We get what we tolerate: Fred Meyer closures and the cost of unchecked theft

We get what we tolerate. Late afternoon Tuesday, Fred Meyer’s parent company, Kroger, announced two more store closures. That brings the total to five stores set to shut down in the area.

The company gave a list of reasons. Rising costs, regulations, but the number one reason? Theft. If you look closer, it’s addiction playing out in plain sight. As long as we tolerate theft, this is what we get.

I see it in my own neighborhood. The last few times I’ve gone to the Auburn Fred Meyer, there was a receipt checker at the door with a gun on his hip. When I popped by yesterday, no sidearm, just a ballistic vest. Progress, right?

At Walmart, I need an employee with a key just to buy socks. At another grocery chain, I regularly hear employees calling out as yet another shoplifter walks away. And we all just live with it. We tolerate it.

Let’s be clear, most of these thefts aren’t a mom coming up short and stealing baby formula to get by.

I’ve talked with recovering addicts. They tell me how it works. You steal from a store. You sell what you stole for cheap. You buy fentanyl or meth. You use. Then you run out. And you walk back into the store, steal, use, wash, rinse, repeat.

We tolerate the theft in WA

It’s a miserable life for the addict. But it’s also miserable for the rest of us. You walk into a store one day and realize you can’t even buy laundry detergent without asking permission to unlock the plexiglass. This isn’t normal, but it is tolerated.

So this is the result. One store owner finally said, “This isn’t getting better. We’re done,” and then the doors at five Fred Meyer’s closed for good.

Now, I don’t want to be one of those voices saying the answer is maximum punishment every time. I want people to get help. But right now, our system is so toothless that addicts keep spiraling without treatment, and communities are left carrying the burden.

But what if we didn’t tolerate it? What if we said no, you don’t get to keep spiraling forever? What if we demanded real treatment and real accountability, not just a revolving door? Because right now, we’re not doing that. We’re tolerating the addiction. We’re tolerating the theft.

In too many cases, rehab or detox isn’t even part of the conversation. More often than not, courts don’t order it. Jails don’t demand it. Not that you’re going to spend much time in jail anyway. The addicts have to be the ones who ask for treatment.

Don’t be fooled, there are resources available. They are available for people who have no money. I checked with two organizations last night. They can get you in today, but you’ll have to get sober. Addicts don’t want to do that unless there is no other choice.

We call it compassion, but it’s not. Because a system that lets people destroy themselves without ever insisting on treatment isn’t helping anyone: not the addict, not the community, not the business owner.

And until that changes, we’re going to keep getting exactly what we tolerate.

Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here. 

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