Poison president: Harley-Davidson factory cancels planned Trump visit

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/01/31/poison-president-harley-david.html

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It really tells you something when the people who sell a product most popularly associated with biker gangs don’t want their image tarnished by the presence of a misogynist who has a fast-and-loose relationship with the law.

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It is more than a little troubling that they were cool with his Excellency’s visit to make it rain Executive Orders, until they joined the dots on how the protests would affect their brand.

Edit:

I associate them almost exclusively with accountants on Sunday afternoons, but that might just be because I live near a lot of nice B roads. :wink:

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Hollywood: How would you like to have your brand associated with a racist, murderous biker gang that engages in gun smuggling, drugs and human trafficking?

Harley Davidson: Heck yes!

Washington: How would you like to have your brand associated with Donald Trump?

Harley Davidson: You know, we think we’re gonna have to give that one a pass.

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It’s all about sales. Harley Davidson has a bloated inventory and is trying to sell them off as quickly as they can. Protests and the like would be bad for short term business. HD needs to dump the bikes now. Sales are flat.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-harley-davidson-results-idUSKBN15F1CA?type=companyNews

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It’s an extremely weird and frightening blurry grey line between Nazi chic and sheer naked fascism…

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Right now, Trump has gotten to sit behind the desk, sign some bullshit, and have things happen. He’s President of Candyland.

When he has to work with the congress, what is going to happen? It’s not going to be a “I SIGNED IT! IT LAW NOW!” result. There’s going to be some scores to settle with the GOP and the reverse. That will be exciting. Maybe House of Cards will pick up there.

HD was smart to distance themselves from Donny, but now they’re going to get the counter boycott from the Donnyfluffers.

Whatdayado. Keep the fuck away from the prez. He’s business poison.

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That’s what you think about motorcycle owners?

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The ones who are characters on Sons of Anarchy (which Harley Davidson is apparently pleased to be associated with), yes.

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Not since I saw Fletch Lives.

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He’s really out of his element, IMO.

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A friend asked this the other day:

Can you name a conservative boycott that has actually worked/panned out lately?

Noone could. Most of them seem to have backfired.

Retired cops, vacationing lawyers, and guys who run “construction companies” that never seem to work because daddy left them money.

Drinking Jack Daniels. Bud Light. And refusing to tip. I know a few decent regular people who ride their bikes (among other wheeled things). But seriously. Fuck the Harley crowd. The Wild One cosplay crew are a bunch of cheep rubes who think its great fun to act like assholes on the 3rd Sunday of every month.

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You can say that again. At this rate I’m NEVER gonna get tickets to Hamilton.

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Well my brother rides a Harley.

He’s a top guy, I love him with all my heart.

Big, ex-muscle builder and footballer, black belt martial arts, although I don’t think he’s thrown a punch in anger ever.

But he’s completely sucked in by the public perception of the brand, it’s definitely a tough guy thing for him.

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That’s the thing. They’re not selling good or desirable bikes. They’re selling a lifestyle. Which is why so much of their sales go to mid-life-crisis-ville. Buy a Harley! Sexually harass waitresses with impunity!

But I do know decent people who ride Harleys, and some who are pretty into the brand/biker thing. What you’re looking out for is rolling packs of moneyed white somethings and retired authority figures. I think the thing that pisses me the most off is they ride drunk. For long distances. In packs. Its a good way to get dead.

I think I know 2 people under 50 who own Harleys. Maybe 3. And one of those inherited a vintage one.

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Unless you meant the 1 percenters who support him, I don’t that think very much of his “Rust belt” base could afford to buy their vehicles anyway.

Even a Harley that’s on sale still isn’t “cheap.”

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And the 1%ers I’ve met don’t buy Harleys. Some of them do ride them. Like when a Harley dealership in a place where I lived had it’s big opening day and a large number of the bikes that went out for test-rides never came back.

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Bikers sans Dump.

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I think they’re both the same, although Nazi Chic requires shinier jackboots.

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I think you’re painting with a pretty broad brush, Ruythrowsstuff.