A concert promoter in the Sunshine state has come up with a rather unusual discount for the tickets to his upcoming event, but the story isn’t so much that he’s using a gimmick to sell tickets but the way he’s choosing whom to offer it to — and not offer it to, in this case.
Earlier on Saturday, my colleague Jennifer Oliver O’Connell reported that a number of governors across the country are trying to incentivize their states’ citizens to take the COVID vaccine. Some are in the form of nice perks, like getting to enjoy free entrance at a state park; but most of them are absurd lottery schemes that any rational person would be ashamed of concocting around a personal health decision — but we are talking about progressive Democrats here.
In a bizarre switcheroo, as NBC News reported, the punk rock show promoter in St. Petersburg is telling potential concertgoers that they can have tickets for the low, low price of $18…but there’s a catch:
A Florida concert promoter is getting creative with new ways to encourage his community to get vaccinated. At an upcoming punk-rock concert, he’ll be charging $18 for tickets to people who are vaccinated and $1,000 to those who are not.
Paul Williams of Leadfoot Promotions came up with the idea while brainstorming how to book the concert in a quick and efficient way, according to local station WFTS. With vaccines becoming widely available for people in the state and new CDC guidelines allowing the return of live events, Williams thought that offering a discounted ticket to vaccinated concertgoers was the first step to doing the show safely and creating an incentive for more folks to go out and get vaccinated, he told WFTS.
NBC News mentions that evil Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order banning COVID passports in his state, which RedState wrote about in early April. Essentially, it bars the government or any company from denying someone services because they chose not to get a vaccine injected into their arm.
As the NBC News story continues, it’s clear that the promoter’s motivation isn’t as advertised. The guy portrays himself as being about encouraging people to get vaccinated and doing a good deed — you know, the usual Dem line. Take a look at this:
Knowing that he could not legally exclude non-vaccinated people from the concert venue, Williams said he encourages those who aren’t vaccinated to buy the full-price ticket, and if they do, they’ll be treated just like everyone else, he told WFTS.
A couple things here: it’s as clear as day that the idea sprang from a seething hatred of DeSantis.That, of course, is thanks to a legacy media intent on painting him as only slightly less odious than Oscar the Grouch. And the move seems to be an attempt to spite Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the winning way he’s handled the Chinese virus.
The dishonest way Williams explains his “offer” here is breathtaking in its arrogance, too. “They’ll be treated like anyone else”?
As I responded to the story on the Twitters:
Um, no. If you’re charging someone $1k, you’re not treating them like everyone else. You’re discriminating
Love this: “So far, no one has bought the full-price $1,000 ticket, but the promoter says if they do, they’ll be treated just like everyone else.” Um, no. If you’re charging someone $1k, you’re not treating them like everyone else. You’re discriminating.
— Becca Lower (@BeccaJLower) May 29, 2021
And Chris Loesch has it about right here, on just how unappealing the show will likely be, anyway:
What he meant to say was “So far nobody had bought any tickets for our crappy local “punk rock – stick it to the man” show.” https://t.co/0Yu1yonj0M
— Chris Loesch (@ChrisLoesch) May 29, 2021
Don’t get me wrong; any shrewd business owner is pulling out all the stops right now to lure consumers back to their establishments (and when better to be thinking of those deals than Memorial Day weekend, right?) But, something like this crosses a line.
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