You can tell that a movement is scoring some important points when its opponents want to change the subject.
That thought comes to mind when I hear critics charge Apple CEO Tim Cook with hypocrisy in his recent protests of “religious freedom” legislation in Indiana and Arkansas that has been criticized by Cook, among others, as anti-gay.
As one reader emailed after I mentioned Cook in a column about the controversy: “You failed to mention that the Apple Corporation does business with several countries (all larger than Indiana) that brutalize homosexuals and women. I guess that was just an oversight on your part. I’m not surprised.”
Snark, snark. The reader’s argument falls into a category of non-argument. Call it the “Oh, yeah? Well, what about … (fill in the blank)?” defense.
In this case, instead of dealing directly with the abuses raised by Cook, most dramatically in a March 29 Washington Post op-ed, shift the topic to the abuses Apple appears to condone overseas.
Cook, head of one of the world’s largest corporations, can speak for himself, but I can think of several responses he might use.
For one, as an old saying that my father used to lay on me endlessly goes, charity begins at home and then spreads abroad. Apple’s efforts to do the right thing here in America should not have to wait for their efforts overseas. They can do both at once, as should we all.
Second, it makes a difference for major corporations and not just political activists and nonprofits to issue bold statements in favor of equal opportunity and respect for everyone, regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. People who wonder, “What can I do?” can start with what they have.
Cook certainly was not alone in criticizing the legislation modeled after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. But, coming from the first openly gay CEO in the Fortune 500 list, his recent Washington Post op-ed went viral with extraordinary strength and drew attention to similar protest statements and boycott threats by other major companies.
Walmart, Salesforce, Angie’s List and Eli Lilly, among other companies, and associations that included the NCAA and NASCAR protested any legislation that, as Arkansas-based Walmart put it, “threatens to undermine the spirit of inclusion present throughout the state.”
Various cities and associations also called for boycotts and bans on business trips to the states if legislators there didn’t add some civil rights protections to their laws.
Less than a week after Cook’s op-ed, Republican Govs. Mike Pence of Indiana and Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas signed language into law that added protections against discrimination by sexual orientation or identity. Other states, like North Carolina, that are considering similar legislation should take note.
The success of this protest shows how much attitudes toward same-sex marriage have changed since 2004, when the possibility of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage was a major presidential election issue.
Back then, Republicans easily put Democrats on the defensive about the issue. Now, on the brink of the 2016 campaign, it is Republican hopefuls who are trying uneasily to carve out a position that satisfies both their conservative base and the more moderate swing voters they would need to get elected.
The protest success also offers an important lesson in corporate activism: If you want to move red-state governors, among other political leaders, hit ‘em in their job markets.
When Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz scaled back its odd campaign to encourage busy baristas to talk about race relations with customers days after it began, he sounded like he was declaring victory after he had surrendered.
Cook, by contrast helped to energize a national movement that popped up like a flash mob and went viral, not only through political activists but also through corporate board rooms.
That’s a big change from the corporate world’s traditional avoidance of unnecessary controversies. But Cook and other CEOs don’t act without support from their boards and stockholders. They understand, as Cook does, that companies need to be competitive in attracting the best workforce to their states — without letting unfair prejudices get in the way.
Email Clarence Page at cpage@tribune.com.
