When the Used Apple Store of Derry, NH announced that Republican customers would be turned away—for being “evil”—it wasn’t doing anything illegal. Or, it turns out, all that unusual.
The Trump era has inspired a spate of stories about businesses large and small refusing service to Republicans and/or Trump supporters: Tech companies who’ve announced they will “will no longer do business with any person that is a registered Republican or supports Donald Trump;” fast food restaurants where Trump fans go unserved.
At a Mexican restaurant in upstate New York, not only was a couple wearing Trump gear refused service, the owner followed them out shouting “We don’t serve Trump supporters here. Get out of here and never come back.’ ”
So perhaps New Hampshire residents who need their MacBooks repaired should count themselves lucky to get off with just a rude Facebook post. “We say ‘no thank you’ to any Republican. If you affiliate with the Republican Party you are not welcome into our store,” the store posted on its page. “You have an uptight, closed energy, negative aura to you… almost evil, and to be honest, usually evil.”
Perhaps, but they also make up a (slim) majority of the voters registered by party in New Hampshire, not to mention their local customer base. Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Derry 58-42 percent (Trump lost statewide by less than 3,000 votes). So why do it?
“People are saying ‘half the people around you, you know, why aren’t you taking their money?’ And the thing that I always give them is Schindler’s List,” store owner Billy Williams says. “And we’re similar. Just taking people’s money, it’s almost a brainless way of getting by.” If Republicans really are the moral equivalent of Nazis, that makes sense. But does he really believe something so extreme? When asked directly if he believed all Republican are evil, Williams responded “I think if they’re not evil there’s a reason they’re siding with that, so I think they’re non-discretionary, that’s what I would call it.”
Williams says this effort is part of his “absolute goodness theory.” Roxanne Juliano of the New Hampshire Human Rights Commission doesn’t care what he calls it, but as long as it focuses on political affiliation and not “age, sex, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, marital status, familial status, physical or mental disability or national origin,” he won’t run afoul of the law. Juliano, who is preparing to retire after 34 years on the Commission declined to describe the Used Apple Store’s anti-GOP stance the “strangest” discrimination policy she’s ever seen, but did concede it’s “unusual.”
Juliano also noted the entire story is somewhat ironic, given the New Hampshire legislature is currently in the process of expanding anti-discrimination protections to include gender identity. The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee sent the bill on to the full House for consideration last week, and Gov. Chris Sununu (R) has expressed his support.
As of yet, however, there’s no discussion of including political discrimination. Should there be?”
“In Seattle, they have a ban on discrimination based on ideology,” notes UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, “while the District of Columbia has more narrow protections based on party affiliation.” No states have these protections and, Volokh says, they’re not necessary. “I don’t think we need more regulation of businesses. Other forces, like social pressure and pursuit of profits, tend to keep this behavior in check.”
“Besides,” he adds, “many liberals don’t want to be seen as intolerant.”
Perhaps. But that didn’t stop liberal CEO Mathew Blanchfield from announcing that his tech company 1st In SEO “will no longer do business with any person that is a registered Republican or supports Donald Trump…If you are a Republican, voted for Donald Trump or support Donald Trump, in any manner, you are not welcome at 1st In SEO and we ask you to leave our firm.”
And in the wake of the 2016 election, major retailers like Nordstrom, TJMaxx and Neiman Marcus began dropping Trump-branded products, under pressure from an anti-Trump movement called #GrabYourWallet. Some shoppers responded by saying this move made them, as Republicans, feel unwelcome.
“I expected Nordstrom to have better class than to have such a one-sided view” of politics, Dawn Hudspeth, a conservative-leaning shopper told Racked.com. She noted a (since-deleted) tweet from a Nordstrom senior management official celebrating their decision to drop Ivanka products with #YesWeCan! #YesWeDid!
“Adult business professionals don’t behave this way,” Hudspeth said.
The comments from the owner of the Used Apple Store would tend to back up her thesis.
UPDATE: Billy Williams, owner of the Used Apple Store in Derry, NH, has posted a FB message rescinding his “No Republicans” policy:
I came down hard on the Republicans the past few days, but now my Independence has swung the other way,” Williams posted. “Take care and I look forward to any and all who wish to come in.”
Williams also announced that he “supports Donald Trump,” though he didn’t vote for him, and that he’s a “liberal independent.” He has since declined to apologize for banning Republicans from his store, but he did apologize “for calling a vast group of people evil.”
Republicans shouldn’t associate withs stupid people anyway 🙂
It is this guy’s loss. If he wants to feel “Evil”, then hang around with the DNC a while or any congressional Democrat.
I have friends that span the spectrum from super liberal snowflake to ultra conservative. We just avoid talking about politics and focus on the things that we have in common. More people should try that.
curious . what did Trump and/or his supporters do to earn the title of “evil” or “Nazi”?
I’m thinking that this individual, and any individual who thinks republicans are evil needs to take a VERY close look into the actions of their own party and how democrats operate. There is far more extremist and negative energy surrounding the KKK (formed by the democratic party), BLM (formed by democrats), ANTIFA( formed by democrats), and also the nazis(formed by democrat socialists), basically the democrat party in general is far more extremist and evil than Republicans and Trump supporters. I myself am a Constitutional Conservative, and do not identify with either of our idiotic political parties. I truly believe in the Constitution, and Bill of Rights. Most individuals today base their political affiliation based on feelings. I base my political affiliation on the Constitution and what our forefathers fought a revolution against tyranny for. I honestly think that if more people looked at that instead of their little feelers, we might become the society our forefathers wanted; a true Constitutional Republic. For now, it is the us-vs-them mentality, and I think their is a majority of Americans who are fed up with that. We are Americans, and common sense along with the aspiration of being American has been lost. Our own government holds illegal aliens in higher esteem than citizens. Our laws are not being followed as they should be, and everyday Americans are being pushed to take sides in a situation and political landscape not seen in this country since the Civil War. What has this country become? We are a powder keg waiting for something to light the fuse. When did it become more important to protect our money, politicians, useless sporting and entertainment personalities than it did to protect our children, our country, and our way of life? When did politics take priority over citizens? When did illegals and law breakers become more important than enforcing the law and taking care of our legal citizens, our own hungry and homeless, our elderly, our children, and veterans. I believe in our Constitution and Bill of Rights because I once took an oath to protect and defend them; an oath that never expires, and is still in effect to this day even after I retired from the military. That oath means that I will, if need be, protect that Constitution even now. The people of this country need to regain some common sense on ALL issues. It isn’t this OR that. It isn’t you verses me. It isn’t this way or that way, black or white, my way or the highway. Americans need to start learning about America again. They need to learn about the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and what they really mean for all of us. Those documents weren’t written to waste paper and words. Those documents were written to keep a free country and free people FREE. Free from tyranny, free from communistic and socialist dictatorship, and free from authoritarianism. What we have in our country now is the subtle erosion of our rights by individuals that want to take our freedom away to consolidate their own power. Anyone who disagrees with me only needs to research what happens in truly totalitarian/communist/socialist countries. All they have to do is look closely at the REAL North Korea, the REAL Iran, and even the days of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, or Cuba with Che Guevera. History is full of examples of individuals with total power and what they did to ANY who disagreed with them. Liberals and those who refuse to see what happens under these regimes find themselves being put to the same stake as those who tried to tell them it was coming. Sadly, most are under the impression that socialism will work this time, because we will get it right. It doesn’t work that way, and history proves that. Venezuela is a perfect example of socialism today. True socialist/authoritarian countries are just an explosion of civil war waiting to happen. It is only a matter of time. The democratic party is the party of hate and intolerance. Just look at blm, antifa, the kkk, and all the offshoots of the kkk. Equating the republican party with that is like saying Hitler was a good guy. You want racism, a war on women, babies being killed, intolerance, people unwilling to listen to reason or even work with others to get things done, then you need to look at the democratic party. President Trump has offered them deal after deal, (DACA being one of many), and the democrats just turn every deal down. They act like spoiled children who can’t have just what they want and the call everyone else racist and unwilling to deal. They don’t propose any common sense deals or ideas, yet want everyone to cave to what they want without giving anything else in return. I know that people will troll this without bothering to check facts first. I get that, but I also gave up trying to help educate or offer facts and advice to any who only want to call me racist and unreasoning. Personally if all you can do is hurl names and slander at me instead of using common sense and reason, then YOU re what is wrong with America, not me and people like me.