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Something that has always been very jarring to me is when somebody doesn't know how to apologize. Whether it's "I'm sorry if you were offended" or "I'm sorry, [insert dumb excuse here]" or "I'm sorry, but [insert some other dumb thing here]," fauxpologies are a dime a dozen. I was taught from an early age that, when you apologize, you take responsibility for your actions, promise to do better, and mean it. Simple as that. There's nothing complicated about apologizing. Yet it seems that when we catch somebody--a politician, a public figure, a company, etc.--doing or saying something offensive, we often get the word salad that tends to mean they aren't truly sorry for their actions, just that they were called out. That's why it's so refreshing to see a real apology every now and then.
The ad above is obviously from Duluth Trading Company, a Minnesota-based company that sells men's and women's workwear. I'm sure they make fine cloth totes, but it seems to me that the use of the word "pansies," a sexist and homophobic slur that is meant to conjure images of "weak" and "effeminate" men, was probably not necessary to market their product. They clearly should have known better than to create this ad in the first place. It's 2014--who even uses that word in this context anymore?
This story, however, did not blow up and generate a ton of outrage across the Internet. In fact, unless you're an avid reader of Joe Jervis' LGBT blog Joe My God, this whole thing is probably news to you. Maybe it wouldn't have blown up anyway, but the reality is that it didn't need to. After getting a tip, Jervis made a post and encouraged his readers to use the company's contact information to let them know it wasn't okay to use the word "pansies." I don't know how many people did, but judging by the large comment thread underneath the post, it generated something.
And Duluth Trading Company heard the complaints. Then, something shocking happened: They took responsibility. Full responsibility. Not an "if you were offended" in sight. Responding to Jervis on Twitter, the company had this to say:
And that...was that. No, it's still not cool that they used the word in the first place, but to their credit, they completely owned it and promised to do better. If the genuineness of their apology is any indication, I think they will. We'll see, I guess.
So this little episode, unbeknownst to many, was a very refreshing thing to watch unfold. I wish everybody could take note of this model apology. The next person or company caught with their foot in their mouth should consider Duluth Trading Company's example before assembling a word salad that really says nothing at all.
And another thing, which makes this a little sweeter: As a Joe My God commenter pointed out, this very small flurry of online activism did more than all of NOM's and OMM's boycotts combined. But I guess that's because we're actually right.
TOP PHOTOS
August 14, 2014
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