EDMONDS, WA – Although he initially thought he was being funny, Ken Bellingham now realizes political jokes are best left to the professionals — and not local bakers.
Bellingham spent this past weekend dodging critics of his poorly conceived decision to put the words “Build that Wall” on a pink-frosted Valentine’s Day-themed cookie at his Edmonds Bakery shop.
While not an explicit supporter of the president’s proposed wall across the southern border of the U.S., Bellingham recently told reporters he does like to sometimes put risqué messaging on his confections, especially around Valentine’s Day.
“I’m back there trying to think of what to write on a cookie,” he told KING5 News on Saturday. “I try to be funny.”
Bellingham’s latest creation, however, did not receive the response he intended — or at least expected.
On Thursday, Ana Carrera reportedly visited the Edmonds Bakery to grab some items when she spotted the now infamous cookie in the display case. A child of Mexican immigrants, Carrera said she took the messaging personally.
“It’s hard to see words like that,” she told KING5, noting the universally understood racial undertones associated with the phrase. “You say something with enough hate — you chant it, you have white supremacists, the alt-right chanting it — it’s going to become racial.”
Bellingham maintains he did not intend for the cookie to be anything of the sort, telling KING5 and Facebook users the decision was a mistake.
“I guess the joke is on me,” he told KING5. “If I wanted to make a political statement, I’d put it on a sign and march up and down the street. But I put it on a cookie for heaven’s sake.”
Nevertheless, Carrera and a large assortment of supposed former patrons have all vowed on social media to never visit the bakery again; conversely, an equally large number of Facebook users have indicated they have even more reason and desire to support the local shop.
“People were just going off,” Bellingham said of the social media response. “They don’t know anything about me and supposedly I’m some horrible person.”
Carrera told KING5 she doesn’t want anybody harassing Bellingham, but she noted her belief that whether intended or not the cookie was indicative of something below the surface of Bellingham’s business.
“A cookie like this does represent that there is some hate coming out of this bakery,” she said. “Whether he chooses to admit it or not.”
What do you think? Should there be a separation of bakeries and politics? Let us know in the comments below.
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