A music store in Ohio took a stand against supporters of President Donald Trump with a sign on the door, saying the owner would rather starve than take their money.
In a now-deleted Facebook post, Joe's Music in Willoughby, Ohio, posted a photo of a sign on the door, which had a controversial message for the president's supporters. It was addressed to "Trump sympathizers" and said the owner, Joe, felt "unclean and dirty" taking money from them. He asked that they "politely" shop at another store.
"Sorry, I would rather starve and close the store than participate in wrong-doing," the sign said. "Many blessings to you. I hope you understand."
Before the post was taken down, WKYC said it garnered almost 500 comments and more than 200 people shared it.
Joe told WOIO that he doesn't support the president's politics, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't support the president. While some people were supportive of his measure because he was standing up for his principles, others vocalized their outrage at the sign.
One woman shared a post about the sign and said that she couldn't remember any businesses telling former President Barack Obama's supporters that they wouldn't accept their money. Another user called for a boycott of the store and another Facebook user speculated a music store couldn't afford to throw away half of its business.
"The owner of the store is a bigot, who discriminates against people who have opinions that differ from his own," a Yelp user commented on the business's page.
The owner also received dozens of phone calls about the sign, many of which were prank calls, according to WOIO. The calls were so abundant, that he decided to lock the door to his store.
The sign also caused an issue for another store that bears the same name. Joe's Music in Eastpointe, Michigan, acknowledged the sign in a Facebook post on Tuesday, saying it was a different story. The owner said that he supports Trump because he is the duly elected president. He added that he's also supported presidents in the past that he didn't vote for.
"Petty, distasteful political actions have no place in a business where our focus is to help people make music which brings joy to the players and listeners alike," the post on Facebook concluded.
While the controversial sign has certainly garnered attention, Joe told WOIO that he didn't put it up for the attention. He added that he didn't expect the response he's gotten because he's posted other things about Trump in the past.
Along with offering music lessons, the store also rents instruments and repairs guitars, according to its website.
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