Posted on 07/26/2022 1:49:14 PM PDT by gitmo
A Rhode Island sports bar apologized on Monday after sharing a meme on Facebook making light of Anne Frank’s death at the hand of the Nazis.
“It’s hotter than an oven out there… and I should know,” read the Atlantic Sports and Bar’s Friday post over a picture of teenage German-Dutch diarist Anne Frank, who was killed by the Nazis in 1945. The post was seeking to make a joke about the heatwave rolling through Rhode Island.
The restaurant came under immediate criticism from social media users, some of whom called for a boycott of the restaurant until it issued an apology.
“Wow a racist pit,” wrote Facebook user Amy Ann on an unrelated post on the restaurant’s page. “Don’t patronize until they apologize.”
The local ABC news affiliate said the restaurant took down the post several hours after publishing it and claimed that the employee behind it was not aware of who Anne Frank was.
Published in 1947, “The Diary of Anne Frank” remains one of the most widely read books on the Holocaust to this day and has been translated to over 70 languages.
Two days after taking it down, the restaurant issued an apology saying that the post was “poorly thought out and we realize that it was incredibly inappropriate and does not reflect our values as members of our community.
“There is no excuse for the sharing of this post, and there is nothing we can do to rectify it, all we can do now is offer our deepest apology to those who were rightfully hurt by our actions. The Atlantic Restaurant prides itself on being a tolerant, inclusive and safe space for all people.”
The restaurant vowed to be more vigilant in vetting posts moving forward and thanked the community for its “outpouring of support, as well as the outpouring of rightful criticism.”
“This will certainly be a teachable moment for our team,” the restaurant added in a statement published by the local ABC affiliate.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the bar’s Facebook page appeared to have been taken down.
If the guy didn’t know who Anne Frank was, then his post made no sense. He knew.
I mean did they think that was funny? I mean I don’t mind dark humor, but at least be funny about it.
Didn’t she actually die from typhusDidn’t she actually die from typhus
Anne Frank died of disease, likely typhus. She was not gassed and cremated.
Stupid as well as tasteless, not a great advertisement for their business.
Only a sick racist would get a kick out of a poor murdered girl
And they weren’t alive when they went into the ovens anyway.
Social media: a minefield for morons.
She died of dysentery.
I don’t understand the restaurant. If you don’t know who Anne Franke was how is it funny?
If you do know who Anne Franke was how is it funny?
Maybe a picture of a Chef like Gordon Ramsay and a take off of his Hell’s Kitchen would make sense but I can’t figure out much that would make sense
What kind of drugs make you say something that horrible?
“I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met,”
-Anne Frank
What? Too soon?
Completely clueless
Alcohol from the bar
The restaurant poster was probably one of the seasonal moose limbs working over in Newport.
There's not a whole lot that offends me, although I don't tend to appreciate shock humor, but there's nothing even vaguely clever, much less funny about this.
If the guy wants to make an a$$ out of himself, hats off to him. Let folks know just what he is.
Looks like a good candidate for an episode of "Bar Rescue".
You might have a point.
She died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen just weeks before it was liberated.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.