News

August 16, 2019
Stationery store responds to viral criticism of its satirical Trump greeting cards

Mockingbird Paperie in Ithaca, New York, has recently been the victim of a campaign to disparage the store for carrying anti-Trump cards after a visitor posted a photo on social media of three Sapling Press cards in its store bearing the words “Trump is a Douchebag,” “Trump is an Evil Motherf***er,” (sans censorship) and another “Trump is a Douchebag.” 

People responded passionately after Facebook and Twitter posts went viral sharing pictures of the cards criticizing the president. Commenters called the cards “disturbing” and “disgusting” and implored readers to post negative comments on the store’s Facebook page, which they did, filling the Facebook page with more than 80 negative reviews.

The store’s owner, Suzanne Loesch, spoke out on social media today, three weeks after the viral posts, to thank the customers who stood by them as well as those who were willing to have logical and polite discussions to voice their opinions. 

“To all of our amazing customers — conservative, moderates and liberals alike — we thank you. To those from Ithaca and beyond who came out in droves and stood beside us in solidarity, we thank you. We are so grateful to everyone for sharing all of your opinions, concerns, and steadfast support,” the letter reads.

Loesch continued, saying: “As many of you know, over the past few weeks we’ve been the recipients of a barrage of hate-filled phone calls, emails and online bullying in response to our Sapling Press cards, which humorously deride Donald Trump (the man, not the office he holds). Instead of responding with the same hateful messages and hurtful rhetoric used by our critics, we took some time off from posting on our Facebook and Instagram accounts to earnestly listen to each person when they called and respond to as many emails as we could with understanding, consideration and rationality.”

She went on to say that they will continue to carry the line that they have stocked for the past two years stating that their customers request them and do not complain about them because they understand the context in which that language is used. “Indeed, we carry dozens of items in our store that display varying degrees of profane language, but it’s always put to very good comic effect,” Loesch explained.

To read the full response, visit the store’s Instagram page here.




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