Oh man. Over in this Facebook political discussion group that I belong to, many of my conservative friends are beside themselves over the swift and final ouster of (now former) Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich after it was learned that he donated money to the infamous Prop 8 California initiative to ban gay marriage back in 2008. Media sentiment over whether this was appropriate or an overreaction is NOt the point of this post however. Im much more interested in how irritated and angry this has made conservatives and how it seems to be causing them to retreat into full blown denial of what this means. So far, not a one of them will even consider that this action is part of a sea change in American corporate culture. I think it means that homophobia is finally being regarded of equal toxicity to business branding and competitiveness as being openly racist. I think it means that if you make a homophobic guy the CEO of your big business, you can expect your business to become known as inflexible, not forward-looking, generally regressive, not open to change. Youll make customers think of your business as being stuck in the past. And Im sure it was more that reason than because of altruistic support of marriage equality that Mozilla asked Eich to resign. In other words, I think being anti-gay will hurt your business. Meanwhile, my conservative friends are busily piecing together a conspiracy quilt: Oh Joel! Are you really stupid enough to think that this happened because THAT many people care about some CEO that nobody has heard of? Really, Joel? Wow. OK. So what is actually happening? It goes something like this: Its a liberal plot to advance their agenda by pouncing on any opportunity like this. Liberals are always driven by the need to control and homogenize America. When news breaks of a public figure doing or saying something that can be used against conservatives, liberals mobilize a bank of letter writers and blog posters. They create a national narrative that wouldnt have emerged organically. They create a drum beat calling for resignation and public shaming. The liberals will not stop until their fight for tolerance has forced everyone to speak and act like they do. This CEO was probably a conservative, and so he was a juicy target, and their success at bringing him down will only energize them to do more. (Conspicuously absent from the Conspiracy Quilt is usually any hint that liberals may also be motivated by a persistent belief that we can create change in our society and affect social justice by speaking out about these instances. That we are driven by a desire to help make society better by eliminating prejudice, but I digress.) Because THAT is easier to believe than the notion that America is rapidly changing its mind about gay marriage. Many of the conservatives Im hearing will not admit that young people are already there, and that the rest of the country is coming around faster than I ever would have imagined. Its the Conspiracy Quilt. As for my poor, angry conservative friends, I hate to see them so wracked with spasms of suspicion and anger. The next few years will be very disappointing and volatile for them. Remember to offer them hugs. Because marriage equality is gaining momentum and consensus in Amerian politics. Its happening, and AINT NOTHIN THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT! #inevitabilityofprogress #marriageequalityisnow #hugaconservative
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 20:42:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015