SouthPark Mall vs Spivack Supporters
Simon Malls is at it again.
Many will remember the story from summer of 2009 when Loren Spivack’s “Free Market Warrior” kiosk in the Concord Mills mall was denied a lease renewal in part due to the conservative political nature of the products being sold.
Simon Malls, which runs the property, refused to comment on the situation at the time, claiming that it was simply a “landlord/tenant” matter.
These events created a national media buzz, including an appearance with Glenn Beck, and elevated Loren to the status of a conservative folk hero of sorts, despite his losing efforts to keep his business running at the mall.
Since then, Spivack has toured the country offering a two-night seminar on “Austrian School” economics still under the moniker of the “Free Market Warrior”. He has also recently published his first book, “The New Democrat”, which is a comical parody of the first two years of the Obama administration paralleling the famous children’s book “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss.
This brings us to Tuesday afternoon.
Spivack, in a move not so uncommon for authors, arranged with the Joseph Beth Booksellers at Charlotte’s SouthPark Mall, another Simon property, to host a book signing for his work.
In an effort to drive traffic to the book signing, a group of supporters decided it would be a great idea to hold signs along Sharon Road advertising the book and encouraging passersby to stop by Joseph Beth later that evening for a signed copy.
This apparently didn’t sit well with SouthPark management.
When I first arrived at the location, I pulled my car to the top of one of SouthPark’s parking garages to be close to the corner of Sharon Rd. and Fairview, where the rally participants were organizing. I was quickly approached by mall security asking if I was affiliated with the group.
I mentioned that I was a reporter and wanted to cover the event. I was told to leave the property, as it was reserved for paying customers of the mall. I offered to purchase something at the mall, but was still told that if I had anything to do with the group, that I would not be allowed to park there, regardless of mall patronage.
At this point another security officer pulled along side me in his vehicle. The first officer told the other that I was being “uncooperative”. He proceeded to radio a request for CMPD and read my license plate number over the air.
Obviously, I didn’t want any trouble. I was there to cover an event with supporters of a book. I instead drove out of the parking deck, followed by the security officer, and parked across the street instead.
I finally arrived at the rally, where half a dozen supporters of Mr. Spivack were carrying signs claiming “He’s Back” and posters advertising the book signing later that evening.
If anything, the group’s actions were encouraging people to bring business to the mall, specifically Joseph Beth.
With mall security still looking on, I spoke with Cami Bambini, whose Facebook invitation had brought several of the participants.
She told me she felt that Loren “had been wronged” by Concord Mills and was there to show support.
Then the sprinkler system was turned on.
I moved away from a blast of water and spoke with several other participants. The general consensus was that they were there to show support for Loren’s book and expressed continued antipathy for the way Simon Malls had treated him in the past.
With my time cut short due to the parking situation, I approached the security onlookers hoping for a brief discussion on what the fuss about. I introduced myself to a gentleman in a pink shirt, who was standing next to the first security guard who had approached me earlier.
I asked if he was an employee of the mall. He responded that he was “affiliated” with the mall. I asked if he had a title of some kind to clarify, to which he questioned why it would matter. I said I was simply trying to associate his position with the authority he had to remove people from the property. He responded that he hadn’t removed anyone from the property and that I needed to get my facts straight. I pointed to the security guard and said he had, in fact, removed me from the property.
At this point I was asked to leave the property.
It’s all so comical in a way.
I could understand having problems if hundreds of unannounced protesters had suddenly descended on the mall. I could understand taking offense to even a small group of protesters who were badmouthing the establishment and causing unease amongst regular patrons. Obviously, private property is just that, private. The mall is fully within it’s rights to ask people to leave.
But here we had a small, peaceful gathering of folks encouraging passersby to support free speech, buy a book, and attend a book signing at the mall.
Their only crime was apparently being affiliated with Loren Spivack.
Give it a rest, Simon.
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