Salt City Tattoo
What was the Accusation?
On December 21, 2017, a local Salt Lake City tattoo parlor came under intense scrutiny because its owner, David “Day” May, posted on social media an image of a “rape kit” that one of his employees had brought as a white elephant gift to the company’s Christmas party. The caption read: “Dakota made a rape kit for white elephant” and was accompanied by three laughing face emojis and an image which has since been taken down. The “rape kit” included duct tape, rope, a knife, leather gloves, and a bottle of lubricant. When people saw the post and the image, they were not amused. One person said: “As a woman, and just as a human being with actual empathy who understands that rape isn’t a joke, this is absolutely appalling. I’ll be encouraging anyone I know to avoid Salt City Tattoo and take their business elsewhere, to a shop that doesn’t make a joke of a violent, horrific crime.” In response, May posted an apology saying he was ashamed of himself, there was “no excuse” and that the employee who brought the gift had been fired. He also asked for suggestions about how he could make the situation right. When local activists tried to call him or bring letters to his business with suggestions for sensitivity training, a zero-tolerance policy for rape culture, and volunteering to help survivors of sexual assault, they received no response from May.
Key Apologia Strategies:
Mortification, Corrective Action,
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Transcript
Sources
Carter, W. (2017, December 21). Salt Lake tattoo shop receives online backlash from ‘rape kit’ post. KSL TV, Retrieved from: https://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=46222303
Miller, J. (2017, December 22). “˜Rape kit”™ party gift sparks outrage against Salt Lake City tattoo parlor. Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved from: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/12/22/rape-kit-party-gift-sparks-outrage-against-salt-lake-city-tattoo-parlor/
Seven S. (2017, December 25). Dak Case and his homemade “rape kit” ““ Salt City Tattoo. The Inked Nerd. Retrieved from: http://theinkednerd.com/2017/12/25/dak-case-and-his-homemade-rape-kit-salt-city-tattoo/