St. Pete woman convinced she has direct influence on local economy
Denise Bazugas of St. Petersburg firmly believes that her spending habits have a noticeable and measurable impact on local businesses.
“‘Get Woke, Go Broke’ is an economic principle I believe in and support,” she said.
“If you put a rainbow-colored ‘BLM’ sticker on your front window, I will not patronize your establishment and you will be out of business in a matter of weeks, if not days. It’s that simple. I’ve seen it happen over and over again.”
She points to Mother Earth’s Activi-Tea & Kava Shack on Central Avenue in St. Pete as an example. “I used to go in there a couple times a week. Then one day, the barista or whatever they identify as, tried to tell me about how they were eco-friendly,” she said. “I told it – I don’t care how they identify – that if that eco is preceding ‘logy’ and not ‘nomy’, they could kiss my dollars goodbye. I haven’t been back since and guess what? They’re closed forever now.”
“Umm, no, we’re not,” said Amanda Pollenwheese, a shift manager at Mother Earth’s. “We never went out of business. We’re open right now. I have a line of customers at the counter and all of our tables are full.”
“I drove by there last night at 3am and it was completely dark, but whatever,” said Bazugas. “The Point is they’re not getting MY money any more, and that means they’re not making AS MUCH money as they used to, and it’s simple economics to know that if a business is losing money, they’re on the verge of failing. Duh!”
“Umm, we close at 10pm and I don’t think she knows as much about economics as she seems to think she does,” said Pollenwheese. “Look, I have to go. We’re really busy right now.”
“Sure they are,” scoffed Bazugas. “Sure they are.”
“Look, here’s the bottom line: when I go somewhere, I don’t want your politics shoved down my throat; I want food and drink shoved down my throat. Or the politics that I like. You can shove that down my throat too. But that’s it! Do not try to shove anything else down my throat! My body, my choice!”
