Bob CollinsThe puzzling online shaming of an actor because he has a job bagging groceries betrays the reality that too many people think hard work is beneath them.
FoxNews — big shock –and the Daily Mail — bigger shock — got things cranked up over the weekend when it reported that Geoffrey Owens, a former member of the Cosby cast, is bagging groceries.
'Cosby Show' actor Geoffrey Owens spotted bagging groceries at NJ Trader Joe's https://t.co/bhkxWYa9gq
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 31, 2018
What’s the problem here?
He works at a Trader Joe’s. The operative word there? Works.
“I was really devastated,” Owens told Good Morning America today. “But the period of devastation was so short.”
“There is no job that is better than another job. It might pay better, it might have better benefits, it might look better on a resume and on paper,” Owens said. “But actually, it’s not better. Every job is worthwhile and valuable, and if we have a rethinking about that because of what has happened to me, that would be great.”
FULL INTERVIEW: @GMA EXCLUSIVE — "There's no job better than another…every job is worthwhile…" Actor Geoffrey Owens speaks out, responding to job shaming and backlash after a photo of him working at a grocery store was posted online: https://t.co/0wZJnpowI9 pic.twitter.com/aNiG5fV2yf
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 4, 2018
Owens says he started working at Trader Joe’s a year ago to help make ends meet.
“No one should feel sorry for me, either from a positive or negative perspective,” Owens said. “I’ve had a great life, I’ve had a great career, I’ve had a career that most actors would really die for. No one has to feel sorry for me; I’m doing fine.”
Again: What’s the problem here?
