Understanding or misunderstanding?

After "Happy September 11" dustup, Petrol Station owner receives tolerance award

Tolerance, Americanism, Patriotism
Logo via T.A.P./Facebook
TAP is presenting Petrol Station owner Ben Fullelove a tolerance award, citingthe way he handled the situation after an employee scribbled an offensive doodleon a customer's to-go box.
Photo via Beer Utopia
The drawing that prompted the whole debacle
Photo via Channel 13/ABC
TAP promotes all things American
Photo via T.A.P./Facebook

For one organization, Petrol Station owner Ben Fullelove serves as a bastion of understanding.

TAP America is a non-profit dedicated to promoting tolerance, patriotism and exercise in America. According to the group's website, "The tenets of TAP encourage people to be physically active, embrace equality and support the American economy by purchasing products made in America."

We learned that TAP is granting its first ever tolerance award to Fullelove. This comes after the owner fired not one but two employees over the insensitive, malicious "Happy September 11th" message on a styrofoam to-go box prank.

CultureMap spoke with Richard Tso, TAP America's executive director, about what prompted the award:

Right now we're seeing that our country is very divisive, in all pockets. We are a non-political organization really working to try to break down those barriers. We are trying to make patriotism more of an inclusive term, not just held by one group. So we found that, in the event that occurred at Petrol Station, the immediate actions that were taken by the staff there to employ sensitivity training was a good act of recognizing a need for change within an organization and acting quickly. Because they had gained national attention from the incident - that's how we found out about it - and we said, 'Wait a minute, this is great!' So we reached out to Petrol Station, and they were pleased with being awarded the honor."

Despite the award, it still seems to me that Fullelove's move is just intolerance of intolerance. And, as much as we hate to add fuel to the fire, TAP must not have seen the owner use the R-word in an apology statement earlier this week.

From now on, let's focus on the coffee beans and the micro brews.

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