Woman Sobs In Store As She's Unable To Get Nappies Due To Stockpiling
Published
| Last updated
Featured Image Credit: TikTok
As coronavirus grips the globe, seeing our shop shelves swept clean is becoming an all too familiar sight.
Now, one mum's viral video, which shows her breaking down in her local supermarket after she was unable to buy nappies for her child, shows the real effects stockpiling is having.
Mother-of-four Lauren Whitney from Utah, US, was horrified to find the nappy shelves of her local Walmart completely bare.
Taking out her phone, Lauren began to record her reaction.
"To all you crazy people buying out all the diapers, how am I supposed to -" she says, before breaking down in tears. "How am I supposed to diaper my child if I can't afford to buy 20 at a time like you can?"
The distraught mum shared the video on TikTok, where, upon returning to her phone an hour later, found she's gone viral.
Lauren explained to Insider that she'd simply been going to the shop to pick up nappies for her youngest child - just enough to last them until payday.
However, there was none left thanks to panic buyers, who had taken as many packs as they could get their hands on.
The video has has 5.3 million views to date, over 901k likes and 14.5k comments.
"The virus won't kill us, it's the greed. I'm so sorry mama," read one comment.
"That behavior is NOT COMMUNITY," said another.
And it's not just other shoppers that panic buying is having an impact on; supermarket workers are feeling the full brunt of the coronavirus-induced hysteria, having to work triply as hard and deal with, sometimes, abusive customers.
One of these workers is Angela Breathet, whose husband found her in tears after returning from a shift at her Tesco Extra store in Inverness this week after being verbally abused by customers.
In response, her partner Allan Breathet has called out the "apocalypse-fearing" panic buyers in a furious social media rant.
"TO YOU SELFISH, HORRIBLE CUSTOMERS that have been in Tesco today I hope you're f***ing proud of yourselves," the post read.
"My wife has just come home from work and in tears telling me that today has been the worst day ever
"She's had to endure being shouted at, called names and treated with no respect being told that this is her fault - that the queues are massive and why are the queues taking so long to go down?
"Why is there no toilet roll, rice, pasta and hand cleanser?
"Just to put you straight you a**holes, it's not my wife's fault and it's not the normal customers' fault.
"It's the bloody idiots like YOU that have come into the store in their thousands today and all week panic buying, being selfish and not giving a care in the world about the other vulnerable people in your community that actually need the items and food more than you.
"So to anyone that's going into any Tesco store or big retailers just remember that the people that are serving you are just trying their best!
"Just remember that just like my wife and the rest of her colleagues have more likely a higher chance of catching this coronavirus, more than you, as they've got to deal with the thousands of customers that walk through the doors.
"We've got kids at home, we have grandparents over 65 at home, so what are the chances of her getting it and passing it on to the rest of the family?
"You should be thanking the staff in the shops for being there and treating them with some understanding and most of all respect."
Allan's post has since been racked up over 242,000 likes, shares and comments.
Now more than ever is a time to think of others and not just ourselves.