A rising star in the bizarre MAGA universe, Robby Starbuck manages to make people tremble Corporate America. And to be honest, we wouldn’t have thought it possible.
Published at 00:47
Updated at 5:00 a.m.
To be honest, we wouldn’t have expected anything from this obscure, conspiracy-minded, ultra-conservative activist, the kind to wonder whether COVID-19 vaccines might have killed actor Matthew Perry or whether pesticides might turn children gay.
The son of Cuban exiles, Robby Starbuck hasn’t had much success in Hollywood or in the U.S. Congress, where he’s running for office in 2022. He lives on a farm in Nashville. It’s there that he found his calling: railing against equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives adopted by major American companies.
And, against all odds, it works. Completely.
It all started in June, when the 35-year-old farmer “exposed” the wokeness of Tractor Supply, a chain where he bought his farm equipment.
The Tennessee-based company’s EDI program, its participation in Pride marches, its commitment to combating climate change: all of it was intolerable to him.
Robby Starbuck tore up his loyalty card and called for a boycott on social media. Tractor Supply quickly folded, shelving its EDI initiatives and abandoning its greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Buoyed by this initial success, the activist attacked tractor manufacturer John Deere. Same technique: online denunciation, call for boycott. The company quickly moved its EDI program to the combine harvester.
The next target, Brown-Forman, owner of the Jack Daniel’s distillery, was quick to swallow a shot or two of “common sense” by abandoning his diversity and inclusion efforts.
Then Harley-Davidson put the brakes on its woke policies. Gone was public support for legislation protecting the rights of gays and transgender people. From now on, as Bardot almost sang, you won’t recognize anyone wearing a Harley-Davidson…
On Monday, hardware chain Lowe’s also retreated after realizing it was in Robby Starbuck’s crosshairs. Lowe’s will now focus on supporting more mainstream causes, such as affordable housing and disaster relief.
On Wednesday, it was Ford’s turn to backpedal. And it’s not over yet. “We’re winning and one by one, we’re bringing American businesses back to their senses,” Robby Starbuck promised on X.
How can a Tennessee activist, who has neither a reputation nor credibility, push back so many companies in such a short time?
Robby Starbuck says he targets brands that are popular with a conservative clientele that doesn’t identify with these EDI initiatives. Maybe, but that doesn’t explain everything: progressives on motorcycles, after all, are not that rare, any more than African-American farmers or homosexuals who drink whiskey.
That said, Robby Starbuck’s successive victories come at the “right” time. The climate has never been more ripe for attacking companies that adopted EDI policies en masse after the death of George Floyd in May 2020.
First, there was the Bud Light affair. Since last year, it has no longer been the best-selling beer in the United States, the result of an intense boycott campaign by conservatives furious that their favorite brand has partnered with a transgender influencer.
Sales have plummeted. No business wants to suffer the same fate.
But most importantly, there was the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 ban on affirmative action in colleges, an emboldened conservative activist who has launched dozens of lawsuits challenging the EDI policies of companies, schools, and government agencies across the country.
That’s enough to cool the enthusiasm of companies — and to convince many of them to abandon their targets for hiring employees from minority groups. Critics consider these targets to be illegal quotas, since they are discriminatory.
It is in this context, therefore, that Robby Starbuck arrives. He is one of those who believe that the “woke delirium” goes much too far. It is high time, according to him, to take politics out of the business world and to give companies back their former “neutrality”.
To this one might respond that businesses have never been neutral and that EDI programs should serve precisely to correct past injustices, by allowing members of historically marginalized groups the opportunity to demonstrate their merit.
Provided, of course, that these initiatives actually work.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case. My colleague Maude Goyer reported in June that, according to recent meta-analyses of workplace equity training programs, these measures often prove to be costly and ineffective.1. Worse, they sometimes tend to reinforce the prejudices they are supposed to combat!
Despite these disappointing findings, business is booming. The international EDI training market is estimated to reach US$15.4 billion by 2026. At least, that’s what it was estimated to be, before the wind started to turn in the United States.
Seeing the speed at which companies are backing down these days, one can’t help but wonder if these fine initiatives are just a facade. After the greenwashingwe may need to start talking about wokewashing : a display of virtue intended to impress customers and shareholders, which can be packed away at the slightest threat of a boycott.
Black Lives Matterokay, but only when it’s good for the company’s image.
1. Read the article “A significant doubt about the effectiveness of training in equity at work”
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