I go to Wickes for paint, not ‘culture war’ politics… and customers are already voting with our feet
IT IS known in business as a “Ratner moment”.
In memory of when in 1991 Gerald Ratner destroyed his family’s jewellery business in just a few seconds by saying that their cheaply priced products were “complete cr*p”.
If you show such contempt for your customers then they will return the contempt to you.
This week it was the turn of Wickes to have a Ratner moment.
Because this week tape emerged of the chief operating officer of the DIY company insulting his customer base.
It happened at an event for the ridiculously over-done “Pride Month”.
Fraser Longden clearly wanted to flaunt his “Pride” credentials. And so he found himself dismissing many of Wickes’ customers as “bigots” who are “not welcome in our stores”. Wow.
The reason he says that Wickes does not want the custom of all the general public is because Wickes has decided to go huge on the trans issue.
It is an issue which is deeply divisive among gay people, and even more divisive for women.
At a rally in Brighton last year, representatives from Wickes carried a banner saying “No LGB without the T” — referencing the claim that gay people are now expected to ignore biology and instead believe in gender ideology.
This month Wickes changed its logos online to show the “Pride” flag — a flag that has changed in recent years and which many now believe has nothing at all to do with being gay.
The “Pride” flag has become more of a way to denote political “progressivism”. As though believing men can become women if they put on lipstick and heels is remotely “progressive”.
In any case, when asked about his company’s strong stance on trans issues, Longden said: “I don’t think I’m ever going to change some of the bigots’ minds out there.
“I’m never going to win that argument with them, so we were doing it to show support to the community.” After being asked about whether he feared a boycott of Wickes stores for his pushing of trans issues, he said that most of the population are “slightly ignorant” about trans issues but come from a “kind position”, adding: “The other ten per cent, you know — they’re just hot air and they will go and buy a tin of paint in the nearest place to them.”
In other words, take that you mugs.
Traditional, obvious truths
You may not like having the rainbow flag shoved in your face.
You may not be totally cool with abusing confused children in the name of trans rights. But next time you need a tin of paint, you’ll come crawling back to Wickes.
Personally I don’t think I ever want to shop there again.
I’ve long thought the company’s stores to be overpriced and badly staffed, with poor products. But next time I need a pot of paint I will go out of my way to shop elsewhere.
First, because like the majority of people in this country, I am all for tolerance and all for minority rights.
But I also believe in majority rights.
Trans ideology is no longer simply about being accepting of a tiny number of people who think they are in the wrong body. It is an ideology which pushes the idea that there is no such thing as biological sex.
It is a movement designed to confuse people and to take apart traditional, obvious truths. In fact, it tries to destroy the first truth we know as a species. Which is that there are boys and girls. I see nothing “progressive” about telling children they can change sex and alter their bodies as though we are made of Lego.
This is a dangerous, child-abusing movement.
People who object to this, like me, should be heard out.
We should not simply be dismissed as “bigots”.
The concerns that many people — especially women — have about the trans movement are real.
There are genuine problems with biological men accessing women’s spaces, everywhere from bathrooms to prisons and women’s shelters.
To pretend that “trans rights” are obvious and not contestable is actually the bigoted position.
But the second reason I’ll avoid Wickes in future is simply that I don’t want corporations to tell me what to think.
I don’t want companies to involve themselves in “culture war” issues.
I wouldn’t want them to be pro-trans and I wouldn’t want them to be anti-trans. I don’t want them to fly a “Pride” flag, just as I wouldn’t want them to fly a “shame” flag.
These companies have one job to do.
Which is to sell paint and other products to the public.
That’s it. Nothing else.
I don’t want to get my politics from Wickes, I just want to get a reasonably priced and decent pot of paint.
But that seems to be something Wickes has decided is not a priority.
Instead of focusing on providing the best possible service, Wickes has decided to tell the public what to think and decided to call us bigots if we don’t agree.
Well, if they want to get involved in political issues then they’ll have to learn the hard way that the public can vote.
And on Wickes we’re already voting with our feet.
As the news emerged, Wickes’ share price fell by more than four per cent.
So, as I say, a Ratner moment.
And a learning moment for other companies who forget the new adage: Go woke, go broke.
School gender dunces
THE only thing worse than a stupid idea is a stupid idea picked up by stupid people.
I’ve just listened to the tape recording of a 13-year-old girl at Rye College in East Sussex having an argument with her teacher. The Year 8 class was having a “life education” lesson in which their incredibly dim teacher kept telling them that you can be “who you want to be and how you identify is up to you”.
A pupil asked: “How can you identify as a cat when you’re a girl?”
The confused teacher kept trying to repeat the mantras of the gender movement.
The pupil said that there are just boys and girls. The teacher kept claiming that there is a mysterious thing called “gender” and that mentioning biological sex was bigoted.
The pupil was 100 per cent right. The teacher was 100 per cent wrong.
But the teacher ended up reporting the pupil and saying she would not be welcome at the school.
Consider this. Rye College is a Church of England school.
This is what they are teaching pupils.
If you care about your kids, find out if they are being taught this cr*p.
And if they are then stand up for them and against the teachers who are mis-educating them.
ANOTHER day and another new video of Partygate.
This time it is of some CCHQ staffers during Boris Johnson’s time in office having a very unenjoyable-looking gathering in December 2020.
I get it.
I loathe the idea that while we were all being nannied by Downing Street, told who to meet and when, the staff at Conservative Party headquarters were gathering for wine and crisps.
It is the height of hypocrisy.
But the leaks and videos have been enough. Boris Johnson has already been chased not just out of Downing Street but out of the House of Commons.
That should be an end of it.
We have bigger things to focus on as a country.
Looking in the rear-view mirror at a crash that has already happened is unhealthy.
Bow out with dignity, Biden
DODDERY Joe Biden surprised his audience in Connecticut at the weekend.
Although the President managed not to fall over during his speech, he did finish it with a bizarre stumble.
After rambling away, he finally closed by saying: “God save the Queen.”
What? It is very nice of Biden to remember our late monarch. But what on earth?
The truth is that as each day goes by it becomes clearer and clearer that the 80-year old President doesn’t know what day of the week it is. Plenty of 80-year olds have all their marbles.
But it is obvious that Biden does not.
If his family and friends cared for him, they would gently ease him off the political stage.
We’ll see if they do.
SENSE AT LAST
SANE policy alert! It was announced at the weekend that ministers are looking at giving priority in council housing to British citizens.
More than 1.2million households are on the waiting list for social housing, while more than ten per cent of the people being given such housing are migrants.
With thousands of people coming into the country illegally every month, that number will only increase.
So the Government is getting itself into more and more of mess with each day that passes.
But of course British citizens should be given priority. The fact that this is even something ministers are “considering” tells us just how lost we are.