The Gambit's Cruel Attack On Elderly Couple's French Quarter Boutique
John Georges: Remedy This
This past week we have witnessed a heartless attack, one so deeply unethical that it seems unlawful, so dishonest that it seems libelous, so loathsome in its snark it could emanate only from the Left… an intentional and mean-spirited attack committed by The Gambit, a weekly entertainment paper owned by John Georges, Louisiana’s richest business man. An event like this could be easy to miss, and don’t be distracted by the fact that the victims own a toy soldier and doll house store. In fact, be disturbed that a powerful media outlet would target a store of such benign nature.
This attack rests upon a lie, an obvious lie. Far-Left activists in New York and New Orleans conspired to take down a small business, their conspiracy aided with a major boost by a media force of depth, wealth and power that amplified the lie worldwide, very loud and very clear.
Over Halloween weekend, an activist Jewish resident of New York City sought to stir up anger about antisemitism with the intent to inspire people to vote in this year’s mid-term elections. He had visited New Orleans in January and had snapped a close-up photo of some military figurines, items among thousands of tiny pieces offered for sale in a French Quarter hobby shop. Among toy soldiers and artillery men and horsemen and generals from wars across time and space, including the US Civil War and World War Two, were nestled a handful of Confederate soldiers and Hitler figurines used in creating historically-accurate diorama scenes. Creating such scenes is an enduring hobby among some history enthusiasts; this store serves customers whose hobbies include the harmless activity of re-creating scenes in miniature scale.
The New Yorker, needing Leftist-loving red meat to throw to his followers, tweeted out the ten-month old, tightly-cropped photo of the little Hitlers on the New Orleans store shelf, along with a phone conversation he secretly recorded with the owners. He believes he has exposed the owners as Jew-hating Nazis and Confederacy sympathizers who support slavery. A local agitator took notice of the tweet and unquestioningly believes the same thing, and about 7:00 in the morning on the last day of October he goaded New Orleans news media to cover the story: Nazi + KKK Den on Royal Street! The Gambit was the only outlet unethical enough to take the bait, running an online story based entirely on one New Yorker’s conjured up, stale, baseless accusation about a little boutique thousands of miles from his home.
Validating the authenticity of literally nothing presented to them and disseminated by them, The Gambit has used its massive reach to re-tell and spread a lie, conflating a few miniatures for sale as an endorsement of the Holocaust and slavery. Caring nothing for the truth, The Gambit also cared nothing for the reputations, livelihoods, and safety of the elderly couple who run the shop. Never setting foot in the place, The Gambit took it on only faith - faith in fanatical Leftist activists - that all is as they say it is. The Gambit began the hit piece with accusations of “trafficking white supremacism,” writing:
Since at least January, Royal Street gift shop Black Butterfly Too has apparently been trafficking in white supremacist memorabilia, including selling statues of pro-slavery Confederate army figures and Adolf Hitler, who murdered 6 million Jews.
The sale of the Hitler figures, which come in a variety of uniforms and poses, came to light Sunday thanks to a tweet by Rafael Shimunov, a Jewish New Yorker who saw the statues during a visit to New Orleans in January.
He told Gambit on Monday the Hitler statues were conveniently located next to the shop’s selection of Confederate themed statues and items. It is unclear whether they are part of a broader white supremacist section of the store.
Making no mention at all of other items for sale, toys and playful items, Russian nesting dolls and Elvis-themed knick-knacks among them, The Gambit presented their deceitful story having spoken with the activist but not with the owners, offering him a global platform and them no opportunity for comment or explanation, leaving an elderly couple unaware and defenseless against the wave of hatred unleashed upon them by The Gambit’s lie.
One can sense the pride in The Gambit offices: “Although the shop was supposed to be open Monday, it was closed tight — likely a result of outrage over the owners’ profiting off antisemitism and pro-slavery sentiments.”
What evidence exists to make such a bold and harmful accusation?
“Pro-slavery sentiments”? Where and how did the owners express any sentiments at all? What assumptions must The Gambit be making about the intentions of the owners? How is it not libelous, damaging, and literally threatening to do this to these people? Making the jump from historically-themed statuettes for sale to “pro-slavery” is a far leap, and a fully unsupported one. How can The Gambit claim to know the content of these peoples’ hearts? The Gambit never spoke to these people!
The Gambit created a hyperlink and boasted about how “the shop's Yelp! page has been bombed by opponents of racism and antisemitism. It currently enjoys a one star rating on the site.” Witness a tiny sampling of what constitutes “bombed” in the age of Twitter and online reviews:
“Is this store willing to sell lampshades made out of the skin of babies? … Some people will sink to any depth for a profit. I am ashamed to know that this hateful dreck has a place in our country.”
“This is a horrible store that promotes white supremacy and nazi's. I hope you are put out of business over this.”
“nazis run this shop”
“someone said they sell KKK robes”
“Does this store also sell figurines of dead Jewish babies?”
The BEC knocked on the door of The Gambit and asked the editor, John Stanton, to reconsider the article. He was unmoved. The BEC sent an email to Clancy DuBos, original publisher of The Gambit with a continuing role there, receiving no reply after several days. And now The BEC returns to this horrible event to demand that John Georges remove the article and issue a full-on public apology to the store owners, as well as doing all he can to scrub away the nastiness his paper prompted and inspired on sites like the shop’s Yelp! page, which now includes these undeserved and hate-filled images:
This atrocity will not stand.
John Georges, correct this offense.
The BEC is tweeting this article to: news outlets WWL TV, WGNO TV, WDSU TV, FOX8 TV. Also to: The Hayride, Townhall, The Daily Wire and Matt Walsh. (John Georges’ twitter account is not active; we will send this to him another way.)
Read The Gambit’s attack piece here.
Look at all the mean-spirited “reviews” sent into the shop’s Yelp! page here.
Give a look at Raphael Shimunov’s Netroots Nation bio here.
The days of an unchallenged Left are ending.