Word travels fast in places like Pittsburgh’s iconic small-business district filled with third- and fourth-generation family-owned businesses, the majority of which are centered on two things: relationships and food.
Relationships and food, but not politics. At least not usually, thank goodness.
The relationships come not just from the generational loyalty, but from robust word of mouth. Relationships also form when someone you trust recommends a business.
There is only one business here on Penn Avenue that is a franchise establishment. It is called Penzeys Spices. On a Wednesday afternoon, there is a sign on the front door saying the store is closed despite it being early. A call to the store the next day reveals it hasn’t had in-person service “in forever,” and when it does, it is inconsistent, but the store would be happy to take a phone order or direct me to its website.
The word that traveled so fast around here was about Penzeys — on several fronts.
First, customers were tired of not being able to go into the store. When you want to buy a spice, aroma is a big part of that experience and decision. You could see workers in the store, but you could not physically go inside. This was a starkly different experience than customers had at every mom-and-pop store, not just on either side of Penzeys, but up and down the street.
There was a second reason word was spreading about Penzeys, though.
Usually, when we buy our food to make a meal, whether it is at a grocery store or a local farm or farmers market, we don’t expect to be lectured about politics. We are all adults, and we all have a level of expectation that store owners’ politics may be different than ours. What we don’t expect is to be scolded for holding different beliefs.
And we certainly don’t expect to be called racists.
Yet that is exactly what Bill Penzey Jr. did in emails to his customers twice over the past month, and it wasn’t even subliminal. Penzey sent out a corporate email and posted on his webpage the “Republicans are Racists” weekend special the store held for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
There are several things at play here that deserve deeper exploration. These things really show a lot about the dwindling relationship that consumers have with the men and women who run many of the institutions, corporations and media and entertainment outlets in this country.
It is a covenant that has broken because people like Penzey don’t have a cultural connection to their customers. This is not a Democratic or Republican thing. It’s an inside-outside thing. Here in Western Pennsylvania, you don’t have to be a Republican to have been really turned off by his missive.
A national survey conducted by Scott Rasmussen confirmed as much when it showed that 59% of people, including Democrats, think companies taking political positions “adds to divisiveness” in our country.
This reinforces the inside-outside argument: Most Democrats outside of the larger city centers of wealth, power, major media and Fortune 500 companies are far less ideological than the elites running them.
Conversely, those same elite Democrats and media praised Penzeys behavior in a New Yorker piece in 2018 when he started his anti-Republican corporate activism, writing, “Penzey is a savvy salesman who’s figured out how to capitalize on the political outrage of the Trump era and social media’s way of amplifying it.”
They see Penzey as smart because they share his sentiments. They actually do think anyone who does not agree with them is racist. That — agreement with them — is their sole measuring stick.
Which brings us to the final thing to unpack, namely how flippantly and casually liberal activists such as Penzey throw around the word “racist.” The word “racist” has become the elites’ connective tissue — it is what holds them together — and it is tossed out every time they see something with which they disagree.
That is not only ridiculous on its face, but it also dilutes the full assault of true racism.
What Penzeys did wasn’t just insulting. It is dangerous because it continues an elite-think that does true damage to the psyche of our country. Luckily, people from all persuasions seem to be letting him know that his approach isn’t the American way.
Last I checked, only two people had “liked” his “Republicans are Racist” post. People have a way of quietly correcting a wrong.
