(PCM) A North Carolina jeweler has come under fire because the slogan used on their roadside billboard is considered offensive. The billboard in question is advertising for Spicer Greene Jewelers in Asheville and features the words “Sometimes it’s OK to throw rocks at girls”. The words are surrounded by images of precious stones.
The billboard has struck a nerve with locals who claim that the words further promote a culture of violence against women. They feel that children who see the billboard will not see the humor and/or play on words in the sign and only think that it means it’s okay to throw rocks at girls.
The jeweler has since issued an apology for the billboard and claim that it was never their intention to offend anyone with the message. They posted the following note on their Facebook page regarding the situation:
“To whom we have offended with our recent billboard, please accept our apologies. We do not condone violence of any kind toward any being. We are humble enough to realize when we make a mistake and humble enough to realize the context in which we are speaking. We did not intend to cause controversy and our billboard communicated something we did not intend. We intended the billboard as a play on words to encourage the loving act of gift giving and are deeply saddened that it offended anyone.”
While we do see how some people could read into another more sinister message on the sign, however these days everyone is so hyper sensitive to absolutely anything and everything. We certainly don’t believe the jewelers had any intention offend and most likely felt they were just being cute and clever with the billboard in question.
