Politics at Goodwill

My bf & I spent most of the day cleaning my garage.  Last week he decided he was going to build me shelves and I fell in love all over again.  I admit to loving a man who can build things...though they've been few and very far between...anyhow--he built me three heavy duty shelves, plus put up bike rack hooks so the girls
bikes have a winter home.

As we continued to sort through garage, making piles of keeping, tossing and goodwilling, I decided tonight my oldest and I could drop off an old baby crib after she practiced driving.  I opened the back door to get the crib out, while the old hippy worker looks it over and says, "I don't think we can take that."  I look at it and ask 'Why?' but have a moment of maybe crib guidelines have changed again and that's the reason.  Plus it's probably 200 years old.

Nope.

He sheepishly says, "they want baby items to go to Right to Life."  I'm sure I'm not the first person who gave me the WTF look, but past the look I used my big girl words:  "Really?"

Again, "yes they want baby items to go to Right to Life.  Do you know where that is?"

In hell I think, but say to this kind man just trying to do his job, "No--where?"

He explains where it is.  I know generally the area, but also know I am not taking it there.  It's not that I don't want those babies to have a crib, I want Goodwill to be A-Political on the matter of reproduction.  He must've read the look on my face as I put the crib back into my car and said, "well I guess I'll find somewhere to take it," thinking someone will pick it up before trashday, because he said, "aahhh...I'll just take it.  Put it on the big truck.  Don't wanna see you drive around with it in your car all weekend."

Amen.
Goodwill.
Good will towards the hippyman. But what the hell Goodwill?  Since when did this happen?  I have no problem if the general policy is that baby items that don't sell go to Right to Life or the woman on the corner, but to ask me to go to Right to Life to drop off items, I am insulted.  Maybe I'm niave.  Maybe I'm idealistic.  But you are Goodwill Industries for heavens sake.  I even went online to see if there's a policy that states they're connected.  I couldn't find one.  I did discover they don't take baby car seats because of regulations.  Fine. 

Next time I have baby items to drop off, it won't be at Goodwill--but I hate that.  I love thrift stores and I don't want to consider my politics when I go there.  I know some people simply wouldn't care, but in this political season when womens healthcare is so fragile, I do care--I just didn't expect to think about politics on a Friday night at Goodwill.

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