Remember, as midterm season heats up, politics and business just don’t mix

A Brooklyn coffee shop recently made global news, but not because of its great coffee. It’s because the owner attacked a customer online.   

Why? The customer was a local politician who supports Israel and made the grave error of purchasing a cup of coffee from a coffee shop whose owner was opposed to Israel. For such indiscretions, the owner warned him “never set foot” inside the shop again.   

“We don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between,” the owner explained online. They must have quite the screening process! I better not mention that I’m a Phillies fan. 

This type of ludicrous virtue signaling not only brought on a tidal wave of opposition, but generated a tense rally outside their location that I’m sure frightened the hell out of their employees and caused customers to flee to an infinite number of competitors in the area for their morning brew.   

What kind of a business owner causes such a fiasco? One that will likely not be in business for very long.  

Mixing politics, social activism and business doesn’t make sense. And it rarely works out well. Don’t believe me? Ask the (former) chief marketing executives at Anheuser-Bush after their failed campaign featuring trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. It triggered massive protests and caused significant sales drops. 

Or remember when Target Corp. in 2023 expanded its annual LGBTQ product line in honor of Pride Month, disappointing many of its customers who were not exactly impassioned supporters of the LGBTQ ........

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