Benchmade harakiri?

Harakiri, also known as seppuku, is a ritual suicide that used to be practiced by the samurai. Benchmade knife company, for whatever reason, decided to exercise the corporate version of it.

Apparently, they assisted Oregon PD in destroying some confiscated guns. I am sure that gun destruction was mandated by law and Oregon PD had no choice, but I am opposed to such idiocy in principle since a gun is a tool and I see no compelling reason to destroy one just because some moron used it in a crime. The gun, not being a person, does not bear responsibility for that.

Naturally, once that came out, someone looked into Benchmade’s political contributions and it turned out they were stupid enough to predominantly donate to anti second amendment candidates in the last few years.

Once the shitstorm started, they issued this official statement:

SEE OFFICIAL STATEMENT BELOW:

Benchmade is aware of the recent post from our local Oregon City Police Department.
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We apologize for the confusion and concern that this post created. These were firearms that the Oregon City Police Department had to destroy in alignment with their policies. Oregon City Police requested the use of specialty equipment within the Benchmade facility to follow these requirements, and as a supporting partner of our local police force, we obliged the request.
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Benchmade is a proud and unwavering supporter of both law enforcement and Second Amendment rights. These are commitments that we do not take lightly and will continue to support well into the future.
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When asked for clarity from Oregon City Police Department, Chief Jim Band made the following statement: “When property is to be destroyed, it is the policy of the Oregon City Police Department to destroy property, including firearms, in accordance to our procedures and ORS. The Oregon City Police Department does not sell firearms.”

According a website opensecrets, here is how Benchmade has been donating to political candidates:

Since I am a firm believer that stupidity should be punished by market forces, I will retire a bunch of Benchmade knoves I own and refrain from buying them for myself or recommending them to others.

When individuals donate to politicians I do not agree with, I could not care less. When a company does, that is like them saying: “we do not give a rat’s ass about those of our customers who disagree”.

In other words, I suspect that there is enough high-fiving at Spyderco, Kershaw, etc headquarters right now that their arms will be sore for a while.