Radio Shack: Free gun with your Dish Network

Culture is a strange thing. Elements that appear normal in one culture--say, drinking a beer on the street when you're as old as 20--are reviled in another.

So one has to accept that pockets of humanity see the world in their own way.

However, a promotion by Radio Shack in Hamilton, Mont., might move one or two people to move there just to benefit from its full-bore imaginative core.

For the Ravalli Republic reportsthat the Radio Shack Super Store in Hamilton has a very fine sign of the times outside its store.

It reads:"PROTECT YOURSELF WITH DISH NETWORK SIGN UP NOW GET FREE GUN."

I know that in certain parts of America (slightly less so the rest of the world) guns are a huge incentive. They make the owner feel safer and, somehow, just a little bigger. And this isn't even the first technologically-inspired gun giveaway. A couple of years ago, a Missouricardealeroffered a free AK-47 with every vehicle sold.

Will people be shooting at flying satellite dishes?

(Credit:CC Roblisameehan/Flickr)

But somehow Dish Network is supposed to be a family-friendly value proposition. And to entice customers with guns seems not quite so family-friendly in an era in which people tend to misuse guns with such unfamily-friendly regularity.

Still, as the Hamilton Radio Shack owner, Steve Strand, told the Ravalli Republic:"I think it really, really fits the Bitterroot Valley."

Some may feel that gun ownership does, indeed, have bitter roots. But Strand, who claims the promotion has increased his business threefold since its inception in October, explained that customers do have to enjoy a background check once they receive their armored gift certificate. (Which is valid for a Hi Point 380 pistol or a 20-gauge shotgun)

He seems keen to add some cultural perspective."You'd be surprised how many women are interested in guns,"he told the Republic. Especially, it seems, women in their 60s and 70s.

He did admit, however, that Dish Network wasn't entirely armed with joy at news of this promotion.

Still, once this promotional volley is done, there will be another one coming down the pass. Yes, very soon, you'll be able to get a gun with your Direct TV purchase at this Radio Shack.

Though some might still struggle with the cultural roots of this inspiration, I am sure the Direct TV promotion will, again, be a shot in the arm for business.

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