Sometimes I think you just have to have a thick skin. I do not know if it is possible to make it through this life without one. Every day something is bound to tick you off.
But then, I am not Alvertis Simmons. C’mon, you have to know Alvertis. Nothing even remotely racially tinged goes down in Denver without the man popping up.
I once called him a professional rabble-rouser, and the man didn’t flinch. In fact, he agreed with me.
So it is really no surprise, I suppose, that Alvertis Simmons is staging yet another protest, this one against Costco Warehouse Corp. over a doll, I learned the other day, never once sold in Colorado.
But there it was, a press release sent out by his people announcing a picket and protest of Costco’s Aurora store on Havana Street, the kickoff of what he called a national boycott of all Costco stores.
At issue is the “Cuddle With Me Doll with Plush Monkey” play sets that the retailer last month pulled from the shelves at its eastern stores after only a few days.
The dolls came in Caucasian, Hispanic and African-American versions sold with a stuffed monkey or panda bear. The dolls wore headbands that said “Lil’ Monkey” or “Pretty Panda,” depending on the critter in the box. The retailer pulled the dolls with monkeys after a customer in North Carolina picked up the African-American doll with monkey and hit the roof.
“The doll is hurtful, demeaning, disgusting, degrading and racist!” cried Alvertis Simmons’ press release announcing the Saturday protest. “We want Costco to work with our kids, not hurt our kids!”
I called Alvertis.
“We’re still holding our protests,” he informed me. But, I told him, the store has pulled the doll, not to mention it was never sold in Colorado. This fact is not deterring the man.
“I spoke with a company president, who told me it was ‘a generational mistake,’ that they’ve stopped delivery to Colorado,” he told me. “He thinks that’s enough, but it is not enough.”
Well, I asked Alvertis Simmons, what is it you want from Costco?
“They are going to have to get down here and speak with black folks here. I want him to sit down and explore ways we can heal. We’re saying we want to work with him so the same mistake doesn’t happen again, to set an example so other companies won’t make the same mistake.”
I get Alvertis Simmons, though I must say it would be difficult for any company to heal a group of people in Denver for psychological wounds it never inflicted.
He wants to know why Costco agreed to sell the doll, why it lacks people within its ranks who might have red-flagged the doll before it ever left the warehouse.
For its part, Costco has been upfront about its mistake, saying it became clear that the toy was offensive to some members.
And no, it says it has no plans to meet with anyone in Denver.
“They feel they’ve done enough,” Alvertis Simmons said. So he plans to continue his store protests.
The doll, in pictures I have seen, is actually quite beautiful, reclining as she does next to a Curious George-looking monkey. The headband, well, that is a little over the top. Still, it doesn’t quite disturb me as much as the sticker they put on the bottom right of the box:
“Diaper fits both baby & monkey!” it reads.
Thick skin or not, that is, on so many levels, just wrong.
Bill Johnson writes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Reach him at 303-954-2763 or wjohnson@denverpost.com.
