Posted By:
JohnTo Barry and Others;
I want to make one thing clear before you think I’m endorsing any auctions or material offered in those auctions. I have only pointed out or asked some of the posters who are so against this auction item where they draw the line.
1.)Several people said anyone who makes a profit from items that involve death or destruction are wrong, they went on to say that they would boycott those people. That’s a bold statement. I only pointed out or asked what was different from many other non-baseball related objects that other major auction houses sell. Many of these items fall into the same category and that if they feel that strongly they may be boycotting more than just Leland’s.
2.)Many people said profiting from someone else’s misfortune is wrong and not right. Yet many people replied that they would have no problem getting a box of cards off of someone at half or less of there value, even if they had any kind of knowledge that the seller was selling the items due to misfortune. So turning a buck off that type of misfortune is ok?
3.)My only other point was that just because someone sells something doesn’t mean they endorse in any way the idea or circumstances behind the item. I used the War collectibles as an example. Just because Sotheby’s or another major auction house sells a Nazi uniform doesn’t make them a bunch of goose-stepping neo nazi’s. The same as you selling an historical document you found written by lets say Cap Anson detailing his hatred for blacks, you selling that doesn’t mean you support those beliefs.
Once again I’m not supporting Leland’s or lobbying on their behalf, I could careless if Leland’s goes out of business I have no vested personal interest. There are a lot of great people on the board here Barry you included but I think the 100 or so posts here are hardly a representation of the collecting hobby, I also don’t feel the media coverage is either. If the majority of the collecting hobby had no interest or was outraged by this sort of material we wouldn’t be having this conversation because Leland’s & other auction houses would have no market for this material.
Barry I hope you don’t think less of me, but I’m very passionate about these kind of things. People have lots of different ways to rationalize things. I have a hang up about hypocrisy, and I have strong feeling that for every person who said it was wrong to sell ghoulish goods, or to profit from misfortune. These same people would sell Al Capone’s Tommy gun if they had it, or by a T206 Wagner off an old lady if she said she needed a $100 bucks. Just a gut feeling.