The above image of Krystal Lake, an employee at a Home Depot in Staten Island, New York has sparked controversy, after rapidly circulating on social media.
“The point of the hat was to say America needs changing and improvement,” Lake tells SI Live. “I don’t think it’s a positive message to say, “Let’s look to the past.'”
Lake, senior at College of Staten Island, majoring in Media Studies, feels that she is the victim of a double standard.
She says that she only wore the hat this past Sunday, points out that despite the fact that Home Depot says that employees are not allowed to wear items showing political support, her co-workers had been sporting pro-Trump buttons for weeks prior.
“I feel it offended a lot of people because a lot of Trump supporters live in Staten Island,” she says. “Trump is very rash and in your face, but when someone else has a message against him, his supporters can’t take the criticisms.”
Shoppers have even taken to Home Depot’s Facebook page to express their outrage at Lake’s hat.
“I was just about to go to Home Depot to purchase a lawn mower and new washer and dryer for the home my wife and I just moved into,” one wrote. “I just happened to pull out my phone and saw a post from someone. When I looked at their profile, I saw the attached image. Needless to say, I will not be buying the items from Home Depot now. I fully support people’s right to free speech, but there are guidelines employees should be required to follow to present a friendly, helpful image to customers. If this is what you allow your employees to do, you should not be in business in America.”
Lake, who supports Bernie Sanders, says that she first learned that her photo had gone viral after friends alerted her on Wednesday morning.
“People have been saying really racist things to me and that they’re going to come and find me,” she said, “and that what I said is disgraceful and I hate America—but I don’t hate America. I know there are a lot of opportunities here. I just wish we would worry about making America better— not ‘great again.'”
She also plans to wear the hat again.
