American Standard: What We Talk About When We Talk About HON™

by Benn Ray

As Baltimore's HON™troversy marches insistently into week #3, I'd like take a moment to point out a few things I've noticed about the fascinating conversation we, as a city/state/region, are having over private ownership of a public concept.

My comments here are motivated by a desire to make this discussion a productive one.

1. Get your facts straight. I've seen a number of factually inaccurate things said about the Cafe HON and its owner. When you continue to propagate inaccuracies, you continue to corrupt the conversation, and you make your perspective look like one based on ignorance. Sure what you're saying might feel right, and it may be something that you have "heard," but take a moment to read about what you're talking about before repeating inaccurate gossip.

2. Stay on topic. The conversation is whether or not the owner of the Cafe HON has a legitimate claim on the word and concept of "Hon". The quaility of the restaurant itself has nothing to do with the conversation. I've eaten there many times in the past and my meals were always fine. I've never had a problem with service. In fact, there are other restaurants that I continue to frequent on a regular basis where I have had unpleasant food and service experiences. Highly subjective and poorly written amateur restaurant critiques have nothing to do with whether or not the word and concept of "HON" should be removed from the public domain for exclusive, private, for-profit use.

3. Avoid mean, unnecessary, vicious personal attacks. I've seen horrible, horrible things said about the owner of the Cafe HON. I understand this is an emotional issue for some folks. As a community, we feel like something has been taken from us and that makes us angry. But calling people names makes you look bad and it chases away supporters. I know of several women, for example, who are not happy about the word HON being trademarked, but they really don't feel comfortable agreeing with those irrationally angry about it because they see people levelling hateful, gender-based bile at the female owner of the Cafe HON. This might be weird to some of us, especially the dudes, but I know some women who still bristle at criticism of Courtney Love. We may not get it, but we should be aware of it. Mean, vicious, personal attacks marginalize your argument, chase off possible supporters, and can seem sexist.

4. All press is good press. I personally don't subscribe to that maxim, but others do. And admittedly, there is something to the thinking behind it. So when you change your name to "HON" on Facebook, when you make HON parody stickers or HON protest images, keep in mind that to a certain extent that you are actively advertising for the party that has offended you.

5. Don't blame Hampden for this mess. I've seen a number of people leaving nasty comments about the whole neighborhood of Hampden as a result of this HONtroversy. I've seen "Fuck Hampden" type comments in numerous places. Hampden has nothing to do with this situation and is not responsible for the actions of the owner of the Cafe HON. She is not operating in any official capacity as a Hampden representative. The owner of the Cafe HON is a remarkably sharp business person. She trademarked HON because she believes it is in the best interest of her business. Period. She may try to spin it, she may try to bring Hampden into this controversy by saying she's trying to get road signs, parking garages or bus routes, but if none of those things would directly benefit her business, she wouldn't be mentioning them. Don't blame Hampden.

6. Boycotts 101. You can't boycott a place you never really went to in the first place. This is an attempt to make yourself feel like you're doing something by doing nothing. And if you never went there, boycotting the place is not a sacrifice. Sure you can protest. You can picket. You can march in front of the Cafe HON. You can hand out anti-HON stickers to patrons coming and going. See, these are ACTIVE forms or protest. But if you never really patronized the business, you're not boycotting it by continuing to not go there.

7. Try to understand a little bit of what a trademark is. Just because the word HON has been trademarked, that doesn't mean you're not allowed to say it, or type it. I know there are few things more confusing than trademark and copyright law, but learn a little about what you're commenting on.

8. Educate others. Every June, when HONfest rolls around, numerous people like to explain to me (as if I don't understand it) how this HON thing is classist and offensive. It seems to me, for those who feel that way, that this would be a great opportunity to educate many, many other people who are completely unaware that there's any issue whatsoever with the Hon image.

9. Don't misquote. When you are using what others have said and are saying about this HON stuff, make sure you are not misquoting people simply because it fits your argument.

10. You can't have your cake and eat it to. You can't argue that "this HON thing is tired and played out" and that the owner of the Cafe HON doesn't have a claim to the trademark. When you argue it's played out, you are essentially supporting the claim of the owner of the Cafe HON that she has worked hard to nurture this brand. You are also saying you don't care about this HON stuff. And if you don't care about this HON stuff, who cares if it's trademarked? See?

Whew. Okay.

I grew up in Glen Burnie and Pasadena. I moved to Norfolk, VA for a year. Then I lived in Salisbury, MD for 7 years. In 1993 I moved back to Baltimore. To Fells Point, to be exact.

When growing up, I had waitresses call me "hon" all the time. It was so common, I wasn't aware of it until I moved away and came back.

After moving to Baltimore, when I'd come and go from the city, I'd see the word "HON" placed on the BW Parkway sign and feel a weird sense of pride about that. "Here is," I thought, "something that makes my city unique. And it's so important that someone is willing to continue a sustained act of vandalism to make a point."

Friends from out of town would regularly visit me. Somethimes they'd notice the sign. And then, when we'd have breakfast at Jimmy's and the waitress would inevitably call one of us "hon," it would click with the sign and they'd ask me about it. And I'd explain to them that "hon" is a term of endearmant used predominantly by the Baltimore-Metropolitan Area working class women. My friends would always think that was kind of cool, and it was. It was sort of a nice, unique hometown character trait that impressed the tourists.

I had no idea that nearly 20 years later a local business person would try to take the word out of the public domain for private commercial use. I'm not sure it would have made any difference then, and I'm not sure what will happen as a result of the actions on the part of the owner of the Cafe HON now.

And when I drive past the BW Parkway sign and notice a "HON" affixed to it (a couple weeks ago, I noticed the "HON" was back on the sign), I don't feel pride. I just feel sad. Oddly, a litte embarrassed. And mildly annoyed.

That being said, I think I should announce that I have trademarked: Mobtown, Shank and Mobtown Shank.

For further HONtroversy reading:

No One Owns Hon Facebook Group
Reign of Dundalk "Hon" Extends Well Past 2009 - Dundalk Eagle
FOX45 Story
Baltimore Brew story
Baltimore Hontroversy And The Ghosts of Hampden Future - Cartoon
Baltimore Hontroversy Remix- Cartoon
Baltimore Hontroversy Meta Mix Final Cut- Cartoon
Want To Go To Cafe Hon- Cartoon
Hon Protest - Sunday - Baltimore Sun
Smile, Hon, You're In Baltimore - call for submissions
Where Do I Send The "HON" Royalties Check? - Baltimore Sun Editorial
Friends In Low Places - Baltimore Or Less
The Honslaught Continues - Baltimore City Paper
Sorry, Hon: It's Trademarked: Cafe Owner Owns Rights To Word - Baltimore Sun
Cafe Hon - Trip Advisor review siteAlternatives to Cafe Hon - The Baltimore Chop
The Best Thing To Happen To Baltimore - Gutter Magazine
Baltimore City Harshly Punishes Heinous Hon Infringements - The Ro Fo
A Statement from our GM about the Trademarking of the word Hon - WTMD
Attila the Hon: A “Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore!” Editorial - Baltimore Or Less
Whiting: Hon trademark taken out of context - Baltimore Sun
Hon Trademark
A modest defense of Denise Whiting - The Baltimore Sun
The 'hon' kerfuffle - The Baltimore Sun
Unclean! Unclean! - The Baltimore City Paper
Hometown Girl on The Avenue in Hampden to reopen as HONtown - The Baltimore Messenger
Cafe Hon owner defends herself against criticism that she trademarked the word 'hon' for financial gain - The Baltimore Messenger
Hon trademarks would be hard to challenge - The Baltimore Messenger

(photo by sugarfreak)

Comments

[John Frizzera]

Benn, well thought out and presented. too bad most people will not follow one iota of your advice.

I have Baltimore working class roots and "hon" was always part of that environment.

I'm not a lawyer, but i don't see how this would ever stand up to a serious legal challenge.

Finally, this woman may be a sharp business person, but her comments in the original story made her seem greedy, snotty and elitist.

[Muriel Pritchett]

I thought the restaurant was okay and I never went to the Honfest but there's a slew of festivals in the city so what the heck. But now it's beginning to feel like the intention is to turn the avenue into some sort of Colonial Williamsburg of kitsch.

I think the uproar over the trademarking of Hon is a lightning rod for the fact that the entire Hon Routine has crossed the line from "local business based on silly fun idea" to "attempted empire building based on silly fun idea". Cotton candy is fun, too, but if fed a constant diet of it one begins to realize it is nothing but a lot of air wrapped in a disgustingly sweet package.

[Charmless]

counterpoint: this isn't purely outrage at a single act, but the straw that broke the camel's back in re a woman who has been going out of her way to garner ill will from the community for some time now

it's not JUST about her or her awful tourist trap restaurant and it's not JUST about the goofy trademark filing- it's both

[counterpoint#2]

I agree with Counterpoint and do not care for Benn Ray's sanctimonious, smug tone.

[Benn Ray]

John: I agree. I don't think this trademark would withstand a challenge.

Muriel: I totally understand what you're saying.

Charmless: That isn't a counterpoint at at all. I'd call that an additional point I would not disagree with. This trademark issue exists within a larger context that for many was the tipping point. Agreed.

Counterpoint#2: My tone was rational. If you found my tone "sanctimonious, smug", you're proving my point about the way this discussion has devolved.

[Outside looking in]

I agree with John; this is a good, rational, intelligent post. People are letting emotions get in the way of facts and take them well beyond the core issue. Further, a good chunk of what people are railing against is misunderstanding, I believe, and online ranting isn't getting any closer to resolving it. I would love to see some elucidation from someone with knowledge of trademark law. Anyone?

[counterpoint#2]

To say that your tone is "sanctimonious and smug" is not to imply that it is not rational, I do not know how you equate the two. That logic is faulty, just like your 10th point.

I am "proving your point about the way this conversation has devolved?" Please, if this is your argument, it means that you cannot handle anyone disagreeing with you or not liking what you have to say, or in my case, how you said it. No one is universally loved: not all will agree with you or like what you have to say (or the way you say it). In other words, you can't have your cake and eat it, too.

[counterpoint #2]

"You can't argue that "this HON thing is tired and played out" and that the owner of the Cafe HON doesn't have a claim to the trademark."

Yes you can. Just because she played it out does not mean that she has a right to the trademark---she doesn't. And you can still think that it is "played out" and care about the fact that she is a word that should be in the public domain and a word that should not be used to demean working class women.

[counterpoint#2]

One more point: most everyone is familiar with the word "boycott", you do not need to define it for them or chastise them for "boycotting" something that they have never patronized. If people have never eaten there because they were put off by the place, or for whatever reason, so what? They know that they are technically not boycotting from past actions, but will not eat there in the future, therefore they are participating in the boycott by not going in the future.

Again, much of the above smug "tsk-tsk"ing above just shows that there are some who have appointed themselves guardians of this movement. While some of your points are spot on (know the facts, avoid sexist attacks, Hampden is not to blame) and worth reading and sharing, we can all do without your sanctimony.

Understand that a movement contains many types of people with many different views united by one idea (the trademarking of "HON" is wrong) and refrain from being so arrogant when you encounter those views.

[InsaneBaltimore]

I agree that some of the hatred comes from people not understanding the trademark process. On the other hand, it does come out as if she's trying to own a part of local history and culture (whether real or manufactured).

For me, well, when she got her flamingo back up last year, I saw her outside the cafe and I crossed the road to congratulate her.

Maybe the outpour of support from people like me over Flamingo-gate has made her feel like the invincible queen of Hampden? Between the pro-Wal-Mart op-ed, the expansion of HonFest, buying Hometown Girl (actually, did she own that before? I'm not sure about that), and now the Hontreversy, I feel like she's decided to go all-in here. Protesting against Pottersville seems like a good thing to do around Christmas.

(By the way, I've just trademarked Flamingo-gate and Hontroversy)