Technically, Walgreens has a really good libel action against Fox.

45. Besides the fucked-up-ness of flash-mobbing Walgreens when it’s Fox News that are being assholes, it’s really, *really* bad, privileged-ass form for a bunch of mostly white, middle-class folks to make life harder for hourly front-line employees of any corporation.

    I mean, geez, even beating on their hourly employees of *Fox* doesn’t put pressure on Fox’s executives, y’no? Afflicting the afflicted (in this case, low-paid non-unionized front-line staff) does not help advance social justice. Those with privilege and power – that is, the execs and the politicians that are in their pockets – are the ones who need to be made uncomfortable.

    I’m watching the US Uncut actions with an increasingly jaundiced eye, y’no? They claim to be for the “little guy”, but I see them shutting down bank branches and think that the people who are getting hassled are primarily tellers (hourly non-unionized employees), customer service reps and branch managers (who may be salaried, but are pretty much treated like shit compared to the execs), and customers, many of whom are themselves working-class. How many customers were unable to pay for their utilities because they couldn’t get a check deposited?

    This flash-mob shit’s gotta stop. The internet’s great for communication and coordination of actions, but people have really got to step back and *think* about the consequences of proposed actions before engaging in them, and put a check on their own privilege while doing so.

46. GallingGalla, what social class do tellers fall into? I have never gotten the impression they were lower-class, and branch managers definitely are not. I think you have a point about the possibility of hurt to lower-class customers who are trying to use the bank, but I would hold that attacking BoA is different. It’s not a cutesy internet meme, it’s actually targeting a company that has contributed, nay, helped directly cause the recession and a much greater degree of harm than any protest.

47. FAIL. Google is your friend.

    Shaun:
    GallingGalla, what social class do tellers fall into? I have never gotten the impression they were lower-class, and branch managers definitely are not. I think you have a point about the possibility of hurt to lower-class customers who are trying to use the bank, but I would hold that attacking BoA is different. It’s not a cutesy internet meme, it’s actually targeting a company that has contributed, nay, helped directly cause the recession and a much greater degree of harm than any protest.

    I dunno, you tell me.

    US $18K – $28K a year is not exactly what I call middle-class wages. And many tellers work part-time; therefore they do not receive health insurance and other benefits. Even those who work full-time are not unionized and are therefore at the mercy of their employer. I’ll also add that a lot of that income is in the forms of overtime pay and commissions. Note that the basic hourly rate is $8.52 – $12.59.

    With this question, you seem to imply that bank tellers are paid middle-class wages. What exactly are you basing this on? The fact that most of them are wearing business dress clothing? That’s a requirement that their employer imposes on them, and spending a bunch of money that you don’t have on dress clothing when you’re earning 10 or 12 bucks an hour, does not make one middle-class.

    For bank customer service reps: Basic hourly rate of $8.81 to $17.19. Total annual earnings $19K – $42K. Admittedly the upper end of that range is getting into the bottom end of middle-class if you’re single, but if you’re the sole wage earner and have even one child, $42K ain’t gonna cut it. And again, these earnings include commissions and overtime pay.

    Of the job categories that I listed, branch managers are the only ones that are salaried as opposed to hourly. Certainly the upper end of the scale – $75K – is a solid middle-class income, but the lower end – $35K – not so much.

    So my point stands: Bank tellers and customer service reps are hourly, poorly paid, poorly treated, exploited front-line staff and it’s not fair to impinge on their ability to work for the sake of a US Uncut protest. And even the branch managers don’t set policy. The ones who are evading responsibility for paying corporate taxes are the execs getting paid 7 and 8-figure salaries; they are the ones you need to make uncomfortable.

    Unless you really believe that $10/hr bank tellers should be punished for the actions of $10 mn/yr bank execs.

48. Yeesh. Sorry for munging up that last link. It goes to the right place, but I didn’t mean to turn entire paragraphs into a link.

49. Trillian42:
    As someone who works in retail, I think that’s kind of an assy thing to do to the Walgreens employees. They didn’t endorse Fox News’ claims, they didn’t ask to be named again on Colbert Report, and they’re going to have to deal with a bunch of random people clogging up their stores and preventing normal operations? If it’s anything like other standard corporate retail, they have “numbers” they have to meet in order for it to be considered a successful day, and for them to be considered “good” employees, and if they can’t run their business normally, they’re going to catch hell from the higher ups. I don’t think that’s fair.

    Funny idea, yeah, but good thing to put into practice? Not so much.

    I agree. I think back to Frank Sinatra’s immortal words to a nosy fan:

    “Get off the stage! And stay the hell off the stage! I don’t bother you at YOUR job, you idiot!”

50. GallingGalla, that was more of a rhetorical question, but since you answered it that is more money than I’ve ever made. Significantly more in most years. So, no, I wouldn’t call them middle-class, but class privilege is a matter of perspective, so yes, I would say that poor people have every right to shut down a corporation’s outlet staffed by people making a good deal more than them.

    For that matter, what is this great hardship you seem to be referring to? That if you shut down a BoA office they… won’t have any work to do? I suppose in the worst case scenario they might get sent home and not make any wages for the day but please see the relatively higher income compared to the people who the class war cuts are MOST affecting.

51. Hmmm…well I work in retail, and I think that something like this would make me and most other employees laugh, as long as the people didn’t get out of control. But I think asking for pap smears and breast exams at FOX headquarters would be much more effective and ten times more hilarious.

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