So a customer wanted to know if Wilcoxson’s delicious ice cream contained pork gelatin. Of course the president of the company, Matt Schaeffer, was delighted to hear he had a loyal fan and rushed to provide an answer:

“We don’t deliver outside Montana, certainly not Pakistan”

Source. Here’s the screen capture:

So much going on in that brief nine-word response.

First, it’s factually incorrect. Wilcoxson’s does deliver outside Montana. Specifically, it delivers to Sheridan, WY, which the first poster lists on his/her facebook profile.

Second, it’s fairly curt, even disregarding the content. If somebody claims to “love” your ice cream, it would be good to acknowledge that.

Third, Schaeffer assumed the poster lives in Pakistan. Which means he maybe assumes all Muslims live in Pakistan. I suppose that isn’t too bad of a guess, since there are a lot of Muslims there. He should have guessed Indonesia first, though. Of course, there are millions of Muslims here, too. And there’s this little thing called air travel. Wonder if Schaeffer’s heard of it. I mean I’ve even been near Montana. Not that I’d brag about it or anything.

Finally, it’s just plain dismissive. Why wouldn’t you simply answer the question?

In any event, Matt Schaeffer’s pants are apparently on fire. Because he claims he was overwhelmed with work and just reacted to the facebook user’s icon which read “Pakistan.” If three brown people can spell out “Pakistan,” that is.

For those who ask “Why does it have to be racist? Why can’t it just be stupid?” I say “Well, why can’t it be both?”

Photo by seelensturm/flicker