The Black Rifle Coffee controversy: don't rush to judgment, but learn from BRC's mistakes

 

When the latest brouhaha blew up over Black Rifle Coffee's CEO allegedly insulting conservatives and right-wingers, I was immediately suspicious.  It was too perfect, too neatly packaged, as if someone had taken the time and trouble to wrap everything up and present it just so, in a way that even the dumbest redneck or "bitter clinger" would have to believe.

Turns out I was right to be suspicious.

Black Rifle Coffee’s founder and CEO has spoken out and is disputing how his comments were presented by the New York Times and represented by those reacting to the article, who were led to believe that Black Rifle Coffee bashed conservatives.

Evan Hafer decided to set the record straight regarding the “significant amount of misinformation being put out on the internet” about Black Rifle Coffee and about statements that he has made.

Hafer quickly debunked the notion that he made derogatory remarks about BRCC’s customers or conservatives and then proceeded to explain how the New York Times deliberately twisted his words and took them out of context. According to Hafer, his conversation with the NYT Magazine reporter was in the context of racism and anti-Semitism in America in light of Hafer being the target of an organized attack last year because of “my last name and my heritage.”

“We were purely discussing that,” Hafer says, and he was not conflating those groups with conservatives.

“The New York Times, as we know, the chances of them being objective were fairly slim, but we gave them the opportunity,” he added. He went on to mention veterans issues he hoped to bring attention to. But, unfortunately, the New York Times chose to go with “the salacious headline” about the company instead.

Hafer reiterated that racists and anti-Semites have no place in his company.

“I really need you guys to get the facts straight on this, which is: There’s no chance in hell I’m gonna talk s–t about conservatives to the New York Times. It’s just not gonna happen.”

There's more at the link, including a ten-minute video interview.  A longer, half-hour video interview is available here, going into more detail.

Stephen Kruiser finds Mr. Hafer guilty of abysmal stupidity by exposing himself to such misinterpretation.  It's hard to disagree.

As a committed skeptic, it’s not unusual for me to think that Hafer might merely be a bull-you-know-what artist who has been lying and using conservatives just to make money. However, I have conservative friends who rep Black Rifle so I’d like to give the company and Hafer the benefit of the doubt.

If I do that, I have no choice but to believe that Hafer is a straight-up paste-eating moron.

How long do the mainstream media hacks have to keep exposing themselves as frothing-at-the-mouth haters of conservatives before conservatives get it? If Hafer truly thought that the Times was going to give him a fair shake and that this would be a good marketing opportunity, then he’s too monumentally stupid to be around anything that isn’t toddler-proofed. It’s like walking into a biker bar while wearing a tuxedo and being surprised you got your a** kicked after you called all of them wusses. It’s just super easy to predict how some things are going to work out.

Conservatives shouldn’t be treating The New York Times and its ilk with any kind of courtesy. Unless you want to be a turncoat, it’s not going to work out well for you. Don’t hang out with an enemy who spends all day pointing a knife at you then turn away and act surprised when you get stabbed in the back.

And here’s the most important lesson for conservatives: don’t pull the knife out, hand it back to your enemy, then turn away again.

Again, more at the link.

Mr. Hafer was undoubtedly stupid to believe that any progressive left-wing media outlet like the New York Times could be trusted for even a moment to provide an unbiased, accurate, unfiltered reflection of his views and beliefs.  As Vox Day has said many times, don't talk to the media.

No matter how smart you are, no matter how nice and sympathetic the reporter seems, no matter how interesting your side of the story is, never forget that the deck is completely stacked against you.

. . .

Don't talk to the media. The story is already written. Even those who are ex-media experts ... only talk to the media in very rare and particular circumstances when we know we can undermine the pre-written story. But most people haven't worked in media for over a decade ... and therefore have no idea what the pre-written story is or how it can be, in certain circumstances, undermined.

UPDATE: To be clear, Do Not Talk To The Media also means Do Not Respond To Media Requests. Don't politely decline. Don't obscenely decline. Don't write a wall of text explaining your Very Important Personal Media Policy. Ignore it and delete the email, because they can and will attempt to use anything you send them.

More at the link.

I'll go on buying Black Rifle coffee . . . but I might have to write and tell Mr. Hafer that's on condition he and his fellow executives don't give any more such interviews!  Our side doesn't need to go around shooting itself and its allies in the feet.  The enemy is more than willing to do that already.  Why provide them with ammunition?

Peter