At Micro.blog we’ve used Sticker Mule for a while. A few years ago, I remember reading something about the founder supporting Trump. We actually talked about it internally. Do we care about the political opinions of companies that make a product we pay for?
Ultimately, I decided we rarely order stickers and it’s a slippery slope to judge every company this way. What if the guy who runs the convenience store supports Trump? Can I still pick up a Dr. Pepper from his store or do I need to shop elsewhere? That’s silly. Small businesses especially should be allowed some leeway, as long as it’s not interfering with the relationship between owners and and their customers, and as long as they don’t appear to be actively using their business to promote causes we don’t agree with.
Fast forward to this week when Sticker Mule co-founder Anthony Constantino sent this email to customers. Here are a couple excerpts:
I don’t care what your political views are but the hate for Trump and his supporters has gone too far.
People are terrified to admit they support Trump. I’ve been scared myself.
Anthony has misjudged how people are reacting to the attempted assassination. We don’t want Trump killed, but we are not coming together over this to support him. Anyway, let’s continue:
Btw, this week, get 1 shirt for $4 (normally $19).
I suggest buying one that shows you support Trump.
This whole email crosses a line. It’s inappropriate. It’s elevating his personal opinion to put it right in our face. I’m not going to use Sticker Mule again because now I know my money is used in part to send what are effectively promotional emails for a convicted felon, a candidate who is unfit for the presidency.
Same thing with Elon Musk, who said this week he will donate $45 million each month to a pro-Trump super PAC. He will also relocate SpaceX to Texas because he doesn’t like California’s politics. Twitter X is a disaster regardless, full of hate and misinformation, and I’ll be staying away from the platform.
I think about my own blog too, where I’ve frequently written about politics. No one who reads my blog will be surprised that I’m going to vote a straight Democratic ticket in November. I don’t think I’m a hypocrite on this. While I will try to balance the tone in my posts on very divisive issues — writing about the war in Gaza was challenging — it is my personal blog. There’s a difference between what I post on manton.org and what I post on news.micro.blog, or what I send to customers in email.
Micro.blog customers do read my blog, but my account is not auto-followed. If someone is annoyed with my posts, they should be able to ignore them and still be a happy customer.
Maybe that’s the advice for Anthony and Sticker Mule: get this crap out of your company messaging. On a personal blog you can write about a range of topics. Folks who dislike your politics can choose to stay away. But spare us the lecture on Trump and unity, and leave it out of your emails.
