Blather Here, Blather There, Nothing Between

Tom Shepstone
Shepstone Management Company, Inc.

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[Editor’s Note: Blather is the state of PR today and it’s a direct result of corporate America falling into a political correctness trap that ends with a copier in the woods.]

I recently came across a story some of you may have seen as well, that explains so much of what is wrong today, It’s about a brazen theft that took place at a King Soopers grocery story in Colorado. King Soopers is part of the Kroger supermarket chain. A  detestable thief and two friends stole a shopping cart full of goods. An alert employee did nothing to directly engage the thief but, in a spark of wisdom, got out his cell phone to capture a picture of the miscreant and his license plate, then going so far to post it on-line for purposes of outing the fellow. It was successful, too! His reward was getting fired.

Now, you might suppose that’s the signal of what’s wrong that set me to writing this. That’s part of it to be sure, but the bigger problem was the statement put out by the victim store chain, which beyond pathetic and illustrative of our most most basic problem as a nation; we have surrendered our souls to politically correct blather.

Here is the craven statement put out by King Sooper:

“We are disappointed by the increased level of crime across retail establishments and the impact these incidents have on our associates and customers. We remain committed to working in partnership with local law enforcement to address this issue, as safety remains a top priority.

“We have security measures in place to help prevent crime and de-escalate such confrontations to minimize the risk to our associates. While we are unable to comment on personnel matters, we value our hardworking associates and their safe return home.”

This was clearly written by PR folks whose job is to say something of no substance that will offend no one and generally be ignored. It was then undoubtedly vetted by totally risk-adverse corporate lawyers. It’s an insult. I could dissect it word for word, but it’s easier on you if I just tell you what I would have said:

We applaud our employee’s action. He did not directly engage the man later arrested for the theft and, thereby, avoided creating a safety hazard for customers and other employees. Instead, he wisely documented the robbery in realtime. This allowed a vigilant public and law enforcement to do their job, for which we are deeply grateful.

We cannot emphasize enough that retail crime is an ever increasing cost to our shoppers as well as a safety thrust and must be controlled, and quickly, if our stores are to serve the communities where the crimes are taking place. We ask that our elected leaders take action to further support the type of law enforcement we saw in this instance.

The difference is obvious. The underlying message is not that much different, but the second speaks directly to the issues and would have motivated all parties in the right direction.

Speaking directly is the key to everything, but we are seeing ever less of it today. Check out our “Natural Gas – 100 Years Ago Today” posts to get an idea of how Americans once spoke. We were then able to speak without being guarded or politically correct. That is completely gone now. PC is the order of the day and nearly everyone avoids directness. It’s too dangerous to do otherwise. Say anything that doesn’t fit within the company line and you’ll end up de-personed by Big Tech and on the government’s secret “most-wanted” list.

The two, in fact, have been colluding in a manner right out of “1984.” That much is obvious from this Federal Court decision, which documents the incredible extent of the corruption. It is the epitome of straight talk. Start reading at No. 89 on page 22 to read the whole sordid story of how the government is actively squelching free speech on every front, using Big Tech as its agent to do so. And, the rationale of the government is, of course, bather on steroids to use an overworked but entirely appropriate cliche.

It all started several decades ago with the ridiculous “hate speech” concept. Not that all of us don’t experience hate from time to time and wish it would go away (see this comment posted here from a fellow who promotes wind energy storage).  Kate speech has predictably morphed into ever widening definitions to suit the desires of those with political power to shut up those with whom they disagree. Why? Because that’s so much easier than shutting up buffoons, haters and other agenda driven demagogues using argument and facts, that is to say more speech.

PR departments and lawyers are falling into this trap by refusing to talk straight. It’s blather, more blather and still more. The natural gas industry, along with most of corporate America, has also been co-opted, afraid to confront the global warming scam, for example. One company after another has been pulled into the ESG con, for example.

I also recall attending a natural gas confab several years ago only to hear Frank Luntz lecture the attendees not to use the word “capitalism” as he tried to convince the attendees to play the game. He also urged us all to vote for establishment corporatist Mitt Romney, who decided he shouldn’t fight too hard either and decided, instead, to coast to victory under the tutelage of Karl Rove, who got rich giving such advice to losers.

Now, almost everyone in the corporate universe has decided to play the game. And, so, whenever straight talk (the real version, not the John McCain one) is demanded by circumstances, we get increasingly vacuous blather that invariably includes the words “XYZ company remains committed to…” followed by something akin to motherhood and apple pie. Zero thought is given to the possibility the reader might recognize the BS and be affronted by it. No, the reader—that is the public—is assumed to be a bunch of dumb asses who will lap up the meaningless blather like they’re flies and the words are honey.

Such is the sorry state of most industry today. Bonafide capitalism is dismissed as naive as PR types and corporate lawyers lead the way to surrender. That’s what’s wrong with the King Sooper episode and we can see the horrific results everywhere we look, as truth is sacrificed to soft lies, socialism proceeds apace and free speech shrinks to that “last copier in the woods.”

The “Last Copier in the Woods” – Is that where it will all end?

Thank God there are those who resist. They, and only they, will save America. Pray for them and America.

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