Back in 2014, I wrote a feel-good story from Ferguson, Missouri, about how armed black men protected a white-owned store during riots that wreaked havoc in the city.
Sarah Silverman surely wouldn’t approve, but I thought it was a heartwarming combination of human solidarity and individual rights.
It’s time for another feel-good story. The Washington Free-Beacon reported earlier this month that Dick’s Sporting Goods is suffering because the company adopted an anti-gun posture.
Dick’s Sporting Goods told investors during the Goldman Sachs Retailing Conference that its gun-control stance hurt sales of its hunting business, outdoors business, and that it may close its outdoor-focused Field & Stream stores. Edward Stack, chairman and CEO of Dick’s, said
during the event that the sporting goods chain’s recent 3.9 percent drop in same-store sales was the result of a mix of factors beyond their control as well as some he called “self-imposed.” Specifically, he said, “the decisions we made on firearms” negatively affected their bottom line… The company insisted during the earnings call that while their embrace of gun-control policies was hurting store foot traffic as well as their hunting and outdoors business, they’ve found ways to offset the losses. …Still, Dick’s admitted both firearms customers and the firearms industry have rebutted the retailer because of their gun-control advocacy. …The company said it may soon close down their entire Field & Stream chain of 35 stores across 18 states.
By the way, I was interviewed earlier this year by a French TV program on the issue of gun control. Here’s the part where I discussed the company’s foolish decision.
Since I’m not a shareholder, part of me is unconcerned about decisions made by the management at Dick’s.
The CEO presumably lives in a wealthy area, far removed from the threat of crime or chaos, so I’m guessing he has no understanding or appreciation of the need for self defense.
And he probably thought – foolishly, we’ve learned – that the company’s decision would help the bottom line by generating positive coverage from the establishment media.
It brings to mind this insightful tweet, which I saw thanks to Amy Alkon.
Except the people who buy sporting goods are not the vapid social justice warriors who proclaim their hostility to capitalism while patronizing some of the world’s most aggressively hyper-capitalist companies.
In any event, I don’t care that the senior management at Dick’s has adopted an anti-gun ideology.
But I get very agitated when the company gets in bed with government in a campaign to reduce the freedoms of other people.
Dick’s decided to hire their own gun-control lobbyists in order to push for stricter gun laws nationwide. That action led the National Shooting Sports Foundation—the firearms industry’s trade group—to expel the retailer.
This is why I’m happy to see Dick’s go downhill.
Schadenfreude rocks!
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Image credit: Mike Mozart | CC BY 2.0.
