The recent “Equinox supporting the Trump administration scandal” really had me thinking, “is anything apolitical?”
Equinox and SoulCycle are both luxury fitness companies. One of their owners, Stephen Ross, was reported to be hosting a $270,000 a-seat fundraiser for President Donald Trump. The people’s interpretation of this action was that these companies were taking a side and that they agree with Trump’s beliefs and aspirations. In the wake of this, there was heavy backlash from celebrities, many cancelling their memberships to the gym. I mean how do they expect people to react when both brands basically sell on identity, and their consumers stop identifying?
Both companies responded. Equinox said on social media, “No company profits are used to fund politicians. In fact, we are committed to all our members and the communities we live in.” While SoulCycle announced something similar which roughly states that they do not involve themselves in politics. Neither companies commented on President Trump’s beliefs and how he tends to demean certain groups of people and violates the basic standards of American democracy.
Another example of a company that has received backlash for having a certain political stance would be Chick-fil-a, hyper-religious fast food chain that is not only known for closing on Sundays, but also possibly being homophobic. In 2011, a Pennsylvania Chick-fil-a donated food to a marriage counseling seminar that is part of an organization that is known for its anti-LGBTQIA advocacy. And only a year later their CEO, Dan Cathy was doing an interview and implied that marriage should only be between a man and a women. In response, a New York woman planned an LGBTQIA kiss-in as protest.
Politics are pervasive, it’s one of those things that your parents warned you not to bring up at family functions. It's a taboo that basically controls how we function in our day to day life. So where do we draw the line as consumers to companies with beliefs that do not align with our own? Does being apolitical even exist? The amount of times I’ve heard friends and family announce that they “don’t mean to get political” but still end up spewing their own ideals without trying to bring on any sort of adverse response. And as far as I’m concerned, when we call someone/something Apolitical it doesn’t mean that they don’t involve themselves in politics. But it’s more focused on how they don’t particularly lean on either sides of the spectrum of conservative and liberal. However, what sorts of extremes would you go for your beliefs?
Equinox and SoulCycle are both luxury fitness companies. One of their owners, Stephen Ross, was reported to be hosting a $270,000 a-seat fundraiser for President Donald Trump. The people’s interpretation of this action was that these companies were taking a side and that they agree with Trump’s beliefs and aspirations. In the wake of this, there was heavy backlash from celebrities, many cancelling their memberships to the gym. I mean how do they expect people to react when both brands basically sell on identity, and their consumers stop identifying?
Both companies responded. Equinox said on social media, “No company profits are used to fund politicians. In fact, we are committed to all our members and the communities we live in.” While SoulCycle announced something similar which roughly states that they do not involve themselves in politics. Neither companies commented on President Trump’s beliefs and how he tends to demean certain groups of people and violates the basic standards of American democracy.
Another example of a company that has received backlash for having a certain political stance would be Chick-fil-a, hyper-religious fast food chain that is not only known for closing on Sundays, but also possibly being homophobic. In 2011, a Pennsylvania Chick-fil-a donated food to a marriage counseling seminar that is part of an organization that is known for its anti-LGBTQIA advocacy. And only a year later their CEO, Dan Cathy was doing an interview and implied that marriage should only be between a man and a women. In response, a New York woman planned an LGBTQIA kiss-in as protest.
Politics are pervasive, it’s one of those things that your parents warned you not to bring up at family functions. It's a taboo that basically controls how we function in our day to day life. So where do we draw the line as consumers to companies with beliefs that do not align with our own? Does being apolitical even exist? The amount of times I’ve heard friends and family announce that they “don’t mean to get political” but still end up spewing their own ideals without trying to bring on any sort of adverse response. And as far as I’m concerned, when we call someone/something Apolitical it doesn’t mean that they don’t involve themselves in politics. But it’s more focused on how they don’t particularly lean on either sides of the spectrum of conservative and liberal. However, what sorts of extremes would you go for your beliefs?