Do you remember people staging ''sit-ins?''
By Marie Coyle
@MarieCoyle (37101)
May 17, 2024 6:57pm CST
I had sort of forgotten them. I was a fairly young girl when that became popular back in the hippie era. But today...I witnessed one.
Here I was at the pharmacy again, this time by some miracle, our local CVS had one of my son's meds and we didn't have to drive all over to get it filled. I headed over to pick it up as tomorrow, he would have been out of the medicine. There was just a huge line of people picking up meds inside, but so be it, I got in line. There was an old fellow ahead of me, he said hello, soon it was his turn. ( I did have to admire his T-Shirt. The front of it said, in bold black letters, ''You don't scare me! I was taught by NUNS!'' ) He asked for his meds, and the pharmacist came out to tell him they could not completely fill his prescription today, only a portion of it, as they were nearly out of that particular medicine. Oh, was he ever upset. He didn't swear or scream, but he was highly irritated!
He went on and on about how he drove quite a way to pick up this prescription, and now he would have to come back and get the rest, and he wanted it all, and he wanted it today. He wasn't budging, and they didn't have all of it, only half. At this point, another pharmacist tech came to wait on me while he sorted out his issues with the pharmacist. But the old guy wasn't done.
His comment after yet another explanation from the pharmacist was, you aren't going to get rid of me that easily. I want what I came for! Then he said, I am staging a SIT-IN, right here. The pharmacist said he didn't understand what a sit-in was, and the old guy told him that it basically meant he was going to sit down on the floor by the pharmacy counter and stay there until he got what he wanted. He said he participated in many sit-in's back in the day, and he could do it again. He sat on the floor, crossed his legs, tossed his gray ponytail and said, ''let me know when it's all ready!''
I left as they were telling him they were preparing to close, and he would have to get up. I heard them say, we do not want to call the police, but you are leaving us no choice. We do not have any more of the medicine today than what we offered to you.
I have no idea how it ended, but as I left the parking lot, a squad car turned in. Evidently, sitting on the floor and refusing to leave is just not cool at CVS!
Pixabay
22 people like this
16 responses
@rebelann (112770)
• El Paso, Texas
18 May
I still remember how hard it was to get help from the police when dad was drunk and beating mom, they weren't allowed to interfere with "family matters". Before the late 1960s many courts looked away if a man felt he should kill his wife.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
18 May
@rebelann
And many a policeman would take a drunk home, saying they were ''protecting the family'' from embarrassment, when the family would have been thrilled for the drunken fool to be locked up for awhile!
I remember a lot of instances always happening like that. People would talk about it, but nothing ever happened. They didn't even arrest people back then for drinking and driving. They just had to pour it out on the side of the road. I remember it was commonplace to see a patrol car having someone pulled over, make them dump their booze, and then allowed to keep on driving--with kids in the cars!
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
18 May
They did good work and got results. Now, we are going backwards.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (166660)
• Boise, Idaho
18 May
That is scary. I hope that doesn't happen to my grandson. He has to take his Vyvanse every day. It is a controlled substance.
I do recall set-ins. They really made the news.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (166660)
• Boise, Idaho
19 May
@MarieCoyle .......I hate it when I order something and find it has to be shipped and costs nearly as much as it did originally just for the shipping. Happened to me only once and now I try to remember to check first.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
18 May
It truly was another era then.
There appears to be shortages that are just iffy. Never know until you order them and then you find out at the last minute. Very frustrating!
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
19 May
@celticeagle
When I do have to order something, I try hard to find free shipping, I do understand the costs are wild.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (180362)
• United States
18 May
Poor guy. I remember sit INS, but I don't think I ever saw one in person.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
18 May
I do recall visiting some family near San Francisco back in that time, with my aunt and uncle. ''Hippies'' were everywhere, we went to Haight-Ashbury as my uncle wanted to see it. An entirely different era and we thought we were ready to see it, but we were still very surprised by it all! I remember one guy walking up to my uncle and asking him if he wanted a hit or something stronger? 
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (180362)
• United States
18 May
@MarieCoyle Ha, What did he say? "Pass man, still stoned from this morning." 
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
18 May
@snowy22315
He was a cool uncle. He just said he had to drive the ladies around the city so he better be sober. With a “cool,man” the guy wobbled away!
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471253)
• Switzerland
20 May
@MarieCoyle - Our university and college protesters in from 1968 to 1974 were not "pacific", those were terrible years in Italy and I had to renounce to go to the university.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471253)
• Switzerland
19 May
@MarieCoyle I am sure that all those drivers waiting to cross the tunnel were not a bit happy.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
20 May
@LadyDuck
We had the college protesters here pretty much in full force, but most of them were gone. They were congregating somewhat around the intersections at times, it was a worry, the police had to bodily remove some of them.
1 person likes this
@LovesEverybody (4485)
• United States
20 May
I think he should be lucky he got at least some medicine. I always end up having CVS make me wait two days for some new prescriptions to get any medicine at all.
It is frustrating as I am usually anxious to start my new medicines but I realize they can't have every medicine in stock. I don't say anything negative as I don't want to make the pharmacist's day difficult
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
20 May
It is frustrating to wait, I certainly understand that. No, not every medicine will be in stock every time...you are nice to people so I am sure they would get it for you if they had it there.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
21 May
@LovesEverybody
We were taught to behave properly, and be respectful. I taught my children the same way. People don't take the time anymore to teach respect, I don't think, at least not a lot of people.
My youngest daughter is a Clinical Pharmacist in Florida at a hospital. She has an excellent job, and went to school for an additional time for this. I know how hard she worked to get where she is, and how hard she works now. She detests retail pharmacy because of hassles like this one, and so many of the customers are so angry...she has had this job for 6 years, and loves it. I am glad she took her education and degree and made it work for her and her family.
1 person likes this
@LovesEverybody (4485)
• United States
22 May
@MarieCoyle my sister knew we had to be respectful and proper. It was not negotiable if we behaved well.
May I ask what the difference is between a pharmacist and a clinical pharmacist? Why did she have to go to school more? My sister went to school more to get her MBA
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
20 May
The old fellow was just fairly sour on life in general.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
23 May
@grenery8
I heard it through the grapevine (my one neighbor who specializes in all neighborhood gossip) that the police made him leave and told him he was not welcome to go back there. No arrest made.
1 person likes this
@grenery8 (10138)
• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)
21 May
@MarieCoyle i think so too and i hope they didn't arrest him.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160611)
• United States
18 May
I think sit ins continue to happen from time to time. Yes, I remember the old days when they were much more common. I think the pharmacy should have offered to call other pharmacies, even competitors or offered to mail him the remainder because gas is expensive. I wonder if he called it in? We have had it happen that we phoned in a prescription, was told it was ready then arrived to find it was only a weeks worth. That led us to changing pharmacies. It has not happened since. Hit them in the pocket, not the floor.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
18 May
Oh, they did call other pharmacies, they all seem to be doing that now. I know one week not long ago, a pharmacist spent two hours tracking down one medication for my son. Changing pharmacies here doesn't help, they are all having the same problems getting certain medications.
@wolfgirl569 (105820)
• Marion, Ohio
18 May
I had to laugh a little. I wish they would go back to that for protesting
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (105820)
• Marion, Ohio
18 May
@MarieCoyle I think it would be safer than what they have been doing
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (79649)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
18 May
I saw plenty of silly sit-ins when I lived in NYC and one time stumbled into one and almost fell over a couple of people, Apparently people would just sit down wherever they were and not move,
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
19 May
Yes, I think they just plopped down wherever they wanted to and refused to move. I am sure, living in NYC you have seen your share!
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (82690)
• United States
18 May
I do remember sit-ins but it's funny to think someone would think staging a sit-in at CVS would make his medication magically appear. I hope they were able to fins a solution to the problem and the guy wasn't arrested. I love his tee-shirt. I was taught by nuns also and they were no joke.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
19 May
I got the impression from what he said and did that he had done sit-in's before. It didn't fix the problem--a business cannot produce what they don't have in stock!
I had nuns for teachers in Catholic school. Some were just wicked creatures.
@akalinus (43173)
• United States
20 May
Usually, if someone gets that way, angry, threatening, or whatever, I leave and come back later. Angry people can be dangerous. You never know what they will do next.
I don't blame the guy. He did not want to drive back. Maybe he could have asked for it to be delivered.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
20 May
It happens often with some medications, he is not the only one who has to wait, for sure. And yes, the pharmacist offered to have the other half of the script mailed to him when he received the rest of the pills needed. The old guy said, ''oh, H no" so that wasn't the answer, either.
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
19 May
Sort of unreasonable of the old guy. Sometimes it happens that they can only fill part of a prescription until they get more meds. I remember the original sit-ins in the southern US against lunch counters that only allowed white people to sit there, then came Vietnam War and sit-in and demonstrations of all kinds.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
20 May
Yes, most people are like you and I, we know they cannot dispense what they don't have in stock. I'm sure that they would rather have filled that man's prescription than have him take up residence by the pharmacy counter!
1 person likes this
@just4him (317040)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
18 May
@MarieCoyle Thirties wouldn't know what a sit-in is.
I'm glad you didn't need to either.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
19 May
@just4him
That doesn't mean I won't have to sometime soon, but at least I didn't have to this week, yay!! Thank you.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
18 May
He was probably in his 30's? Just a guess. He seemed very surprised over it all.
I was glad for once not to have to drive endless miles for another medication. Thank you, Valerie.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (177809)
• United States
18 May
At least it was a peaceful protest! I remember sit-ins very well. Nowadays there must be violence with so many of the protests.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (37350)
• Toccoa, Georgia
18 May
I remember hearing about that on the news years ago.
1 person likes this
@HaruLoid (1588)
• Philippines
18 May
I never witnessed a sit-in before, and I think no one have ever done that here in our country.
I wonder what those medicines of his are for. He's really persistent on getting it all.
He kind of reminds me of a child having tantrums inside the mall.
No offense to those who actually have done sit-ins. 
No offense to those who actually have done sit-ins. 1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37101)
•
18 May
I think it was more of an American mild protest thing, in the late 60's
Yes, an old man having a tantrum. 
1 person likes this
