I was going to write a post about how I was going to copy...I mean, make make an homage to...this Diane Von Furstenburg top. I'd like to buy the top but La Furstenburg, for reasons known only to the teeny tiny fashionista mind, does not make it in my size. Or any size over size 12, for that matter. But I got distracted when I read Ann's blog and read that a customer of hers was proposing a merchant purity test, and was only buying from "Republican Voters". (NAYY, but I do buy my fabric from her. It's great stuff. And I never ask her how she votes.)
Well, to say that I was taken aback would put it mildly. Since our economy is so global now, a person would have to buy handwoven cloth made by Utah Republicans and grown by Texas Cotton growers (all purity tested themselves, mind you) to achieve a level of political correctness sought by this customer. "Are they aware," I asked Mr. Hunting Creek, "that Walmart sources most of their stuff from China, which is A Communist Country?"
Mr. Hunting Creek observed that the Roundheads of Cromwell, the Bolsheviks and the Brownshirts all had followed the same policies, so that this path could lead to a slippery slope of intimidation if we weren't careful. What other groups in history resorted to bricks through windows to intimidate dissenters? (Hint: they aren't nice people)
Of course it's always easier to intimidate dissenters by violence than by persuasion. But it's a dangerous game these people are playing.
We'll make it easy for Little Hunting Creek customers. We'll state right here in print that a portion of our profits every year go to charities that support children and promote social justice. This year alone we've given money to Doctors Without Borders, Smile Train and Catholic Relief. Just yesterday Mr. Hunting Creek gave a bag of groceries to our neighborhood food drive. We're obviously incorrigible. That Lt. Governor from South Carolina who said we shouldn't give food to the poor because they'll breed would be disgusted with us.
Rachel Larimore on Slate wrote that the bad behavior of a few extremists were making Republicans look bad. I couldn't have said it better myself.
4 comments:
It's tough enough for those of us with a front-row seat for Washington politics (i.e., those of us who live in the DC area) to watch some individuals conduct themselves in such a horrible manner, all the while justifying their actions as their inborn rights as American citizens. And now I have to witness my internet friends being subjected to similar harassment. It just turns my stomach. Thanks for standing up for your beliefs (which I share) in such a strong, positive manner!
If I thought it was a "few" extremists, I would sleep much better at night. I will say this: my grandmother grew up with Nazis, was even invited to become a Nazi and join the Hitler Youth (until she realized, and I quote, "I didn't think they believed all that stuff!") and I can tell you from her descriptions of the past that we are all on a very very slippery slope indeed.
But that's just me. I like to support organizations that give teddy bears and fluffy blankets to abused children, so clearly I'm a communist.
Well there. I have just broken my CARDINAL RULE OF BLOGGING and discussed politics. Darn it. But good for you!
I was confounded that the woman thought that it was any of her business how Ann votes. Or that she could even ask. I'm Jewish and it is all too uncomfortably close to the attitudes that produced Crystalnacht, that banned Jews from making a living in Germany and the final solution. A very slippery slope. If you'll remember we have a bill of rights that protects the right of free speech. Of course these Republicans only want it to be speech with which they agree.
I know this post is older but I just feel like commenting today. Just found your blog too btw.
It is interesting that the person who posted on Ann's blog doesn't seem to have anything but fluff in her cranium. The USA was under sieg for the past 8 years, the country was run down into this state of bankruptcy by the said Republicans, they had no 'freedom of speech' as far as I've read. If you critized the then Administration, you could be sure of repercussions.
I wish I knew what goes on in some peoples head. On the other hand maybe not.
Gemma
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