Milwaukee Bar Announces It Will Shut Down During Week Of RNC

2024-03-17 16:30:52

In an odd move that is getting a lot of attention on social media, Milwaukee bar owner Ricky Ramirez announced that he will be shutting down his bar, The Mothership, during the week of the Republican National Convention.

Obviously, that’s his right, but it seems a really strange thing for a business owner to do when literally millions of dollars will be rolling out across Milwaukee businesses.

Rolling Stone reports (archive link):

Ramirez tells Rolling Stone that the Mothership, which he often refers to as “the mommy” in his posts, “has a chosen voice.” That voice made waves on social media Wednesday when he announced that he would be closing down the bar in mid-July when the Republican National Committee (RNC) is scheduled to hold its 2024 convention in the heart of Milwaukee.

The convention is expected to bring 50,000 people to the city. Special ordinances have been approved allowing bars to stay open late, and — as with past conventions — many liquor companies, brands, and political groups are pitching local watering holes on commemorative merchandise and event partnerships. Skipping the fray means potentially forgoing a lot of money.

On Wednesday, Ramirez issued a notice about his intention to close down to the bars’ more than 7,000 Instagram followers.

“Sup idiots we haven’t lost a lot of followers in a while so here we go…as everything gets amplified with like the RNC shitshow coming to town Imao I would like to formally state that we’re shutting bar down during the week of because fuck that noise,” he wrote. “I’m not trying to get involved with or actively take money or rent the space out to that tomfoolery.”

. . . . In a conversation with Rolling Stone, Ramirez says that as the child of first-generation immigrants living in a city that remains heavily segregated, he grew up with ​​a “kind of chip on my shoulder” regarding discrimination. With the Republican Party having wholeheartedly embraced nativist policies, racist conspiracy theories, and a politics of antagonism against marginalized communities, Ramirez feels that “if there’s an influx of those kinds of people, then I’d rather just be closed.”

“We have a small staff. There’s only four of us and a friend that helps us one night a week … and all of us kind of just came to the same conclusion,” he explained, adding that his employees would be paid through the closure.

Apparently, the backlash was pretty intense because Ramirez said in a local television interview that he would be doing the same thing if it was the DNC. A stance that seems a bit odd since he originally said he was closing because the RNC attracted “those kinds of people,” speaking of Republicans.

Watch:

Needless to say, people have thoughts.




DONATE

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.



Source link

Daily Cartoon

Share:

More Posts

Milwaukee Bar Announces It Will Shut Down During Week Of RNC

donate

Please enter donation amount below

VETERAN
CIVILIAN
LAW ENFORCEMENT
VIDOL COIN

Choose your membership level

$35 billed annually