No to Appeasing the Left on Boycotts

In case you haven’t noticed, we are in a culture war.

The radical left is winning.

Behind much of the success of the left’s ability to force mainstream America to capitulate to its outlandish world view is the brazen and effective manner in which they have organized boycotts against those businesses that do not toe the line.

Boycotts have been around for a long time but have never been used to such a degree as the left has leveraged them over the last decade.

America’s uber-liberal voices have succeeded in controlling the political narrative for some time because they have monopolistic control on our major institutions, including the media, academia, the entertainment industry and social media hosts. But now they have even co-opted the corporate boardroom, which what was once one of the few remaining bastions defending the mainstream.

The left has a major advantage in this war because it has abandoned the traditional American view that freedom of expression is a right for everyone, regardless of one’s point of view. The exceptional Foundation of our nation was that we would tolerate perspectives we disagreed with, via a social contract, incorporating the concept that one day our views might be in the minority and we’d want them protected as well.

It’s why American liberals, even Jewish liberals, would hold their noses and still understand why Nazis would have a right to march down Main Street in Skokie Illinois, even though their views are so abhorrent.

But that idea is long gone.

Since the Skokie Supreme Court (Illinois) decision [Village of Skokie v. National Socialist Party of America, 373 N. E. 2d 21 (Ill. 1978)] upholding the Nazis’ right to march, tens of millions of American youth have been indoctrinated by Marxist professors preaching how wokeness and the fight against racism and hate speech trumps even the First Amendment.

It was always understood that you couldn’t practice or instigate violence.

But short of that, all other forms of speech, even deplorable words that insult others, is fair game under our Constitution.

Today, "snowflakes" looking for a safe place are so triggered by words that offend them that they are not only accepting the quashing of offensive speech, but are eager to be the first ones to shut it down. In a recent study an alarming 40% of college students believe that any American’s right to free speech could be abridged if it was deemed offensive to another.

So is it any wonder why the left would be so supportive of efforts to destroy a person’s business if that owner holds views contrary to the most sensitive "wokesters" among us?

Here is just a short sampling of the menacing economic punishment that they have meted out over the past few years:

#Hobby Lobby was boycotted for fighting a mandate that would require it to go against its religious views and pay for its employees abortions.

#Left wing musicians refused to do concerts in the state of North Carolina because the legislature insisted that bathrooms be reserved for men and women separately.

#Walmart was pressured to cease selling guns to the public.

#SoullCycle gym lost almost 13% of its take after a boycott developed in retaliation to its CEO doing a fundraiser for President Trump.

#Wegmans food store was pressured to stop carrying products from a Trump owned winery.

#Nike has just pulled Washington Redskin paraphernalia from being sold from its stores and websites due to the owner’s determination to maintain its traditional Redskin name and logo. (How rich from a company that makes its billions off of the use of low wage child labor in China at the expense of American minority workers)

But it’s really getting dangerous when corporations —  in an action they don’t understand is somewhat suicidal — are now pulling ads from Facebook, unless its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, abandons his admirable neutral content policy, and instead starts implementing a subjective watchdog panel pulling down posts deemed hateful or dangerous. 

It appears the only answer for mainstream America and conservatives will be to fight back at the liberals’ own game. Corporate boards who have been kowtowing to liberal agitators have to hear from an organized mainstream element that will punish them for their aggressive acts against conservative businesses.

Appealing to the board’s sense of patriotism and upholding fundamental First Amendment rights hasn’t worked.

Apparently, these companies are concerned primarily with placating the mob to avoid being its next victim, and in adjusting to data showing that the college educated are more likely to boycott (50% v 22% for those without a college degree), as are liberals (67% of whom are supportive).

The amazing thing about this is that these corporations are doing themselves in by empowering the boycott frenzy. It’s only a matter of time before the mob comes for them.

The result will be strikingly similar to the video of the woke store owner trying to defend the sanctity of his storefront as the radical mob was burning it to the ground.

He pleaded passionately to the invaders that "I am on your side."

It was so pathetic, because he actually thought that they were going to care.

There’s money to be made out there for some entrepreneur who is able to rally consumers of the conservative persuasion to lend support to mainstream companies that are targeted by the mob. It’s been tried sporadically in the past, including a tepid hit at left-leaning Starbucks for its criticism of the president's travel ban from volatile nations, but the liberals are simply more dedicated to it.

Better yet, instead of seeing which side will win the boycott wars, how about we all stop trying to destroy each other because we have divergent views. How about we celebrate our Declaration of Independence by going back to the days when we understood that our freedoms are protected, only so long as we protect the freedoms of others.

Steve Levy, former New York state assemblyman, Suffolk County executive, and candidate for governor, is now a distinguished political pundit. Levy's commentary has been published in such media outlets as Washington Times, Washington Examiner, New York Post, Albany Times, Long Island Business News, and City & State Magazine. He hosted "The Steve Levy Radio Show" on Long Island News Radio, and is a frequent guest on high profile television and radio outlets. Few on the political scene possess Levy's diverse background. He's been both a legislator and executive, and served on both the state and local levels — as both a Democrat and Republican. Levy published "Bias in the Media," an analysis of his own experience, after switching parties, with the media's leftward slant. Levy is currently Executive Director of the Center for Cost Effective Government, a fiscally conservative think tank. He is also President of Common Sense Strategies, a political consulting firm. To learn more about his past work and upcoming appearances, visit www.stevelevy.info. Read Steve Levy's Reports — More Here.