STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- An image of a Staten Island Home Depot worker wearing an anti-Trump hat went viral on the Internet Wednesday, leading to threats against her life. 
 
 Krystal Lake, 22, of St. George, was spotted wearing the controversial hat during her Sunday morning shift at Home Depot, located on Forest Avenue in Mariners Harbor. 
 
 The hat reads: "AMERICA WAS NEVER GREAT." 
 
 The phrasing, Lake said, was inspired by presidential candidate Donald Trump's slogan, "Make America Great Again." 
 
 "The point of the hat was to say America needs changing and improvement," Lake told the Advance. "I don't think it's a positive message to say, "Let's look to the past.'" 
 
 Lake said she awoke Wednesday morning to a barrage of text messages, tweets and phone calls from friends and co-workers asking her if she had been checking her social media accounts. 
 
 "Everyone kept asking me if I was on Facebook or Twitter, which I hadn't been," she said, "and then I saw how many people were sharing [the picture] and that it was going viral. 
 
 "I was honestly shocked -- I didn't expect any of this to happen." 
 
 Lake, a lifelong Staten Islander and student at the College of Staten Island, said this was the first and only time she had worn the hat to work, and that she was not reprimanded by any manager for the decision to wear it. 
 
 When reached by the Advance on Wednesday afternoon, Home Depot spokesman Stephan Holmes said Lake's message on her hat does not reflect the opinions of Home Depot. 
 
 "We appreciate and understand the concerns of our loyal customers," he said. "In terms of the message, our associates are not permitted to wear items that reflect political statements. 
 
 "Unfortunately, no one on our management team saw her wearing the hat -- otherwise, they would have had her remove it immediately." 
 
 Lake, a Bernie Sanders supporter, said she has seen other employees wearing pro-Trump pins and pendants on their uniforms -- yet no one has ever told them not to wear them. 
 
 "For the past two months, there have been a few people I work with wearing 'Vote for Trump' pins on their uniforms," she said. "But no one ever says anything to them." 
 
 The spokesman added that leadership of the Forest Avenue store will be "following up with the matter to ensure that it will not happen again." 
 
 Holmes did not comment on whether Lake's job was in jeopardy. 
 
 When asked whether she intends to wear the hat again, Lake said, "Definitely." 
 
 "I feel it offended a lot of people because a lot of Trump supporters live in Staten Island," she said. "Trump is very rash and in your face, but when someone else has a message against him, his supporters can't take the criticisms." 
 
 Lake said she has received dozens of death threats on her social media accounts. 
 
 "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," Lake added. "I just wish we would worry about making America better -- not 'great again.'" ||||| STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - This epic presidential election cycle has already been plenty turbulent, as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton head toward what will no doubt be an incendiary November showdown. 
 
 But the flight is only going to get bumpier between now and then, and today it's Staten Island's turn in the 2016 culture-war spotlight. 
 
 All because of a hat. 
 
 Staten Islander Krystal Lake works at the Home Depot on Forest Avenue in Mariners Harbor. Recently, a photograph of the 22-year-old Bernie Sanders supporter wearing a hat that says "America Was Never Great" has set social media afire. Lake was at work when the photo was taken. 
 
 The hat, of course, is a riff on Donald Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again." 
 
 Lake said that she's been receiving threats ever since the photo went viral. She told the Advance that her life has been threatened on social media, with people saying racist things and saying that they will come and find her. 
 
 People have also lit up Home Depot's Facebook page, with one person calling Lake a "disgusting piece of garbage." Another called her racist, while more than one said she should be fired. 
 
 Let's take a breath. 
 
 Do we disagree with what the hat says? Of course. We don't agree with everything that America has been responsible for over the centuries, but there are plenty of moments of greatness there if Lake or anybody else cares to look. The way we came together as a nation after 9/11, for instance. Or how we won two world wars and saved the world from tyranny. Stuff like that. 
 
 The very fact that Lake has the constitutional right to express her political views is another one of those things that makes this country great. She should try that on for size. 
 
 Just not in the workplace. 
 
 If we were to express our sentiments, we would wear a hat that says, "America Is STILL Great." Or words to that effect. Because we do think America is a pretty special place to live, warts and all. We don't need Trump or anybody else to make us great again. 
 
 Still, it's Lake's right to express her opinion. And the rest of us have the right to disagree. Strenuously. But not violently. Some of the comments that Lake reports are just over the top. So were some of those found on Home Depot's Facebook page. If there's one thing Americans have learned to do is the social media age, it's to go from zero to 60 in record time. 
 
 The company, meanwhile, says that store workers are not allowed to wear items that reflect political sentiments. It said that the hat doesn't reflect Home Depot's views and that had members of management see Lake wear it, they would have had her remove it immediately. 
 
 But according to Lake, other store workers have been wearing pro-Trump pins and pendants on their uniforms. So now we're into he-said-she-said territory. As so often happens. 
 
 And despite Home Depot's comments, some damage already seems to have been done. Plenty of folks, including veterans, have already slammed the company on its Facebook page, saying they will no longer shop at the home improvement store. It's a threat that no company takes lightly. 
 
 And Lake says that she "definitely" plans on wearing the hat again. So buckle up. The saga could just be beginning. ||||| STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – This epic presidential election cycle has already been plenty turbulent, as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton head toward what will no doubt be an incendiary November showdown. 
 
 But the flight is only going to get bumpier between now and then, and today it's Staten Island's turn in the 2016 culture-war spotlight. 
 
 All because of a hat. 
 
 Staten Islander Krystal Lake works at the Home Depot on Forest Avenue in Mariners Harbor. Recently, a photograph of the 22-year-old Bernie Sanders supporter wearing a hat that says "America Was Never Great" has set social media afire. Lake was at work when the photo was taken. 
 
 The hat, of course, is a riff on Donald Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again." 
 
 Lake said that she's been receiving threats ever since the photo went viral. She told the Advance that her life has been threatened on social media, with people saying racist things and saying that they will come and find her. 
 
 People have also lit up Home Depot's Facebook page, with one person calling Lake a "disgusting piece of garbage." Another called her racist, while more than one said she should be fired. 
 
 Let's take a breath. 
 
 Do we disagree with what the hat says? Of course. We don't agree with everything that America has been responsible for over the centuries, but there are plenty of moments of greatness there if Lake or anybody else cares to look. The way we came together as a nation after 9/11, for instance. Or how we won two world wars and saved the world from tyranny. Stuff like that. 
 
 The very fact that Lake has the constitutional right to express her political views is another one of those things that makes this country great. She should try that on for size. 
 
 Just not in the workplace. 
 
 If we were to express our sentiments, we would wear a hat that says, "America Is STILL Great." Or words to that effect. Because we do think America is a pretty special place to live, warts and all. We don't need Trump or anybody else to make us great again. 
 
 Still, it's Lake's right to express her opinion. And the rest of us have the right to disagree. Strenuously. But not violently. Some of the comments that Lake reports are just over the top. So were some of those found on Home Depot's Facebook page. If there's one thing Americans have learned to do is the social media age, it's to go from zero to 60 in record time. 
 
 The company, meanwhile, says that store workers are not allowed to wear items that reflect political sentiments. It said that the hat doesn't reflect Home Depot's views and that had members of management see Lake wear it, they would have had her remove it immediately. 
 
 But according to Lake, other store workers have been wearing pro-Trump pins and pendants on their uniforms. So now we're into he-said-she-said territory. As so often happens. 
 
 And despite Home Depot's comments, some damage already seems to have been done. Plenty of folks, including veterans, have already slammed the company on its Facebook page, saying they will no longer shop at the home improvement store. It's a threat that no company takes lightly. 
 
 And Lake says that she "definitely" plans on wearing the hat again. So buckle up. The saga could just be beginning.
– A Staten Island college student says she's had racist statements and even death threats hurled at her online since she wore an anti-Trump hat to her job at Home Depot over the weekend, the Staten Island Advance reports. Krystal Lake, 22, donned the cap, which read "America Was Never Great," during her Sunday morning shift, a riff on the Trump slogan "Make America Great Again." "The point of the hat was to say America needs changing and improvement," Lake says. "I don't think it's a positive message to say, 'Let's look to the past.'" She also notes that she's sure she rubbed a lot of Staten Islanders the wrong way because the area is such a Trump stronghold. "Trump is very rash and in your face, but when someone else has a message against him, his supporters can't take the criticisms," says Lake, a media studies major at the College of Staten Island. Regarding the controversy swirling around Lake, who says she had no idea her headwear would go viral, a Home Depot spokesman says that employees aren't allowed to wear items with a political message but that no managers saw it. "Otherwise, they would have had her remove it immediately." But Lake, a Bernie Sanders fan, says she sees co-workers wearing Trump flair, including pins and pendants, without reprimand or reprisal. Lake says she's been bombarded with hate messages, including being called "the N-word left and right" and told "America was great when your people weren't here." She adds she "definitely" intends to wear the hat to work again and balks at suggestions she hates America. "I just wish we would worry about making America better—not 'great again,'" she says. (An Advance columnist's commentary.)