Quote:
Originally Posted by Czarvette
The visiting public likely is unaware of or cares about fine distinctions such as "vendor" vs "National Park Service." To the public what's in the gift shop is part of the Park Service's face to the public and is there with the approval of the Park Service.
So, the Park Service should care about what's in the gift shop. Asking is a reasonable thing to do. The vendor may refuse. Actions have consequences. That's business.
Consider this: the US Holocaust Memorial Museum is in Washington, D.C. It
is an independent establishment of the United States Government chartered and directly funded by Congress, operating under the auspices of a board of trustees appointed by Congress.
There is a Museum Shop that undoubtedly sells various kinds of memorabilia and educational products relating to The Holocaust and perhaps World War II more generally. I speculate that the Museum Shop is operated by a vendor under contract to the Museum.
Should the shop be able to sell commemorative swastika flags if it so chooses?
Would it be reasonable for the board of trustees to ask the Shop to stop, or is this government bullying?
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The US government should indeed have final say about what gets sold in those gift shops. Having said that, the US government shouldn't be squelching the sale of that merchandise now.
As with other things, the free market should be deciding what gets sold. If it turns out that Nazi flags sell well at the holocaust museum, then they should sell them there. (Been there, BTW).
If we want to talk about things that are inappropriate, having a gift shop at a museum documenting human suffering seems inappropriate to me. I'm not up in arms, though, calling for that gift shop to be closed.