Tag Archives: Wyoming

Ice Cream and Pakistani Customer

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ice creamThere’s an interesting story making the rounds about yet another Facebook mishap. To me it’s one of those situation that, if people take adult attitudes, might end up being a good thing. If childish behavior is in play instead then there is the damage to all parties involved.

I’ll cover the basics and then talk about the adult solution and the childish one.

A self-proclaimed muslim customer asked an ice cream manufacturer in Wyoming if they used pork in their gelatin. The idea being that as a muslim he couldn’t eat their ice cream if this was the case. The CEO of the company responded glibly that they didn’t deliver outside of Wyoming and certainly not Pakistan. The customer is from Wyoming. The internets then showed their displeasure flooding Yelp with one star reviews and the company Facebook page with negatives comments. The company then took down their Facebook page. The CEO has offered to resign.

So, if we insist on behaving like children the company might suffer serious financial loss, the CEO will lose his job, and the customer gains some sense of vengeful satisfaction.

On the other hand the CEO and company could invite the customer, his family, and friends out to the plant for a tour (they don’t use pork gelatin so no religious tenants are being violated). The company might even host a muslim appreciation day for all the muslims in the region. The company might gain a whole new customer base and a lot of muslims in the region might find an ice cream they love.

Doesn’t the adult way sound better?

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist
Current Release: The Hammer of Fire
Upcoming Release: The Sword of Water

Wolf Hunting in Wyoming

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Yellowstone WolfThere is a great success story in the environmental world taking place in Wyoming and surrounding Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone has been so successful that it is now possible to open a hunting season on the species. I’m of the opinion that we should be proud as Americans of our efforts to reintroduce the wolf and allow hunting of the noble beasts.

I know that there are many who remain opposed both to the reintroduction of the predator and to opening hunting of it. However, it’s this sort of enlightened compromise that leads to real solutions. Originally most ranchers were opposed to the reintroduction efforts assuming the wolves would prey upon their cattle. These animals represent a threat to the livelihood of ranchers and their fears were somewhat justified although I think largely mistaken. Wolf depredation of cattle is fairly minimal and with increasingly aggressive control actually reduced in recent years. Let’s not kid ourselves though, wolves do kill cattle and ranchers are entitled to compensation. That being said, the wolves certainly increase tourism dollars to the state and in some ways increase said ranchers revenue.

The beauty of a wild wolf pack is undeniable and I hope to someday take a ranch vacation in Wyoming or the region for horseback riding and hopefully wolf spotting. The United States suffers when we let such creatures become extinct. I think it is our duty to protect animals like this even if it means certain compromises.

My main thought here is that wolves were given protection, multiplied, and now can be hunted which is a win/win for everyone. Environmentalist win, hunters win, and to some degree even ranchers win when they are fairly compensated for their losses.

I wish we could see this spirit of compromise in all our political endeavors. It is obvious to me that the tendency to push through legislation without compromise because one party has sufficient votes is detrimental to our nation. Those of us in the middle would well benefit from compromise with our counterparts on the opposite side of the divide. When we in the middle refuse to compromise we only empower those who hold extreme views. Perhaps we could even forge some real solutions to this nation’s problems.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist
New Release: The Hammer of Fire