Chitchat and the occasional in-depth analysis about fiber, knitting, spinning, crochet, cooking, feminism, self-image, and a modicum of personal blathering.

Monday, July 05, 2010

What's so funny 'bout peace, love, and little donuts?

My bus goes by this restaurant every morning, and recently, they started carrying "Peace, Love and Little Donuts", by a local company, operating out of Pittsburgh's Strip District. So one morning, I stopped in and got some.

They were good, not great, but decent. I decided to google the company and see if they had a facebook page or any more information on who they are. Here's the logo, by the way.


(logo from http://www.peaceloveandlittledonuts.com/)

They use a whole "tie dye" theme thing along with the psychedelic-type font and the color scheme reminiscent of hippies, Heads Together, and Woodstock.

Note the tag-"Feed Your Inner Hippie". What sort of person do you think would run a business like that? Where, for instance, do you think he'd fall on the "tolerance for differing lifestyles" spectrum?

You'd be wrong.

The first article I found was this.
Post Gazette-Owner's Opinions can affect the bottom line

The owner is an open homophobe, right-wing zealot, religious fundamentalist, and zero tolerance (except for taking your money of course) of politically liberal and personally counterculture.

Which is fine, actually. Because he has a right to feel how he feels. But to appropriate the symbolism of a movement that espoused tolerance, love, acceptance, progressive politics, and peace for your own financial gain? Tastes pretty bad to me. I won't go there again. In fact, I literally felt sick to my stomach, having eaten some of the donuts and given some of my liberal, aging hippie, birkenstock-wearing, gay-loving, leftist dollars to this deceitful, angry man.

There's direct quotes from the owner's blog (since taken down) here.

Homophobic Donuts and Free Speech

My money does not need to go to a person who diametrically opposes everything I find decent and just. I just feel bad for the people who have to work for him. I'll cheerfully continue getting my baked goods fix at Dozen, just down the street, a lovely little locally owned bakery, delicious cupcakes and more, incidentally owned by a gay couple. It may cost a little more, but it doesn't leave the bitter taste of hatred in your mouth.

5 comments:

Marcia said...

Wow, what a jerk! Sounds like he needs to get soak up a bigger dose of the peace and love message from his products!

Just met a couple guys at the AG, who I guessed were a couple, but they didn't introduce themselves as such, so I figured it wasn't my business to ask. One of them just Facebook friended me, and I see that they are indeed married. Just feels kind of sad that even in Mensa, which is a pretty accepting place, they didn't feel to say, "...and this is my husband, Joe." Maybe someday in our lifetime...

Marcia said...

Oops, that should be "didn't feel FREE to say..."

Mel said...

Ew. Just ew. Luckily they're not great donuts. I'd never go back either, but it's easier if the food isn't all that good.

Simbelmynë said...

Now I am sad. I'd been looking forward to trying the place. Grr!

Kate said...

I love that you googled the company. I've been doing that a lot recently. I really DO want my money where my mouth is. Literally. With donuts.