Raleigh eatery feels backlash for 'profiling' stance
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A sign pleading for tolerance outside a popular Triangle restaurant has led to threats.
ABC11 told you Monday night about the sign outside Clyde Cooper's BBQ that asks people to "Stop profiling Muslims."
From almost the moment the story aired, the phone and Facebook page here at Clyde Cooper's on South Wilmington Street has been lit up with reaction from supporters and many opponents to the new sign in the window.
The barbecue joint's owner is not backing down, and says she has no regrets.
"Lord no!" Debbie Holt said. "No, I stand by what I put."
Holt said she hopes the sign will help open some people's eyes.
But our story did spark some backlash on social media. Scrolling through the restaurant's Facebook page, Holt read off some of the angry posts.
RELATED: Read the original story here
And there was the voice mail that Holt says she mistakenly deleted, from a man claiming to represent a local church, and threatening a boycott.
"(They) said that they will never come and eat here or patronize us again," Holt said. "And they will make sure they tell their church members the same thing."
Holt said she chalked it up to ignorance and bigotry.
And there's no shortage of support for the sign.
Holt said she has added a sassy new addendum to the "stop profiling" sign. She calls it a nod to anyone who may misinterpret her message.
"So it says, 'I don't have a problem with anybody, just the ones that want to kill my --- and yours! That could be anybody anywhere. Stop profiling anybody!"
We asked Holt whether she was fearful about a boycott.
She told us no, that for every call threatening a boycott, she's gotten 10 others pledging support.
She calls that "a wash."
