By Dan Murphy
Does President Joe Biden, or any member of his family, use a MyPillow? How about Vice-President Kamala Harris? Millions of Americans who bought a MyPillow have an intimate relationship with the product. We spend 8 hours a day with it, in our bedrooms, every night.
54 Million MyPillows have been sold by MyPillow Inc., and its owner Mike Lindell. The pillows are made in the USA, in Chaska, Minnesota, and employ 2,500 Americans with a good paying job.
Mr. Lindell’s personal story, of overcoming drug abuse, turning to Christianity, and running a multi-million-dollar company, are admirable and symbolic of the American dream.
However, that is not why as a consumer, I purchase his pillows. I bought the five or so MyPillows over the past decade because I wanted to get a good night’s sleep, and once I gave MyPillow a chance in my bed, it helped me stay asleep.
I don’t look for Mr. Lindell to give me advice on politics or on any other matter involving my personal choices. I also don’t take political advice from Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates. I like their products because they help improve my life in some way.
So I was saddened to see several retailers stop selling MyPillows at their stores. Kohl’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, J.C. Penney and Wayfair were among the biggest names to remove the pillows and other products (sheets, mattress toppers and towels), that the company now sells.
Some of these companies have cited a slowdown in sales, which is a legitimate reason, and should be the only reason, to remove any product from your store. But if Lindell’s pillows were removed from a retailer recently, the reason is not based on sales alone.
Lindell has been very vocal about his support for former President Trump, and his belief that the election was stolen from Trump. He was also seen outside of the White House with notes that read ‘impose Martial law.’ Trump never met with Lindell that day, instead he was shepherded off to speak with a Presidential aide.
Lindell has also promoted a fake cure for COVID-19, which I also take with a grain of salt. But it was his support of Trump, and his disbelief in the election of 2020, that sparked an outcry on social media and a call to boycott any store that sells MyPillows.
Two questions about this boycott and future boycotts need to be considered before the next MyPillow incident comes around, and it will. Where do you draw the line between banning a product from the American consumer, and letting that same American consumer decide not to buy that product? And second, who will make that decision for all of us?
For the vast majority of Americans, we have established that fine line when it comes to hate; we don’t want products that support the KKK or the Nazi party or joke about the Holocaust. We have no interest in permitting the sale of products that in some way does harm to someone else.
But the MyPillow case lies somewhere in the middle, with supporters of Trump supporting Mike Lindell, opponents of Trump not liking Lindell so much, and the 30% of Americans in the middle, for the most part, like his pillows and don’t really care about his politics. I fall into the last category; I didn’t vote for Trump in 2016, or 2020, nor did I vote for Hillary, or Biden. I’m a third party independent.
There is also the ‘backlash’ factor that should be considered. By giving Lindell and MyPillow so much attention, supporters of his product, and his politics, are more inclined to find and buy his products. Lindell has said as much, that so far, he’s not losing any market share so far.
And if a company bans MyPillow from their shelves, how will they be able to say no to the next protest over the next product? It’s a slippery slope and could be a dangerous precedent.
Currently, Amazon and Costco continue to sell MyPillows, and that is good for a consumer like me who wants to have the freedom to buy one if I want to. And when I buy my next MyPillow, I also have the right to ignore what he has to say about politics, or health, or anything else he wishes to opine on. He makes a good pillow that helps me sleep, and that’s all I care about.
