S.E. Cupp Backs Hunters in Credit Card Photo Dispute With Capital One
Lou Hinger thought it sounded simple enough. Her bank had invited her to “express herself.” It was part of Capital One’s “Express Yourself” credit card campaign, whereby account holders upload a fun photo of themselves, or anything else they want, and it will appear on a personalized Capital One credit card.
Because Lou and her husband Frank of Hamburg, New Jersey, are avid hunters, she thought what better than to upload a photo of Frank, dressed in his hunting gear, posing with a beautiful buck he had taken last hunting season.
But when Capital One received the Hingers’s photo, well, apparently it wasn’t quite up to snuff.
Lou received an email that said, in part:
“Sorry, we were unable to approve the image you submitted. We will not approve any images that contain the following: ‘Violence, hatred, or cruelty to humans or animals, profanity, obscenities or any type of death imagery.’”
If that sounds frightening, it was. Shocked and offended that her bank thought her, her husband and her children “violent and cruel” for participating in a time-honored and entirely lawful sport, she tried calling Capital One to get some clarification. What did that mean? What was so violent or obscene about her husband’s photo — a photo that is undoubtedly repeated in millions of homes across the country? The kind of photo that US presidents, generals and famous leaders from around the world have posed for?
She got no answer.
The Hingers, like many Americans, hunt to feed their family. Especially when times are tight, thousands of Americans turn to hunting for sustenance. I should point out that thousands of homeless persons also depend on hunters for sustenance, through one of the many venison donation programs around the country.
Despite the liberal media’s frequent portrayal of hunters, the Hingers are not vigilantes running around the woods with a shot gun for kicks, or to satiate a gnawing blood lust. They hunt lawfully and respectfully, both because it’s an American tradition and it puts meat in the freezer.
“We are livid,” Hinger told the NRA’s Hunters Rights blog, “as we are God-serving Americans who hunt to feed our family. In these economic times our family is fed by hunting, and it’s horrible to be associated with words like ‘hatred or violence.’”
When I spoke to Lou and Frank, they told me how much hunting meant to them, how serious they are about it, and how humanely they take their deer.
But for Capital One, the idea of deer hunting is apparently too violent for that company’s sensitive palate. You know Capital One, right? They have those commercials where wild-eyed vikings and barbarians run around with medieval weapons like spears and battle axes and catapults, throwing farm animals around and, well, joking about violence?
Like this one.
Or this one.
Or this one.
Now these commercials are obviously meant to be funny. And they are. Anyone who finds them offensive should probably stick to CSPAN and the Weather Channel, and get their sense of humor checked out.
But they are also, well, kind of violent. In one of the commercials a live human being is shot at from a catapult! In another a child sits on Santa’s lap with a battle axe! In another a horse is flung into the air!
If Capital One has issues with violence, their commercials violate their own standards. There is nothing violent about lawful hunting.
I talked to the NRA about this. J.R. Robbins is managing editor of NRAHuntersRights.org, and he was not amused by Capital One’s implication that the Hingers’ past time was somehow inappropriate.
“Number one, they just called 14.9 million law-abiding American hunters violent or cruel,” said Robbins. “Number two, there are laws against cruelty to animals and hunting doesn’t violate them. And number three, hunting is a legal activity that funds most wildlife conservation, game management and research efforts in this country.”
Robbins also took issue with the way the bank handled the situation, saying, “Capital One’s reluctance to talk to the Hingers about this incident is just bad customer service and bad business.”
I also talked to Capital One spokesperson Pam Girardo this morning. She was familiar with the incident and had this to say:
“Capital One has a broad customer base with diverse interests and we are pleased to offer our cardholders the opportunity to personalize their card. We do in fact accept hunting images and have many cardholders with such imagery on their cards. In this case, the photo was too graphic. We invite this cardholder to either submit an alternate image or crop the current image.”
Capital One told the NRA that the photo in question was not the original photo the Hingers sent in, and that the original photo “showed blood.“ Robbins concedes that ”the image on our site was cropped to eliminate a slightly distracting portion of another deer hanging in the background.”
The point is this: I don’t care if there was a gut pile in the photo. Classifying hunters as violent and cruel is unacceptable.
Furthermore, I’m not sure how Capital One thinks deer are hunted. With kittens? Pillow feathers? Marshmallows?
Unless they’re bionic deer, they bleed when they are shot. That’s the reality of hunting. Incidentally, fish bleed when they are caught, too. Again, there’s nothing violent — or criminal — about hunting or fishing.
Capital One is free to set whatever decency standards they wish. That’s their right. And it should be noted that the NRA, which also offers personalized credit cards, follows a similar standard, requesting that cardholders clean up any visible blood from their photos. But the NRA would never categorize 15 million Americans as violent or cruel or criminal in the process. That is the distinction.
Capital One owes their customers a clearer set of directions when submitting a photo for personalization. And more importantly, Capital One owes their customers a less offensive response than to characterize them as “violent” or “cruel.” In my opinion, Capital One owes the Hingers an apology for that statement.




















Submitting your tip... please wait!
Comments (170)
freedomcatcher
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:47amDirectly, or indirectly, humans must hunt and gather to live. Get over it !
Report Post »smak
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 6:46amWe do in fact accept hunting images and have many cardholders with such imagery on their cards. In this case, the photo was too graphic.
Report Post »RationalMan
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:47amLou Hinger thought it sounded simple enough. Her bank had invited her to “express herself.” It was part of Capital One’s “Express Yourself” credit card campaign, whereby account holders upload a fun photo of themselves, or anything else they want, and it will appear on a personalized Capital One credit card
The keyword has been used: whereby account holders upload a fun photo of themselves, or anything else they want.. So what’s the problem?
Report Post »OLDBIKEFIXER
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 10:00amI wonder if they would like a picture of a group of people tossing their Capital One cards into a fire?
Report Post »capitalismrocks
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:42amCapital One better get used to it, a lot more people are going to be hunting to put away meat and feed themselves as things get tougher due to this horrible Obama economy and the Bernacke Inflationary disaster.
Report Post »RandWasRight
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:42amI got rid of my Capitol One card years ago, and I’ve never regretted it.
Report Post »timej31
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:27amIdiots. Violence. Hunting is a sport. Some hunt animals and others hunt people. Both are sports. One is better than the other but still a very rewarding sport.
Report Post »IndependentThinker
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:25amI the words of Dave Ramsey… “Whats in my wallet?… MONEY!” Here’s an idea, ditch the credit card and only buy stuff you can afford! As for capitol one, we know they are jerks, why give them your business?
Report Post »Deepwater
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 6:38amI agree, and would advise these folks to perform a “plastectomy” on all of their credit cards and use cash or a debit card. The usurious interest rates that credit card companies charge these days (especially when triggered by some event like a “late” payment) is to me just as offensive as their censorship of hunting pictures.
Report Post »Paleo Archer
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 7:24amYes..move away from debt….Capital One, Chase, they are all crooks….live a simpler life.
Report Post »any Lady Sasquatches out there?
POIPNE
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 10:05amI agree, while we’re at it…… Credit card companies offer all kinds of “gimmicks” to get our business. Personalized pictures, bonus points for “free stuff” etc etc all sound so nice. Who pays for all these “perks”? WE DO! Anyone who thinks they’re getting anything FREE from a credit card company isn’t intelligent enough to HAVE a card! If they really want to give me an incentive, why not try lowering their interest rates for a start? And STOP sending me all that junk mail! Save the postage, it only serves to drive me AWAY!
Report Post »ozzie
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:22amIt seems my first post on this did not go through so I’ll try again.
It’s a non-issue and creates drama where there is none.
Capital One is a private business that can set policy as it sees fit. You may want to see blood/guts as it may not be an issue for you, but for some random store clerk who may be squeamish, it may be. There are different rules on every website/blog/forum/youtube as far as what can be posted and users acknowledge they may view such graphic images on different sites. Some 16 year old clerk in Suburbia should not have to look at a pictures of dead puppies/kittens/goldfish/deer/moose/rabbit and their blood/guts.
Crop or edit the picture to take any gore out and it should be okay.
Report Post »UlyssesP
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 8:57am“pictures of dead puppies/kittens/goldfish/deer/moose/rabbit and their blood/guts”
Report Post »Who the hell hunts puppies, kittens, goldfish…I DO! Want to see my trophy room? The mounted baby fur seals are always a conversation starter.
katy
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:17amAnd those animal skins the vikings are wearing….. wonder how those poor widdle cwitters died?
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 6:29amOutstanding point…excellent…so simple…right there in front of us & we missed it. (palm hits forehead)
Report Post »ozzie
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:17amIt’s a non-issue that creates something out of nothing. As a private business they can choose their policy. Hunting is great for those that enjoy it, however, I’m not sure that if I were swiping their credit card, I would want to see dead puppies, kittens, deer, moose, fish with blood and guts on the side. Not everyone is a hunter, and some random store clerk should have to look at what some may consider gore just to ring you up.
Clean up the picture so there is no innards or blood and I don’t think anyone but PETA would have a problem with that.
Report Post »ScienceIsNotEvil
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:12amJust yesterday day Mr Beck said “‘When You Cut God Out, You Revert Back to Animals’” and now we are to praise Miss Cupp who is an atheist?
How does that make sense?
Report Post »Slowman101
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:10amIt’s simple. Capitol One is a piece of SH*T, and all those vikings running around in their commercials probably should be run through a sex offender registry!
Report Post »Arc
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:08amAh Ha!!! So Capital One doesn’t need new customers? Am I reading that right? Just lost any future business I would ever consider with that bank.
Report Post »bjornskis
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:00amget over it and move on
get a picture with out the dead deer
I am a hunter myself
Report Post »mygunsweetness
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:53amSir I think if I pay the bill on this card and they give you the opportunity to personalize my card,they should put what ever picture I want on it as long as it isn’t illegal or some type of porn.they sure shouldn’t judge us on our life style.If your a real conservationist you know that hunters and fishermen paid to bring deer,turkey,quail,fishery’s,bears,wolfs,mountain lions,elk,buffalo and some wildlife that don’t get hunted back from going extinct,so I take it personal when they call me cruel and violent,Nice buck guys,congrats.
Report Post »TexJet
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:54amSo if I submit a picture of my self eating a hamburger, am I committing violence against a cow? How about if I am wearing a leather belt?
Report Post »End The Fed
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:47amI’m not sure how it got from:
“Sorry, we were unable to approve the image you submitted. We will not approve any images that contain the following: ‘Violence, hatred, or cruelty to humans or animals, profanity, obscenities or any type of death imagery.’”
To calling millions of hunters “violent or cruel”. I think there is a severely beaten straw-man there somewhere.
Hunting imagery doesn’t bother me, but there are things such as taste and tact and the possibility that the image with blood, not the action, may be unsettling to others.
I’m siding with Capitol One on this. There are already too many ******** out there blowing things out of proportion. Let‘s be happy that Planned Parenthood isn’t trying to upload photos to Capitol One.
Report Post »@RCHER
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:46amI agree with the author. Companies need to do a better job selecting people to interact with their customers. Obviously a more mature group running the TV ad campaigns.
There are a lot of other banks out there.
Quote from the article: “Furthermore, I’m not sure how Capital One thinks deer are hunted. With kittens? Pillow feathers? Marshmallows?”
Great line! Actually, there are some deer around the house I could hunt with an apple and a hammer.
Report Post »LIVINGTHEDREAM
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:45amDouble startards make me want to puke. Freezers full of elk and deer here.
Report Post »Conservophiliac
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:43amNot surprising at all really.
Report Post »Mustangrider
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:43amI don’t think I would blame capital one as a whole, It was probably some Idiot manager who got his or her nose out of joint. I wonder if he or she gave any thought to where the steak they had for dinner came from. Stupid liberals.
Report Post »@RCHER
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:38amAgree completely with the author. Another example of the mindless turds corporate America is placing in charge of communicating with their customers. You can plainly see that a different, more mature group is in charge of the TV ad campaigns.
“My food comes from a container in a grocery store.”
Report Post »donh2
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:38amTheir barbarian ads specifically target this kind of man to join. Its absolute hypocrisy .
Report Post »UpstateNYConservative
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:36amFunny, but that deer looks more like a pet than a trophy to me. Yeah–that’s it!
I would dump Capitol One for a new bank in an instant over this nonsense.
Report Post »onejimharris
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:35amI hunt and have many Guns….but I would kink out her picture too….it’s just plain ugly !!
Report Post »Mustangrider
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:46amThats a woman?!! ….Damn!!
Report Post »LAM2
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:30amMustangrider — really?? The article states that it’s a picture of her husband; it doesn‘t say that they’re both in it. Looks like he’s with a male hunting buddy. We just don’t know from the information given which dude is which. Maybe it’s just me, but I‘m far more interested in what’s in their hearts than what they look like.
Report Post »LetUsReason
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:49am@Mustangrider…..LOL! My thought exactly. The deer isn’t the only one in the photo that needs a little cropping. Yikes!
Report Post »normbal
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:27am” there’s nothing violent — or criminal — about hunting or fishing.”
Violent? No. Violence isn‘t the act it’s the attitude. I don’t hunt with violence, I hunt with primal lust.
Criminal?
Not yet.
But they’re working on it.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:24amOnce again we see another fine example of PC run amok in the land. How long until we are fully like Britain where you get arrested without trial or anything for someone being offended by what you can say, mean, or perceived to mean and such?
Report Post »oldguy49
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:33amyep,guy got arrested for singing kung fu fighting at a cafe in england…….offended a chinese person walking by………i call it like it is ….and if you don’t respect yourself and are stupid……….kiss my butty
Report Post »heyjms
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:35amWell they clearly don’t want your business…
Report Post »Quack Addict
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:39amI hope you spend just as much time in your Bible as you do on these boards Snow Leopard. If you did then you would be familiar with end time events and stories on this website wouldn’t suprise you, it would verify that God is all knowing and the end of days is near. God bless.
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:42amChange cards…There might be better card co. to deal with. The loss of business will teach them.
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:43amVenison, its whats in your wallet, or not.
And all those vikings are Veggans, so calm and peaceful.
Report Post »TNT1
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:47amTake a page from the union play book and quit doing business with them.Drop CAP1 and tell them why.We outnumber them and their bottom line is money.Take away their money.Wake up people.Stop backing down from the bullies,
Report Post »Okie from Muskogee
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:51am@Snow
That day is already here…One can be detained indefinitely once given the title terrorist and that title can be given to whomever they deem to be one…..Locked up and key is thrown away….It’s amazing how far we have reverted back….We are the beast of from the land….I hope all is good your way Snow and your paintings are very good!
Report Post »Nick84
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:14amDoes anyone else think it is extremely pretentious for S.E. Cupp to include herself in the title when this article has nothing to do with her?
Report Post »ManThong
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:15amIt’s called CONSERVATION, you dipweed PC bankster bozos!
I hope overpopulating deer devour all of your landscape evergreens and leave little piles of thank you all over your lawns.
By the way, a good chunk of the population is going to need to hunt these things for their primary sustenance soon because of the destruction your industry is doing to the economic system.
And it might be YOU being held up by the horns in that picture soon.
Report Post »Patrick in AZ
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:22amI LOVE HUNTERS – I do not love people or institutions that do not.
Report Post »Cobra Blue
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:32amPay close attention. Anything the Progressives can use to label us as extreme, violent, hateful, etc. they will do. Then, when they crack down hard they will use the labels against us to prosecute for hate crimes or terrorist related activities. Look past the obvious and you can see the agenda clear as day.
Report Post »theonefromabove
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:35amThis commercial made me cringe.
http://politicalbowl.com – Political Videos
Report Post »LetUsReason
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:46amJust tell them the deer was actually still alive at time of photo. No death means it’s a go, right?
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:49am@Okie – Thanks all is good here, glad you like the pictures. I forgot about the terrorist part indeed.
@Patrick in AZ – I love hunting too, though now only with a camera. Except for the three die hard and fanatic progressives who were this evening singing “Communist USA, it’s the only way…” to the theme of the YMCA by the village people; somehow a second bucket of ice cold dish water found its way onto their direction…wonder if this time they will get the hint…not likely.
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 3:13am@heyjms
Report Post »Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:35am
Well they clearly don’t want your business…
~~~~~~~~~~
Or mine, either!
Mee the People
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 4:51amit is wrong to reject the pic but i do think they were only hoping for “people head shots”
Report Post »Marcobob69
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 7:24amNow CHILDREN, we don’t want to upset the PC police by putting an image of that deer you EXECUTED! Another case of overreaction by the PC crowd. Are we becoming a nation of wusses??? I don’t blame the guy, if I bagged a beautiful buck like that, I would want to publicize it also!!!
Report Post »TexasCommonSense
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 8:37amThey’re better off without a Capital One card anyway. Debt is dumb.
Report Post »BIGJAYINPA
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 8:49amOK folks I’m taking a different line here. First let it be said: I am an NRA Life Member and a Life Member of the NAHC(North American Hunters Club) I’ve been hunting since I was 10 years old and that is a lot of years ago. The Official magazine of NAHC would not publish that photo. THE DAMN TOUNGE IS HANGING OUT!! The Great mass of non-hunters out there are looking for any excuse to depict us as unwashed booze guzzling Neanderthals. So PLEASE people if you are going to put out a picture of yourself and your trophy THINK Pose the animal in a proper manner and pose yourself in a way that does not give the tree-hugging Bambi lovers an excuse to put us down,
Report Post »CPL-JR
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:48amThis racist deer questioned obamas birth certificate, even after yesterday this buck was not convinced.. Tag this statement with the photo and cap one will have a change of heart..
Report Post »pavnvet
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 10:16amCapital One could care less if these folks cancelled their card. Just call Peggy and ask if they give a hoot or a holler. Betcha Peggy says after you cancel your card, “thank you for calling Capital One.”
Report Post »John 3:16
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 10:33amCapitol one, will NOW never do business with me or my family.
Report Post »Cerealface
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 10:52amKilling a deer to feed your family is violent and cruel.
Report Post »LiberalNutjob
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:00pmToo all you mindless Beck sheep: Capital One is a company. It provides a service. There is no right to a credit card in this country, let alone a right to have it look exactly the way you want. If a company does not want to put a deer carcass on their credit card they can do that. It is ridiculous that these idiots are angry enough to fight this, but not angry enough to actually drop Capital One. JUST DROP THEM IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE WAY THEY CONDUCT BUSINESS. Find a credit card company that will let you put a deer carcass on your photo. THAT IS HOW CAPITALISM WORKS. The company didn’t even claim the picture was violent or cruel. They just gave them a general don’t-have-any-of-this-stuff-in-your-photo message that included obscenity, profanity, and DEATH IMAGERY. You know, like an IMAGE of a DEAD deer. You all are just a bunch of reactionary sheep, waiting to get angry over whatever these puppet-masters tell you. One of the dunmbest pieces SE Cupp has ever written.
Report Post »TexasCommonSense
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 2:54pmLiberalNutjob, therein lies the problem with you liberals. Credit Cards are not a service; credit cards are the source of problems for many people. These people would have been far better off being taught they had to reply on a savings account rather than a high-interest piece of plastic junk.
You probably even think the $1.5T annual budget deficit is a “service”, too. It’s the work of feeble minds whose only solution to every problem is to throw as much money as you can at a problem hoping it will fix itself.
Debt enslaves. The clowns in Washington create these ridiculous programs to appear compassionate so they can get themselves re-elected. In doing so, they pass on the debt, and the interest payments on the debt, to people who haven’t even been born yet and had no say in the creation of the debt. It doesn’t get any lower than that.
That’s why the TEA Party exists. Get a clue.
Report Post »Cerealface
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 3:03pmI don’t see a difference between a picture dead cow, and a picture of a hamburger / steak.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 5:05pmBet if you get a Cabela’s picture card you could get any hunting picture you want on it.
Report Post »Truckstop
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 10:15pmThis is BS, its my damn credit card, in my wallet, it should have whatever the hell i want on it, i was denied using a photo of my 2 year old daughter, because they said it was “nudity” she was sitting on the kitchen floor in a diaper covered choc syrup. it was a funny photo, not offensive. after reading this id had it, (i too am a hunter) i called cap1 today, paid my balance and canceled the card, when asked why? i told them about this story and how disgusted i was with there service. its just another form of control disguised as freedom, (here you can put a photo of your choice. on your card, In very small text–> so long as it doesn’t have A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P, AND HEAVEN FORBID IF IT HAS Q,R,S,T,U,V IN IT!!) its my credit card, i carry in my wallet. picture should be my choice period…
Report Post »