Laura Ingraham, the newest conservative darling, did a book signing in my store last night. There were hundreds of very white, very conservative middle-aged white people in the store. The good part was that the store made several hundred dollars more as a result of her appearance than it would have otherwise. The bad news was that I had to play nice with a bunch of people who couldn't be farther from my own political ideology.
It wasn't so much that they were conservatives, really. What I really take issue with is that so many of them were blind conservatives. They live for the buzzwords that people like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Ingraham shout day in and day out. I find it rather amusing that a lot of these people, the ones who can recite the Ten Commandments at the drop of a hat, can hold normal people in such high regard. Almost like idols. Their conservative following would follow any of them to the ends of the earth, would do anything they were told. I can't help but feel as though they're breaching the second commandment in some way. It is these ideological sheep that I have problems with. I have problems with their counterparts on the left, as well, though the conservatives get me a bit more riled up.
Of course, not all of the people who were getting the books signed were angry, owning-class Americans. Some of them were genuinely nice. I was able to make polite and meaningless conversation with a few of them.
As is the nature of retail, there were a few that tried to get me to discount the book, claiming that as a New York Times bestseller, it should be discounted. I was all for giving the discount, had I been allowed to give one. I think it is horrible that Ingraham and her publishers were charging 28 dollars for her latest book. The question must also be raised, however, why wouldn't her adoring fans be willing to give her all the money she asks for?
Still, mostly everyone who came through the line bought a book. I'm tempted to use that old adage which is a favorite among retailers, "A fool and his money are soon parted," but I won't. Oh, perhaps I just did. Golly darn.
My favorite part of the night actually started at the very beginning, before the signing was even underway. I knew the parking lot was going to be full, so I went to the store about half an hour early. As I was just about to pull into the parking lot, I noticed an odd car in front of me. It had a sign attached to it. I was too far away to see what it said, but as luck would have it, the car seemed to be going where I was headed. I parked a few spaces away from it, so I could get a closer look.
"Liberate America" it read in big red letters. Below this was an American Flag next to a United Nations flag. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the UN flag had a red "no" symbol drawn over it. The subheading for this genuinely unique piece of political commentary was "Say No to Socialism."
As near as I could tell, this gentleman was advocating the disbanding of the United Nations because it infringed on the freedoms of America. I could have sworn that the United States had acted some place, without the consent of the United Nations. Some place over in Asia, I think. At any rate, I wasn't aware that the United States was under such stress and such control.
The absolute best part of the banner was the the American flag was not our American flag. It was that of Ben Franklin and John Adams. The creators of the banner apparently couldn't find a more recent image of the flag through Google image search, and had to use the colonial flag.
The night wasn't a total loss, as I had a good time taking photographs, and the customers seemed to enjoy themselves. One of the photographs even made a customer's day, as he will now send a copy of himself getting his picture taken with Laura Ingraham to everyone he knows.
I nearly made it two full hours without having anything negative to say that night. Laura Ingraham almost made it two full hour without giving me reason to say anything negative. The very last thing she said, right before leaving my store at the end of the signing was "This water is poison. There's something definitely wrong with the water. I can't drink this."
Curses, foiled again.
It wasn't so much that they were conservatives, really. What I really take issue with is that so many of them were blind conservatives. They live for the buzzwords that people like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Ingraham shout day in and day out. I find it rather amusing that a lot of these people, the ones who can recite the Ten Commandments at the drop of a hat, can hold normal people in such high regard. Almost like idols. Their conservative following would follow any of them to the ends of the earth, would do anything they were told. I can't help but feel as though they're breaching the second commandment in some way. It is these ideological sheep that I have problems with. I have problems with their counterparts on the left, as well, though the conservatives get me a bit more riled up.
Of course, not all of the people who were getting the books signed were angry, owning-class Americans. Some of them were genuinely nice. I was able to make polite and meaningless conversation with a few of them.
As is the nature of retail, there were a few that tried to get me to discount the book, claiming that as a New York Times bestseller, it should be discounted. I was all for giving the discount, had I been allowed to give one. I think it is horrible that Ingraham and her publishers were charging 28 dollars for her latest book. The question must also be raised, however, why wouldn't her adoring fans be willing to give her all the money she asks for?
Still, mostly everyone who came through the line bought a book. I'm tempted to use that old adage which is a favorite among retailers, "A fool and his money are soon parted," but I won't. Oh, perhaps I just did. Golly darn.
My favorite part of the night actually started at the very beginning, before the signing was even underway. I knew the parking lot was going to be full, so I went to the store about half an hour early. As I was just about to pull into the parking lot, I noticed an odd car in front of me. It had a sign attached to it. I was too far away to see what it said, but as luck would have it, the car seemed to be going where I was headed. I parked a few spaces away from it, so I could get a closer look.
"Liberate America" it read in big red letters. Below this was an American Flag next to a United Nations flag. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the UN flag had a red "no" symbol drawn over it. The subheading for this genuinely unique piece of political commentary was "Say No to Socialism."
As near as I could tell, this gentleman was advocating the disbanding of the United Nations because it infringed on the freedoms of America. I could have sworn that the United States had acted some place, without the consent of the United Nations. Some place over in Asia, I think. At any rate, I wasn't aware that the United States was under such stress and such control.
The absolute best part of the banner was the the American flag was not our American flag. It was that of Ben Franklin and John Adams. The creators of the banner apparently couldn't find a more recent image of the flag through Google image search, and had to use the colonial flag.
The night wasn't a total loss, as I had a good time taking photographs, and the customers seemed to enjoy themselves. One of the photographs even made a customer's day, as he will now send a copy of himself getting his picture taken with Laura Ingraham to everyone he knows.
I nearly made it two full hours without having anything negative to say that night. Laura Ingraham almost made it two full hour without giving me reason to say anything negative. The very last thing she said, right before leaving my store at the end of the signing was "This water is poison. There's something definitely wrong with the water. I can't drink this."
Curses, foiled again.