by Glenn R. Jackson
Last week the American Reformation Project joined with many gun-owners and 2nd Amendment groups to question Dell Computer Corporation’s handling of a computer sale to Jack Weigand, owner of the company Weigand's Combat Firearms. What was the issue?
Dell Computer blocked the sale of a computer to Mr. Weigand due to the use of the word “combat” in his company’s name. This is part of the policy that Dell follows, as well as presumably other companies, in order to comply with U.S. export laws and to ensure domestic sales are not improperly transferred. In following this policy Dell proceeded to drop the ball on the customer service side by not completing the remainder of that policy and contacting Mr. Weigand to ask four questions in order to reinstate his order. Michael Dell stipulates all of this in his initial letter, and then follow-up letter from Sr. VP Tom Green, to Mr. Weigand, Dell customers, and concerned groups. Those letters are included below.
Of course Dell’s letters were issued in damage control mode as this incident had widely been viewed as deliberately aimed at gun-owners and gun-owner rights. I am convinced that this was not a new policy, nor that it was deliberately aimed at the 2nd Amendment.
No, what burned Dell Computer was the blind and unthinking following of Politically Correct thinking. Dell Computer, in following what they are advised are the requirements of U.S. export laws, implemented a process to comply with those laws that “hard-coded” political correctness into their order process. The sad fact is that they are hardly alone.
In implementing their process for restricting sales of technology “to terrorists and to people in countries that support terrorism” Dell has adopted a key word list. To ferret out those people who might purchase their technology to “use…in developing biological or nuclear weapons” Dell has automated the export compliance order scan process. Examples of key words that Dell will scan for to “comply” with U.S. export laws are “combat”, “nuclear”, "missile" and presumably “terrorist”, terrorism, and any of those “death to” statements.
Now if I were trying to obtain technology for terrible ends I do not think I would approach Dell with a company name like “Combat and Nuclear Missile Terror, Inc.”. Of course Mr. Weigand, as a law abiding American citizen exercising his right to conduct business in a free country (well maybe free) chose to tell you right up front what his business was about, i.e. “Combat Firearms”. Naturally as a law abiding American he was snared in the trap laid for terrorist.
Dell was also snared, but in a Politically Correct trap of their own devising.
Actually Dell is not alone in this Political Correctness lunacy. The Federal government and the nation’s airlines are themselves deeply engaged in the same lunacy with their newly enacted “eeney-meeney-miney-mo” Airport Security plan. Surely there are more “pop-culture” adherents out there following this plague of political correctness.
The question for Dell Computer is, now that you have explained the policy, how are you going to change the implementation of that policy to ACTUALLY support U.S. export laws and stop sales to real domestic terror front groups?
Here is my suggestion.
Recognize that scanning for words in a company name that will tip you to bad people is dumber than dirt. Bad people or at least the terrorist support groups in this country use names like:
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development – a group that for years represented itself as one of the good guys, while funneling money to terror groups like Hamas. This group’s assets were frozen by the Federal government.
The University of South Florida’s Islamic studies program, whose director left the U.S. for Syria where he assumed the leadership role in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Hate groups that might misuse Dell technology are even found in the most innocent of settings like the Al-Qalam All-Girls school in Springfield, VA. Where FoxNews reports that seventh graders are taught that bin Laden is “ a victim of American’s biased views”. Or maybe its in the Islamic Saudi Academy outside of Washington D.C., where the same Fox story reports that the Washington Post finds juniors being taught “the Day of Judgment can’t come until Jesus Christ returns to earth, breaks the cross and converts everyone to Islam, and until Muslims start attacking Jews.”
Could Dell Computer or any American company know about these groups and their associations? Probably not, but the Federal government does know or is at least learning who they are. This data must be shared immediately with American companies who might be targets for scams to deliver technology to terrorist groups.
Dell Computer and Michael Dell have considerable influence. There is no better way to use that influence and to demonstrate with deeds their commitment to the U.S. and their customers then to be instrumental in building a political consensus for a cooperative real-time information system for U.S. companies and the U.S. government to use in screening technology transfers. The time is now to dump the perception over reality of political correctness and to move to a reality-based system to manage technology sales.
It is time to throw political correctness into the trash bin before it becomes the doom of us all.
Glenn R. Jackson is Chairman of the American Reformation Project, former State Chairman for Buchanan Reform and former state Chairman of the Georgia Freedom Party. Glenn also served on the Executive Committee of the Reform Party USA. Glenn holds an MA in Philosophy from Georgia State University in Atlanta.
© Glenn R. Jackson
2/28/02
To Our Valued Customers and Friends:
U.S. export laws restrict the sale of technology to terrorists and to people in countries that support terrorism. These laws also prohibit computer sales to people who will use the technology in developing biological or nuclear weapons. Dell strictly complies with our country's export laws in order to ensure the safety of our customers and citizens around the world. When there is reasonable cause for concern, we carefully review customer orders for prohibited destinations and activities.
When additional follow-up on an order is required, our sales representatives ask our customers four basic questions:
1. Who is the end-user?
2. Where will the product be used?
3. What will the product be used for?
4. What type of business or industry is involved?
The answers to these questions, like all customer information we gather, are confidential and are not shared outside of Dell.
We recently received an order from a customer whose company name included the word "combat." We cancelled the order to give us enough time to follow up with the customer and be assured that the sale would be in compliance with U.S. export law. However, we failed to contact the customer, and as a result, we did not deliver the order as promised, and the customer did not know why. Once we discovered our error, we apologized to the customer for this misunderstanding, as well as the inconvenience caused by the delay. This is not the service standard that we hold ourselves to at Dell, and if I were a customer who'd received similar treatment, I would be very disappointed.
We at Dell feel a strong obligation to uphold our federal law, but we have just as strong an obligation to be responsive to the needs of all our customers. I want to assure you that Dell does not discriminate against any business, regardless of the products or services they sell, nor do we discriminate against individual consumers. We do, however, sometimes make mistakes - as we did in this case.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Michael Dell
_____________________________________________________
March 4, 2002
Dear Valued Customers and Friends:
We appreciate the opportunity to clarify the facts regarding a customer issue reported in the media and Dell’s position on political or social issues that many of you care deeply about.
Regarding Handgun Rights/Handgun Control….
Dell is a publicly-traded, customer-focused company with customers, shareholders and employees on both sides of many public, social and political issues. Our place is to serve our customers rather than to endorse or support one position over another in public debates outside the scope of our industry.
We do not discriminate against any business, regardless of the products or services they sell, nor do we discriminate against individual customers. We do, however, respect the right of any organization or individual to have their own point of view. We follow all laws, rules and regulations.
Regarding allegations that Dell supports Handgun Control organizations through the Dell Affiliates program…
Dell as a company remains neutral on handgun rights and handgun control. Dell customers can support causes and organizations, if they choose, through Dell’s affiliates program and charitable websites such as igive.com and progressivefunds.com. These sites feature links to Dell’s website. Dell’s affiliates program provides a way for customers to support the cause or organization of their choice through their Dell purchases. Affiliate participants, such as igive.com and progressivefunds.com, include organizations and causes on different sides of nearly every social issue.
Some of the organizations participating through Dell affiliates such as igive.com and progressivefunds.com., promote handgun rights, others promote handgun control. Handgun Control Inc. (HCI) has been reported as one organization that participates in this program. Others including The Gun Owners Foundation and the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners Foundation, Inc. also participate through Dell affiliate igive.com.
The only organizations prohibited from participating in Dell’s affiliates program are those that promote sexually explicit material; promote violence; promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age; or promote illegal activities.
Regarding the assertion that Dell cancelled Mr. Jack Weigand’s order for a notebook computer because of his firearm association…
We made a mistake. Mr. Weigand’s order was improperly cancelled because we did not gather the additional information required by U.S. law to process his order. Dell flagged Mr. Weigand’s order (initiated under his company name Weigand’s Combat Firearms) for additional follow-up (and then we failed to do so) because of the word “combat” in his company name. This internal control is in place to ensure that a domestic purchase is not redirected to an end user for a prohibited use (such as the creation and development of weapons of mass destruction) or to a country that has been restricted from receiving U.S. technology exports (such as Libya, Syria, Iran and Iraq). This due diligence is required by U.S. law. We also review orders for words such as “nuclear,” “missile,” and “plutonium.” Dell’s process excludes reviews for “guns” or “firearms.”
The mistake was ours because we failed to follow our process. We failed to call Mr. Weigand for information that would have satisfied legal requirements and ultimately would have resulted in completion of Mr. Weigand’s transaction. We have apologized for this mistake directly to Mr. Weigand. We have tried to make it right with our customer by offering him a free computer for his trouble and inconvenience.
Dell has many customers and employees who are handgun owners and enthusiasts. We know that gun owners and advocates, such as Mr. Weigand, are law abiding Americans, and as such, can understand and appreciate our efforts to comply with American export laws, while serving all customers.
We have heard from many of you over the last few days, and we appreciate the opportunity to speak with you directly about these issues. Your relationships with us, and your feedback about our products and services are crucial to our success.
Sincerely,
Tom Green
Senior Vice President,
Law and Administration
Dell Computer Corporation