Obviously I had let this issue slip my mind. I lost attention to detail, a mistake I don’t like to make. I should have cancelled my COSTCO membership when I found out that you wouldn’t let Erik Scott be – you had to call the police on him, ending with an unnecessary and thuggish cop shooting, and with Erik dead. Do you feel good about that? I hope not. I hope that you feel responsible for it.
As I mentioned, I had let this slip my attention until today. But David reminds me that you have been a busy bunch of folks. First, you are removing D’Souza’s ‘America’ from the shelves. Oh, I know that you’ve denied it has anything to do with your politics, but we both know that you’re lying. Your co-founder is going to speak at the next DNC about his hero, Mr. Obama. And my wife points out that you didn’t merely fail to make the book available, which she could have forgiven. You made it available and then pulled it (wink … wink). We all know what you meant to say by this action.
But then David reminds me that your policy is anti-gun. My wife mainly does the shopping there, so I hadn’t thought much about it recently. If I had wanted to carry inside COSTCO, I would have. I couldn’t care less about your policy as it applies to me. Your stupid policies won’t change my behavior one bit. But I do want to reward those proprietors with whom I agree and punish those with whom I disagree. You see, I have the ultimate power – that is, power over the purse. I thought I would post my wife’s letter to you below, but before I do I wanted to mention one last thing. I won’t patronize your store any more, but my AR-15 and those standard capacity magazines (what you might call “high capacity magazines”) sure look sexy in that gun safe you sold me, along with all of my other guns when I’m not shooting them or carrying them. Let Mr. Obama know that you sold me a nice gun safe.
Now for my wife’s letter:
Dear Mr. Jelineck,
I have been a member of Costco since 2006 and I have always been a very satisfied customer. However, I will not be renewing my membership. Over the past few years I have observed how your political ideology has become more important to you than just simply supplying goods to a consumer like myself. I have always preferred Costco over Sam’s Club even though I have been aware of your political connection with the democratic party. I have never let my political views get in the way of where I shopped until now. Your order to remove the book “America” from the shelves of your stores because you don’t like the subject matter is an act of controlling my right to “free speech” and I will not allow you to take away any of my constitutional rights.
Why couldn’t you just have agreed to disagree?
It is your store and you have the right to sell what you like but, in my opinion, your method of operating was deliberate. You could have chosen not to sell the book at all but you waited until you had an audience so you could make your political statement. Well, you have made your statement and I am making mine.
Publix is coming to my neck of the woods, and I like them better anyway.
