Mall at Johnson City evicts "NoBama" store (Spencer: for sale, eviction)

[Jon F Moss]

JohnsonCityPress.com - Local News - Johnson City, TN

[mbmouse]

I can't get to the JC press site right now, seems to be having issues, but I heard about this on the radio. The eviction heard round the world. Will be very interested to see how this one plays out.

[BuzzCam]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

I can't get to the JC press site right now, seems to be having issues, but I heard about this on the radio. The eviction heard round the world. Will be very interested to see how this one plays out.

The Drudge Report has a link to this story and all the hits are probably overloading the Press' Servers.
I have been trying to look at the story all day.

[jabogitlu]

The JC Press said on Facebook that their servers were overloaded.

[ljay42]

I hate to see dis-respect shown towards any President of this country and not having seen the materials I couldn't say if that was the case (or it was simply the common everyday stuff - bash anybody with an opposing viewpoint). But lets face it, you can go back to the beginning of this country and politicians have always been open game for bashing by newspapers, editorials, cartoons, etc so I'm not sure why we think the current President should be hands-off.

That said, I wonder why the mall thinks it their responsibility to tell a vendor that they need to add inventory so they "stay balanced"? Will VS start selling mens underwear next week? Will O'Charleys need to add more green vegetable offerings? (Personally I'm hoping they force the dippin dot folks to start carrying meat flavored dots)

There was a similar case over in the Charlotte area recently and that vendor got turned out because of an equally small number of complaints (from minorities I believe) about anti- President Obama material (google: concord mills evicts vendor).

If I gather up about 3-4 rabid christians (shouldn't be hard to find around here ;-) and have them complain about Spencer Goods do you think the mall would toss them out? That store is the new Radio Shack of the mall world...no idea how they stay in business unless there still living off the proceeds of all those black light poster sales from the 1970's

[rccrain]

The Mall didn't seem to have a problem with Spencers anti-Bush products. The reality is if you don't like something just don't buy it.

[mbmouse]

I was going to say the same thing raccrain. I finally got to read the article. There was no issues at all with Bush bashing material being sold and there was a crap load of it. I am sorry, you don't have to like the guy or his politics, but this is the guy who had to deal with the fall out of 9-11, and seeing as there was not another American casualty due to terrorist attacks after that one day, I personally think that one fact alone should have alloted for more respect, but it didn't. There was still all kinds of anti Bush stuff around and for sale. Why is Obama special that anti him stuff is being required to be shut down? The JC Mall just stuck a huge nail in it's coffin. It was having struggling issues anyway in this economy. We are a red state, why in the world would they get on a high horse over politics that buck the local trend? In this economy!!! Big mistake here on the Malls part. The pay out on this law suit may end up costing the mall more than money. Which is so sad.

[strumpeace]

The mall is a business. The mall owners are capitalists. This is how capitalism works. If you're the big dog, you get to dictate terms to your vendors. The mall acted within the bounds of capitalism. Basically, the mall did the same thing to this guy that Wal-Mart does to its vendors or Target to its vendors.

BTW, there's a clear difference between this guy's business and Spencer. Spencer is a store in the mall with a storefront. People walk by it, may look in the window, may not, may go in, may not. This guy's business is a kiosk in the middle of the walkway. You have to see it. It's highly visible. Most likely, mall ownership is more concerned with what's most visible, and kiosks tend to be much more visible than storefronts in a mall.

[Mark-faf]

For the sake of full disclosure, I am an Obama supporter and did not see the products for sale. The fact that the President is an African-American makes this issue dicey. Sure, free speech is important, and this country has a long history of politician bashing. Cartoons in newspapers have been around forever. But free speech does not include overt racism, as it should be. I don't know if this vendor sold the image of Obama portrayed as a witch doctor in opposition to health care reform, but even conservative Republicans shunned that message. So, the article doesn't make clear if racism or hate mongering was the reason for the forced exit, if so, I agree with the mall. If it were items portraying the President in an unflattering manner, then the mall obstructed free speech. All that is true whether in a red, blue or "purple" state.

Mark

[rccrain]

Just told the mall how I feel about it and that I'll likely make Christmas purchases elsewhere this Fall. This is how capitalism works.

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