I got an email from Scott Stratten at Unmarketing on Monday afternoon making me aware of a sales promotion a store in Duluth, Minnesota was having “in honor” of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Don’t do this. Don’t ever do this. As Stratten writes, “every occasion isn’t a selling occasion.”
[Tweet “”Every occasion isn’t a selling occasion.” -Scott Stratten, @unmarketing”]
Click over to Stratten’s article to see the store’s Facebook page/post and the incredulous comments… if they haven’t taken it down by the time you read this.
Why was this a bad idea? (by the way, I agree) What made you go there? Social mores? Feeling that black people need some kind of protection? A feeling of “that’s racist”?
If it was a “white sale” would that be just as bad?
What if the merchant WERE black, does that change the perspective? What if they were Asian? Or Hispanic? (Like you I immediately thought the merchant must be white)
What if the merchant KNOWS his customers (less than 2% of Duluth’s population is Black) so well that this sign reinforces their core beliefs (be they repugnant to you and me) and ATTRACTS business to him?
When we fail to allow people to do stupid things or things we disagree with THAT ARE POTENTIALLY ONLY HARMFUL TO THEMSELVES, we take on the role of a nanny.
Evelyn Beatrice Hall in her biography of Voltaire attributed the quote, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” to Voltaire.
That also applies to the right to go out of business.