Racism? Or just a clever marketing ploy? Maybe a bit of both?
Those are the questions people are asking themselves with respect to a sign Lance Perkins posted in front of his gun shop in Pembroke, Ontario earlier this month.
The sign read:
“GUN DEALS
ALL YOU PEOPLE
COME ON IN
WHITE FRIDAY SALE”
Perkins, who owns Perkins Guns and Ammo, was adamant that his ad was not racist.
“My ‘White Friday’ sale in regards to selling guns or crossbows or anything in the store, had nothing to do with colour, it’s just a sale…we’re allowed to have sales in Canada”, he told News Ottawa.
As for why he went with White Friday instead of Black Friday, he said the word “black” elicits negative emotions because of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s blackface controversy.
“This year I don’t really know why people got offended by the use of the word ‘white.’ I couldn’t use the word ‘black’ because of Trudeau using blackface,” he explained.
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“All you see in the newspaper is Black Fridays…Black Fridays…and you know what, I said we’re not American, let’s go with a different shade, a different colour,” he continued. “I picked white because it resembles white snow, it resembles Christmas. Why not go with something brighter than black.”
If the White Friday sale wasn’t enough to draw attention, the sign also contained another potentially divisive message: “You People.”
Popular Canadian Hockey commentator Don Cherry was fired this month for a rant in which he used the phrasing “you people” to allegedly refer to immigrants during a telecast.
Cherry was trying to encourage people to buy a poppy flower to wear to support the Canadian military as part of the country’s Remembrance Day, similar to our Memorial Day.
“You people love — you, that come here, whatever it is — you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey,” Cherry said. “At least you could pay a couple of bucks for poppies or something like that. These guys paid for your way of life, that you enjoy in Canada.”
Perkins believes that Cherry was wrongfully terminated and that his remarks weren’t racist nor anti-immigrant.
“I believe the man is a great Canadian, he did not pick out anybody in regards to race”, he said. “But he wasn’t racist…he just said what was on his mind.”
The sign in front of Perkins Guns and Ammo no longer says “White Friday Sale” or “All You People.” The owner said he’s changed it, not because of the blowback but because he changes it every few days.
It now contains the words, “Merry Christmas.” At least that’s not controversial, right?
Guns? White? Yup racist.
Yep it’s racist! And black as night, and white hats on good guys black hats on villains. And anything else that hurts little marshmallow feelings.
I’m just old enough that the term “Black Friday” conjures up stories I heard about the 1929 Stock Market Crash. I recall January “White Sales” for bed sheets and pillow cases (raw material for KKK robes?). When did “Black Friday” as a term for a post Thanksgiving sale actually originate? I do not recall it from my childhood. Isn’t Thanksgiving Day in October in Canada?
Oh go soak your cement heads in a toilet bowl and get over your prideful selfs you mentally ill liberal morons.
When population subgroups Cannot compete or function on a level playing field, they seize on the irrational to compensate for their own incompetence at functioning in a free society.
Nicely said!
The left…….. any excuse to be offended!
Had a bunch of racist snow in my driveway Wednesday morning. Didn’t see any Social Justice Warriors out there trying to fix that problem for me.
Priceless!
Snow is racist. We should have black and brown snow. I’m going to my safe space right now
It’s sickening how they twist everything. Total bullshit!
You people!! You read the dumbest crap into EVERYTHING!! It’s people like you that keep all this crap stirred up, and you know you do it on purpose!
Pitty this poor guy if he ACTUALLY has a GREEN sale come spring time!! Lousy shamrock hater!!
Haha, some people’s should have been swallowed rather than been allowed to born, because now we’ve got super sensitive snowflakes that want to throw a race card every time they don’t like something.
Canucks view things different than Americans and being in the only major U.S. city that is north of Canada, Detroit< I grew up with Canadian TV and Hockey. Do Cherry was a victim of the Toxic left that twists words and phrases. Toronto is not NYC, but blacks and there leftist exploiters have convinced them that any statement that contains "you people" ( which I've heard quite a few Irishmen say ) is somehow "white code" for the n word, which blacks use as a noun. verg. adverb and adjective. Don Cherry was simply trying to get more Canadiens to appreciate and acknowledge that Freedom is not Free and Veterans have paid a price for them to enjoy the western lifestyle.
Everything these days is racist. Idiot SJW’s use the word “racist” so much, it no longer has any meaning.
Did his sign cause any physical damage to anyone? NO.
If the word WHITE causes you emotional damage , I suggest you never leave your house or read or even watch TV the rest of your life.
It’s my opinion that it takes a bigot to find these hidden agendas in every message they happen upon.
The original meaning of “Black Friday” related to helping retailers ink some black entries in their ledger instead of red entries. Those are terms that differentiate a positive balance (traditionally done in black ink) from a negative one (traditionally done in red ink). There was never any skin color to the meaning. So how can picking another color, ANY color, translate to racism?
The term “White Sale” has been used since 1878. First to sell bed linen at sale prices and later for all types of household goods. “Guns” should be common household goods!