A small bakery in Lufkin, Texas posted a photo on social media featuring it rainbow-themed cookies along with the message, “More LOVE. Less hate. Happy Pride to all our LGBTQ friends! All lovers of cookies and happiness are welcome here.”
According to the Washington Post, the shop, called Confections, lost dozens of followers on their Facebook page. Under the photo, various people expressed their outrage that a bakery should take a political stand on the LGBTQ issue, declaring that the rainbow cookies prompted them to stop patronizing the business. One customer called to cancel her order of five dozen cookies.
“She mentioned that we had gay propaganda on our Facebook page, and she was not going to support our business as a result of that,” said Felicia Tetu, 43, one of three co-owners of the bakery. “I was just dumbfounded. I couldn’t imagine somebody hating a group of people that much.”
While conservatives have made heroes out of bakers who practice bigotry by refusing to sell cakes to gay couples, saying it was an issue of religious freedom, they apparently don’t think those same freedoms apply to people who support LGBTQ communities.
“We have a very small bakery, and every order is important to us. It has been a struggle this past year to keep our doors open,” co-owner Dawn Cooley, 45, said.
“It takes hours for us to make decorated cookies,” echoed her sister and fellow Confections co-owner, Miranda Dolder, 44, adding that the woman’s order for summer-themed cookies had already been prepared. “There’s only three of us. We’re really small.”
Cooley posted another message on Facebook to express her sadness. “Today has been hard. Really hard,” she wrote. She then explained what transpired after sharing the original image of the Pride cookies. “My heart is heavy. Honestly, I never thought a post that literally said more love less hate would result in this kind of backlash to a very small business that is struggling to stay afloat. … If you love our cookies we will have an over abundance of them tomorrow.”
Their customers responded. When the bakery opened at 10 a.m. the next day, June 3rd, customers were lined up down the block. Over the next few days, hundreds of people walked through the door of the shop, many times the typical store traffic.
“That line brought me to tears. All those people standing in the rain, waiting so patiently to buy a cookie,” Cooley said. “We just wanted to be inclusive, and it was so heartwarming to see how many people felt the same.”
The shop got messages on social media and via emails from people all over the country, some including donations to help the women running the bakery. Local patrons voiced support for the independent business voicing support for the LGBTQ community in the small, insular town of Lufkin.
At least one former Lufkin resident has vowed to have the bakery make the wedding cake for his upcoming wedding to his future husband. “It takes a lot for a small business to speak up like that and have a voice,” Jesse Roberts, 29, said. “It’s easier for big corporations to do so, but it’s inspiring to see a small business take a stand and support a disenfranchised community.”