ICYMI: Employees & Customers Speak Out Against Anti-DEI Campaigns

HRC Foundation's vice president of programs and corporate advocacy Eric Bloem had this to say to USA Today:

"This is obviously something that is having a moment, so to speak," Bloem said of Starbuck's campaigns against DEI. But, "this notion that we need a return to sanity or a return to neutrality is something that doesn't resonate with people who are legitimately focused on business outcomes."

USA Today also featured community voices who called out the far-right's out-of-touch schemes to get attention online, like this Harley Davidson dealership in Vermont:

"A Harley-Davidson dealership in Vermont accused [Starbuck] of playing fast and loose with the facts and exploiting hot-button issues for personal gain. Starbuck stands by his campaign and denies this is a 'get rich quick scheme.'

"'His baseless accusations against Harley-Davidson are part of a broader pattern of sensationalism aimed at monetizing outrage,' Wilkins Harley-Davidson wrote in a blog post on its website. 'HD has been judged, criticized, and attacked for various things over its 120-year history. It is going to take a little more than some washed up podcaster to make a dent in this company.'"

And Chris Sadowski, a 65-year-old gay Harley Davidson rider from Wisconsin:

"[Sadowski's] a live-and-let-live kind of guy − he says 'Harley-Davidson is about freedom and riding' − and it bothers him that Starbuck trades in stereotypes that stir division.

"'It's easier for you to feed your prejudices than it is to get to know people and see if there is any merit to it,' Sadowski said. 'And then you look for cheerleaders to support your views. It doesn't make you right.'

"Starbuck's anti-DEI agenda also doesn't make much business sense, according to Sadowski…"

And this Kansas rancher calling out Tractor Supply Company for their shortsightedness:

"Kansas rancher Brandi Buzzard Frobose said she was disappointed in Tractor Supply - TSC - which is a staple in the lives of American farmers.

"'Whether TSC wants to acknowledge it or not, LGBTQ+ people and people of color (POC) do live and work in rural America. They are a valuable thread in the tapestry of American agriculture,' Frobose wrote on her brand Facebook page. 'This is an overreaction to loud voices who are upset that LGBTQ+ and POC exist in agriculture and deserve equity and equality in our communities and workplaces.'"

And this from retail manager Joe Montello:

"A retail manager with three decades of experience, Montello, 57, leapt at the chance to live in the Adirondacks where he vacationed. He planned to keep working at Tractor Supply until he retired. Then the Tennessee-based company backslid on its commitments to DEI and the LGBTQ+ community.

"So Montello texted his boss and turned in the store keys the same day. Now he's working construction for $18 an hour while he figures out what to do next.

"Tractor Supply employees and customers have stopped him in the grocery store aisles and on hiking trails and reached out to him on Facebook to voice their support, Montello says. He misses the job he loved, but he says he does not regret his choice.

"'I felt like it was time to stand up for what I believe in, that all people are created equal and should be treated with respect,' he said."

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