As if months on lockdown and the threat of riots weren’t enough for businesses in the Duluth/Superior area to deal with, they are now being targeted by a group of self-proclaimed do-gooders hoping to blacklist businesses and business people they deem racists for either speaking out against the looting and riots happening in our region and across the country, or for supporting local congressman Pete Stauber and President Trump. The group may also be targeting businesses that support local police departments.
As of this morning, the social lynch mob had already targeted one local business, and succeeded in getting another local businesswoman fired from her job at a local company.
The private group created through Facebook had over 100 names listed as either members or “previewing” the page. Previewing means they had been invited by other members but had not yet joined.
*Confirmed members of the group are employees or associated with an astonishing list of local businesses including Chester Creek Cafe, Pizza Luce, ARI Network Services, Duluth Homegrown Music Festival, Uncle Louis Cafe, CHUM, Carmody Irish Pub, Earth Rider Brewing, Spurs on First, Duluth East High School, Duluth Cider, Cloquet Senior High School, University of Minnesota, Essentia Institute, North Shore Bank, Wapiti Medical, Renegade Theater, Driveline Specialists, Sober Duluth, and several more.
*Updated to clarify this sentence: “Confirmed members of the group are from an astonishing list of local businesses.” The members are listed as employees or associated with the listed businesses. The businesses themselves are not members.
It is disheartening in this time of civil and economic turmoil that local individuals would intentionally try to destroy the livelihoods of their neighbors by blacklisting local businesses and targeting individuals on the social media pages of their employers in an attempt to have them removed from their jobs. The group’s mission and agenda are in complete contradiction to the very foundation our country was built on.
The social justice warriors who believe they are righteous enough to be the judge, jury, and in some cases the executioner of businesses and business people in the Northland are a great danger to the cohesion of our community and must be exposed and denounced by city and business leaders.
This is a developing story. Watch for more information coming soon.
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