Bigotry by Buck Rep. at Pasadena Show?

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HC Leo

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Interesting thing happened to me this afternoon at the Pasadena Knife Expo.

I came across Rick Bxxxnuvox(I cannot pronounce his last name) a representative of Buck knives who made a comment as I walked passed Buck Knives table.

"...look he's Chinese and he won't spend any money" alluding that I was there to steal designs.
A few seconds before this comment was made, he was talking to the gentleman to the right of him about Chinese manufacturing in China (the conversation alluded to theft of intellectual property) and he made that comment as I walked pass the Buck Knives table.

I am offended by this comment and I would like to hear Rick's explanation or clarification on the matter.
Stereo-typing an entire nation is narrow minded and is offensive to me.
Comments like this can only alienate the Buck Knives buying public, of whom I'm sure a large proportion are of asian descent.

I would have gladly addressed this in private to Buck Knives CEO however you do not have an email address on your contacts page.
Something like this must be addressed immediately and snail mail will not do.

(What I do find ironic is that he was selling Buck Knives manufactured in Taiwan/China and he made another comment to another person interested in a Buck Knives product that one Buck item was superior than another Buck product (one product was worth several of another)

http://www.buckknives.com/contact.php

Yours sincerely

Hilton Leo
FYI I only buy 'Made in USA'
 
I know nothing about you, Hilton, but I do see you've been a member here for a long time, and scanning a few of your past posts, you're not a trouble maker. What I'm getting at is that I will pretty much accept what you have written. I join you in waiting for a response from Buck.

Sorry you had to hear such crap.
 
Hilton-I have know Rick for a number of years and he is a really good guy!!

If he said what you claim he said, then it was just a joke...........of this I am quite certain.

I will bring this matter to his attention.............Tom
 
HC Leo said:
Interesting thing happened to me this afternoon at the Pasadena Knife Expo.

I came across Rick Bxxxnuvox(I cannot pronounce his last name) a representative of Buck knives who made a comment as I walked passed Buck Knives table.

"...look he's Chinese and he won't spend any money" alluding that I was there to steal designs.
A few seconds before this comment was made, he was talking to the gentleman to the right of him about Chinese manufacturing in China (the conversation alluded to theft of intellectual property) and he made that comment as I walked pass the Buck Knives table.

I am offended by this comment and I would like to hear Rick's explanation or clarification on the matter.
Stereo-typing an entire nation is narrow minded and is offensive to me.
Comments like this can only alienate the Buck Knives buying public, of whom I'm sure a large proportion are of asian descent.

I would have gladly addressed this in private to Buck Knives CEO however you do not have an email address on your contacts page.
Something like this must be addressed immediately and snail mail will not do.

(What I do find ironic is that he was selling Buck Knives manufactured in Taiwan/China and he made another comment to another person interested in a Buck Knives product that one Buck item was superior than another Buck product (one product was worth several of another)

http://www.buckknives.com/contact.php

Yours sincerely

Hilton Leo
FYI I only buy 'Made in USA'
Click to expand...

"Something like this must be addressed immediately and snail mail will not do"

You hit the nail right on the head with that sentence. You should have addressed the issue right then & there, face to face. Why wouldn't you? :confused:
 
2 things stand out in this post:

1: Why didn't you address it with the person who said it a the time, instead of taking it to a public forum?

2: "FYI I only buy 'Made in USA".......where was the computer you are using made?
 
I was there yesterday. I took a quick glance at the Buck table but didn't stay long. I pretty much already own all the Bucks that interest me. :D

That is an odd comment, assuming it was actually said. It might have been a joke but probably not appropriate towards a complete stranger. I can see not addressing it right then and there. Hilton might have been in shock and too deeply offended to directly confront someone on such a sensitive subject. Besides arguing in the direct vicinity of a table full of knives is not too smart.
 
Tom

Thank you for your post and words. Tom, you're good people and I trust your judgement. I would happy laugh if off as a simply misunderstanding.

Unfortunately he was not laughing when he said it and nor was I. If it was said in humour I guess I got it wrong. And 'I' was the punch-line?

:(


Mick57

I was mortified!


The Last Confederate

1. See above.
2. How does your comment aid in resolving this matter? This happens to be a knife forum. My comment pertains to knives. (I'm embarrassed for you that I had to explain this to you. :rolleyes: )
Given your choice of screen name, would it be OK for me to stereo-type you as a racist?? (rhetorical question=answer is=NO). Let's not let this thread get into a pissing match. This issue is between me and Rick and Buck Knives. So let's focus on the issue at hand.


stevekt

I can see not addressing it right then and there. Hilton might have been in shock and too deeply offended to directly confront someone on such a sensitive subject.
Click to expand...

Thank you for understanding and articulating some of the emotions I was feeling at the time.




As I have already mentioned I would have GLADLY addressed this issue in private. Buck Knives does not have an email contact on their website. And if I had waited to call on Monday I would have wussed out and left it at that.
A post like this is extremely embarrassing for ME (and I understand can be for Buck Knives as well). I will come off as some overly sensitive tree-hugging wall flower pu$$y (no offence to people of this persuasion). But 'know' me , and you will know this is NOT what I'm about.


I'm hoping that it is a misunderstanding and I can let this die. But before that can happen I need to hear a response.


Regards

Hilton Leo
 
HC Leo said:
The Last Confederate


2. How does your comment aid in resolving this matter? This happens to be a knife forum. My comment pertains to knives. (I'm embarrassed for you that I had to explain this to you. :rolleyes: )
Given your choice of screen name, would it be OK for me to stereo-type you as a racist?? (rhetorical question=answer is=NO). Let's not let this thread get into a pissing match. This issue is between me and Rick and Buck Knives. So let's focus on the issue at hand.
Click to expand...

First off, I made no comment, simply asked 2 questions.

And no, your comment did not pertain to knives, it pertained to a comment that you claim was made about you about your purchasing habits.

What the crap does my screen name have to do with the anything?

And yes, you are right, this situation is between you and Rick and Buck knives, that is until YOU posted it in this forum publicly.

Be honest, did you post it here hoping you would get a bunch of sympathy responses that you hoped would get someone from Buck to apologize to you?
 
When I first read HC's initial post, I interpreted it as an attempt to make contact with someone who works within the Buck organization. I think he said as much. Perhaps we should take him at his word and leave it at that as textoothpk suggested. I'm also anxious to hear the response from Buck. Rick may have a good reputation, but perhaps a moment of bad judgement is cause for an apology. We shall see! :(
 
i dont know rick but mabey what rick was saying was "look he's Chinese and he won't buy anything made in china" but never got to say all of it becaus you caught him in mid sentance and he might have noticed that you herd him. i meen he was just talking down about Chinese manufacturing. he might have been saying this as a joke to press his point(in a not so pc way) to the person he was talking to.
mabey he was just embaressed that you herd him and never finnished what he was saying.

this is the impression i got from your post.

..justin
 
The Last Confederate

I'm guessing you're having a problem with the english language...

Question 2. Your question was rhetorical not so? Alluding that my computer is made in Asia, correct? Hence by deduction you made a 'comment'. 'Comment or question' you're obviously splitting hairs and grasping at air.

What the crap does my screen name have to do with the anything?
Click to expand...

Mmm, so how does it feel when the shoe is on the other foot? (rhetorical question again). Try to keep up and re-read my previous comment. Your screen-name has nothing to do with anything, I could care less. Yet you became defensive when I mentioned it and it's connotations. Do I see a double standard? (rhetorical question again). You felt slighted? But you refuse to allow me an opportunity to voice my concerns? Please read posts in their entirety before making a statement, getting it wrong and looking like a fool.


Out of respect for other forum members I refuse to engage in future debate with someone (The Last Confederate) who is obviously ignorant. (Webster dictionary translation: lacking comprehension ). And who is insitent in getting into a pissing match.


Mike
Thank you for being a voice of reason and rational thought.


justice
I've looked at it from all angles and that's the only POSITIVE spin I can put on his comments. And I agree it's quite plausible but an odd thing to say and assume about a complete stranger.


To prevent the suffering of persons lacking comprehension(would not want to confuse them further) I will not reply to this thread any longer save for responding to Rick of Buck Knives.
 
HC Leo said:
To prevent the suffering of persons lacking comprehension(would not want to confuse them further) I will not reply to this thread any longer save for responding to Rick of Buck Knives.
Click to expand...

Been a long weekend for this thread. For what little it is worth, I think Hilton made the right move in not confronting Rick (whoever he is) in public. Seeking to contact Buck (this Rick's employer) was exactly the right move. And since it was impossible to contact Buck directly, it does not seem out of line to me to bring things to a head here.

Some might say I have no dog in this fight. That's not true. We all do.

Phil
 
ZZJake said:
HC Leo, you shouldn't talk about being ignorant, I think you're just rude in general.
Click to expand...

Thank You ZZjake, I would like to ask anyone here to point to ANY time when I called HC Leo ANY names or insulted him personally, as he has done repeatedly to me?
 
textoothpk said:
Been a long weekend for this thread. For what little it is worth, I think Hilton made the right move in not confronting Rick (whoever he is) in public. Seeking to contact Buck (this Rick's employer) was exactly the right move. And since it was impossible to contact Buck directly, it does not seem out of line to me to bring things to a head here.

Some might say I have no dog in this fight. That's not true. We all do.

Phil
Click to expand...

Gotta disagree with you on this one Phil, but that's what makes us human. Everyone handles things in their own way. All I know is, if a derogatory comment is made about me, then you can bet I'd find out then & there why it was said. As far as I'm concerned, if the comment was made in public, then I find nothing wrong about resolving it in public. (or somewhere aside in private, if that's what you prefer) And just so I'm clear, I'm certainly not talking about fistacuffs here...simple conversation should resolve things, as it can in most cases) Would being mortified stop me? Just the opposite. It would actually motivate me to find out then & there why this person said what he did. I could never just walk away from someone because I was mortified by what he said about me. But that's me & not meant to be a putdown of HC Leo. I mean, I would have to find out immediately if this comment was made in jest & I mistook it for something else. And maybe that's all it was. Maybe it wasn't. I couldn't sleep on it not knowing. I'd personally be more pissed at myself for walking away from a potentially serious matter. Again, that's just me.
HC Leo....hope you get it resolved. And let's hope it was just a poor attempt at humor.
 
I think the right thing to do is a mod step in and lock this before it gets further out of hand and Buck representatives investigate and get back to HC.
 
one point I want to make is that buck may not be the direct employer of Rick. Some of the Buck reps I've seen at shows are actually employees of a firm specializing in representing manufacturers. I can't remember the name of the firm right now, but I also would like to hear from Buck on this issue.
 
HC

Let me look into this. It was just brought to my attention this morning.

Let me say that I am sorry your weekend knife show took such a wrong turn.

I know Rick and it sounds like a little blurb of a conversation taken out of context from his intended audience. He does not remain successful by routinely offending people...

I will contact Rick and post something in reply for him.

For the balance of you all...lets give this thread a rest for a while. HC was offended at a remark and brought it to our attention. End of story.

You may not have thought so anyways but please rest assured there is no Asian bigotry tolerated (or in evidence) at Buck.

cj
 
I'll throw my 2 cents in and then take Dave's advice and try to lock this thread down. Never done that before so hopefully i wont bugger it up!

The situation that HC described concerns me and I would like to get it resolved quickly. I think it would be best to get Rick and HC together on the phone but we will see. I am guessing that he is one of our independant reps or possibly a dealer so I have some research to do to find him. Sounds like Tom Mayo knows him so that will help. I believe there are two sides to every story but regardless of the intention of Rick's comment, HC was offended. I am hoping it was not intended as such and we will be able to get it all resolved.
HC, please send me an email so we can keep in contact with this ok?

My take on where this whole thread has gone IMHO, points to the major malfunction of this type of communication method. Its hard to discern emotion in a typed letter. We are forced to try to guess if the sender was sending us a "dig" or maybe just did not pick the best words to communicate their point. Also, it is easier to "say" something in an email that we would never say to someone's face. I would bet money that if all contributors to this thread were in a room talking about the incident face to face, all would leave on friendly terms. I may be totally wrong with this but i have a lot of faith in the folks i have run into on this forum.
Now please bear with me as I try to lock 'er down...
 
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