Cracker Barrel Fires 73-Year-Old Veteran Who Gave Food To 'Needy' Man

[Darkwind]

A 73-year-old Vietnam veteran was fired from a Cracker Barrel earlier this month after giving a corn muffin to a man he thought looked homeless.

Earlier this month, Joe Koblenzer was working his shift at a Cracker Barrel in Venice, Florida, when a man walked in and asked if he could have some condiments. Koblenzer loaded a few packets into a bag and added a corn muffin as well.

"He looked a little needy. He asked if I had any mayonnaise and some tarter sauce," Koblenzer told ABC local affiliate WWSB. "He said he was going to cook a fish. ... I got it for him. As I walked out I put a corn muffin in."

Not long after, Koblenzer was let go from his job.

MORE: Cracker Barrel Fires 73-Year-Old Veteran Who Gave Food To 'Needy' Man

Florida veteran, 73, loses his job at Cracker Barrel for giving a muffin to a homeless man | Mail Online

I realize something like this could get out of hand, but I don't think anyone should be fired for such inexpensive good will.

Did he pay for it?

Otherwise, I call that theft.

 

[Darkwind]

It's Florida.


The manager was probably a Tea Brain.

You are a fucking idiot.

You're being redundant. This is hazlnut your talking to.

 

[RandallFlagg]

I suppose it may technically be charged that this fellow unlawfully appropriated the corn muffin which he gave to someone whom he felt could use a free muffin. But while the word "stealing" might work in court it simply doesn't work in my thinking. And even if Cracker Barrel had their gold-plated lawyers compel a prosecution for "theft," I'm sure that no jury would find Joe guilty of that specification, nor would any judge sentence him to more than one day's probation -- and probably would suspend it.

But I would like to know the specific circumstances of the other four times this fellow was reprimanded for "stealing" food. And I might be encumbered by old-fashioned values but I believe someone who works in a place where food is sold should be allowed to eat some of that food. It just seems right.

I will concede that giving an employer's food away to others is quite another thing. But if it's done repeatedly, even if it's motivated by a sense of charity, while it does qualify as grounds for dismissal I cannot assign the word or the concept of "stealing" to it. It just doesn't fit in my thinking where food is concerned.

This may come as a shock to you but "food" to a restaurant is a PRODUCT. A product that is FOR SALE. If an employee or a customer leaves the premises without paying for the PRODUCT - it is stealing. No different from any other retail establishment.

This man is NOT a "victim". He is a THIEF.

Randall,

You're probably right. But I would call him a thief only if he were materially benefiting from the corn muffin transaction. As it is, if I were on the jury I would nullify.

Re: his eating some Cracker Barrel food while working there as a server; I find it hard to believe Cracker Barrel would consider that stealing -- or that it would be against the rules. It's simply not the same as working for a jeweler and taking home a watch. While food is indeed a product, it is not a product in the same way a watch is a product.

I don't know your situation, but let's use YOU for an example, shall we? I'm walking down the street in your neighborhood one day and I see, through your open window, a $100 Bill on the table. At the same time, there is a bum on the corner begging for a handout. What the hell, I say! I go into your home, take the $100 Bill and give it to the bum on the corner.

How WONDERFUL I am!!! I have taken from the 'haves" and have given to the "have nots"!!! Oh, the money was YOURS? Tough shit. I'm no thief. You were an asshole for not giving your money away.

That, my boy, is the liberal mentality and EXACTLY what got this man fired.

I do t know how much PLAINER it can be made for you liberals.....

 

[RandallFlagg]

It's Florida.


The manager was probably a Tea Brain.

You are a fucking idiot.

You're being redundant. This is hazlnut your talking to.

My bad.....

 

[Katzndogz]

Liberals believe that stealing for a noble purpose is social justice. That's why liberals don't get excited over flash robs. It's poor people robbing rich stores.

 

[Andylusion]

Or illegal anything. All those illegal pot growers that they are praising right now, the moment they legalize and turn into rich wealthy corporations, they'll be screaming to tear them down.

Basically, all leftism, is a promotion of all things evil and wrong. No matter what it is.

 

[Andylusion]

A 73-year-old Vietnam veteran was fired from a Cracker Barrel earlier this month after giving a corn muffin to a man he thought looked homeless.

Earlier this month, Joe Koblenzer was working his shift at a Cracker Barrel in Venice, Florida, when a man walked in and asked if he could have some condiments. Koblenzer loaded a few packets into a bag and added a corn muffin as well.

"He looked a little needy. He asked if I had any mayonnaise and some tarter sauce," Koblenzer told ABC local affiliate WWSB. "He said he was going to cook a fish. ... I got it for him. As I walked out I put a corn muffin in."

Not long after, Koblenzer was let go from his job.

MORE: Cracker Barrel Fires 73-Year-Old Veteran Who Gave Food To 'Needy' Man

Florida veteran, 73, loses his job at Cracker Barrel for giving a muffin to a homeless man | Mail Online

I realize something like this could get out of hand, but I don't think anyone should be fired for such inexpensive good will.

Did he pay for it?

Otherwise, I call that theft.

He 'offered' to pay for it, after he was caught. Gotta love it.

 

[MikeK]

This may come as a shock to you but "food" to a restaurant is a PRODUCT. A product that is FOR SALE. If an employee or a customer leaves the premises without paying for the PRODUCT - it is stealing. No different from any other retail establishment.

This man is NOT a "victim". He is a THIEF.

Randall,

You're probably right. But I would call him a thief only if he were materially benefiting from the corn muffin transaction. As it is, if I were on the jury I would nullify.

Re: his eating some Cracker Barrel food while working there as a server; I find it hard to believe Cracker Barrel would consider that stealing -- or that it would be against the rules. It's simply not the same as working for a jeweler and taking home a watch. While food is indeed a product, it is not a product in the same way a watch is a product.

I don't know your situation, but let's use YOU for an example, shall we? I'm walking down the street in your neighborhood one day and I see, through your open window, a $100 Bill on the table. At the same time, there is a bum on the corner begging for a handout. What the hell, I say! I go into your home, take the $100 Bill and give it to the bum on the corner.

How WONDERFUL I am!!! I have taken from the 'haves" and have given to the "have nots"!!! Oh, the money was YOURS? Tough shit. I'm no thief. You were an asshole for not giving your money away.

That, my boy, is the liberal mentality and EXACTLY what got this man fired.

I do t know how much PLAINER it can be made for you liberals.....

If you think that's a valid analogy all I can say is I'm glad I'm me and not you.

 

[initforme]

Its a corn muffin... it costs the company NOTHING to make. Fire someone fine.... for a corn muffin? How stupid. What a poorly run company.

 

[Andylusion]

Its a corn muffin... it costs the company NOTHING to make. Fire someone fine.... for a corn muffin? How stupid. What a poorly run company.

First off.... saying it 'costs nothing to make', makes you look like a total moron. Nothing costs nothing. Everything costs money.

Second... saying that because the cost of the stolen goods was low, means stealing is ok.... also makes you look like a total moron.

Can I come by your house and remove everything of low value from your house? As long as I don't take anything of high value, it's ok for me to empty out your home?

Third, it wasn't just a muffin. This dude was caught 5 times stealing from the company.

Lastly, they have no choice but to fire him. Left-wingers setup a system where, if they didn't fire him, they would end up sued.

If they don't fire this guy for stealing after being caught five different instances, then under the law, they would get in trouble for firing anyone else.

The next thieving dirt bag that starts handing out food out the back door, if they fire him, he'll sue them, and in court he'll point out 'well they didn't fire old Joe for stealing!'....

Under the leftard system, the company would lose the lawsuit and pay thousands of dollars to the scum sucking thief, all because they didn't fire Joe for stealing.

So they had no choice by to fire him. Thank the labor laws.

 

[RandallFlagg]

Its a corn muffin... it costs the company NOTHING to make. Fire someone fine.... for a corn muffin? How stupid. What a poorly run company.

That company has been doing just fine since 1969. Don't like their "management style"? Stay the hell away. It's just that damned simple.