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Kathy Harvey — the owner of Furniture, Mattresses and More — lost several vendors after a post she made on Facebook. On Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, Harvey asked her vendors if at least one of them would produce hoodies and sweatshirts with the far-right group — Proud Boys — logo.
Harvey’s business is located near the Bangor Mall in Maine. In her post, she also asked her vendors if they would add the phrase “stand back, stand by.” This request did not go over well with some of her vendors.
Shortly after Harvey posted the request she removed it. However, not before many people screenshot the request. Due to the Proud Boys’ aggressive behavior — many people have no respect for the group. The phrase that Harvey wanted to add refers to what President Donald Trump said during a September debate with Joe Biden.
The Bangor business woman’s request came a few days before the protests that happened yesterday January 6. The protests over the controversial debate over the electoral college votes from November’s election. Many people — including Trump — believe the votes were falsified. Of course, numerous officials and judges have all stated this is not the case.
Beth Thompson — operator of Red Sunset Ceramics — and Amanda Coburn of Hampden, Maine both pulled their items from the Bangor store’s craft section. Coburn stated that people knew she did “not racism.
… bigotry or xenophobia in my life. Nor do I want to be associated with an organization that supports it. So ties have been severed.
Thompson agreed with Coburn’s statement. Both merchants were highly concerned over Harvey’s request. Coburn further stated that she did not support or accept racism.
I do not want to ever support, even passively, that position
Another vendor who pulled out of the Bangor business was Pamela Hanberry, director of the animal rescue service Forgotten Felines of Maine. Hanberry wishes the Bangor store and staff no harm — she just prefers to not associate the organization with “racism and hate.”
Also distancing themselves from Harvey’s business is the Bangor Mall’s management.
Kathy Harvey owns her building and operates independently of Bangor Mall. Her views do not reflect those of our team.
Harvey has reported that she had three vendors pull out of her establishment as of January 6. The Furniture, Mattresses and More store can hold roughly 150 vendors in its crafts section.
In the past years, Harvey has brought a lot of business to the Bangor area’s craft community. In November of 2019, her craft fair brought almost 22,000 people to the Bangor Mall. Harvey moved her store into the empty space that Macy’s left in 2018.
She stated the only reason she requested the Proud Boys logo and the phrase was due to customers asking her for them. These people had planned on participating in the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” rally and wanted to wear the hoodies there.
Harvey stated that she “wouldn’t have done it if I had known they were racist.”
Written by Sheena Robertson
Source:
Bangor Daily News: Vendors leave Bangor furniture store’s craft section after owner requests Proud Boys hoodies
Featured Image by Daderot Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
Inline Image by Anthony Crider Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License