“Barilla’s homophobia apology is too little, too late”

Says Salon, and I may be too late, but I’m not going to be too little.

I’ve been meaning to write this ever since I heard that Signore Barilla (I didn’t know there was a Signore attached to the name of the pasta I buy … or, rather, used to buy) announced that he, well, didn’t like gays. Homosexuality was not acceptable, as far as the signore was concerned.

And he made it clear that he felt he could say whatever he liked and that’s what he liked to say and so there, and he doesn’t care if people who object to what he likes to say won’t buy his pasta. Doesn’t care.

Immediately I knew that, whether Signore Barilla cares or not, I wasn’t going to be buying any more of his pasta. (Is this an example of biting off the nose-shaped pasta to spite his face?) It’s really good pasta, with intriguing variety. But you know, there are a lot of really good pastas on the shelves, and I’ll be finding another one. Ciao, Barilla. I won’t be putting any more money into the pocket of a man this dopey and professionally dumb.

The Daily News has been carrying some letters (from mostly Italian Americans — and, really, amici, do you not know how bad you make Italian Americans look when you say things like that and print your whole name right out there?), cheering Signore Barilla’s statement. Today, one woman kvetched about how all us liberals were mad at Barilla, who has, she proclaimed in a whiney sort of way, the right to say whatever he wants!

Well, I don’t know anything about Italian law but certainly in this country he has the right to say whatever he wants. Equally so, in this country I have such a wide choice in my foodstuffs that when I assert my right not to buy from Signore Barilla, or the Brothers Koch, or the fascist head of Ikea, I won’t have to sacrifice one ounce of edibility for my integrity.

Couldn’t be better.

UPDATE 3/17/2015. I’ve been thinking about my personal Barilla ban recently because I’ve moved to a new neighborhood, one that does not provide the immense varieties of fine pasta that the Village did.

Still, though, I want to brag about my integrity. I said I wasn’t going to buy Barilla any more and I haven’t bought Barilla since.

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