Kenneth Burkholder is perplexed.
His business, Good’s Store Inc., is one of hundreds of Amish and Mennonite stores that do not sell American flags.
Nobody’s singling out the other places.
But Good’s is under fire. Again.
The sender of a recent mass e-mailing claimed that a young, unnamed Good’s sales clerk “wrinkled her nose” in disdain when quizzed about flag sales.”We don’t sell those here,” the clerk supposedly said, “and we never will.”
It’s true that flags aren’t in the Good’s inventory, said Burkholder, the company president. The families that own the stores are Anabaptists, who view the banner primarily as a symbol of military might.
But, he said, it’s false to imply that this faith group, which includes Amish and Mennonites, is anti-American.
Nor could Good’s find proof that the supposed testy exchange with an employee ever took place, Burkholder added.
“We researched it. That was my main concern,” Burkholder emphasized, that the company not appear arrogant.
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Burkholder said the brouhaha is not going to affect the store’s Amish and Mennonite customers.
Nor is it going to compel the 51-year-old business to start stocking American flags.
All the same, he added, he would prefer that people just stop talking — and writing — about what’s for sale at Good’s.
“We’ve been through this a number of years.”