Hudson Valley Loses it Over Empty Supermarket Meat Cooler Video

The Hudson Valley has officially lost its mind and apparently, I'm to blame.

While shopping at the grocery store this week I was shocked to discover that there wasn't one package of fresh meat available; No pork, no chicken, no sausages, no ground beef, no steaks --- nothing.

The entire cooler section stretching the back of the store was completely empty. The supermarket didn't have a sign explaining what was happening, but the other shoppers and I just assumed there was some sort of issue with the power or refrigeration system. Customers were standing there dumbfounded, wondering if they should abandon their carts and go somewhere else or just eat vegetarian for dinner.

This certainly isn't something you see every day, so everyone whipped out their cameras and snapped pictures. I grabbed my phone and shot a video of the entire length of the case, showing just how crazy it was.

After taking the video, I posted it to Instagram and Facebook with the caption "Meat situation at Stop & Shop today" just in case anyone was headed out for a rump roast.

That's when the Karens came to attack.

My phone began to blow up with direct messages from people about the video. They weren't upset that the meat department was shut down, but that I was posting a video of it. Confused, I clicked over to the Facebook comments (something I hate doing) and discovered that an army of social media do-gooders was attacking me for posting the video.

They claimed that I was purposefully confusing the public in hopes of causing a panic. They said that the video was aimed at making people think there was a meat shortage. I responded (again, something I hate to do on Facebook) and asked if they were personally confused or if they just thought others might be. Everyone said that they also just assumed it was a refrigeration issue, but were fearful that others may jump to conclusions.

Apparently, I'm responsible for dumb people jumping to dumb conclusions but no one seemed to care that the store left the shelves empty with absolutely no explanation why.

Fed up with having to hear from the self-appointed social media police, I edited the post on Instagram and Facebook to make it clear that I didn't know what the issue was, but assumed (like any other person with half a brain) that it was a refrigeration issue. But that didn't stop the angry mob from claiming I posted the video for "clicks" and to fool the public.

Obviously, that wasn't the case. The video was posted to my personal page and there was nothing to click or anything for me to gain from people viewing it. I just thought it was interesting. Apparently, over 4,000 people also thought it was interesting and didn't rush out to stock up on hamburger meat. But an angry few people just refused to let it go and continued to express their outrage.

So the question remains; what's my responsibility here? I never got an official answer as to why the meat section was wiped out. Am I supposed to investigate everything I see before posting it online on the outside chance someone could jump to a stupid conclusion? When I post photos of sunsets, do I need to clarify that the trees aren't actually on fire? Do I need to go back and explain that I wasn't actually hit by a LEGOLAND car?

Honestly, even if I did call the store and post an explanation the Facebook weirdos still wouldn't believe it and wind up blaming the empty shelves on some sort of Illuminati conspiracy or whatever political party they personally hate.

The whole thing is just silly and makes me yearn for the days when I didn't have to interact with the public on social media. But unfortunately, as a sub-par local radio personality, it's all part of the job description. So I'll see you online - I'll be the one now posting disclaimers on Throwback Thursday posts so people don't freak out and think it's actually snowing in May.