Penzey's Open Letter to CEOs

Facebook post from Penzeys Spices:

Please forward and share this to those in decision making positions.

Dear CEO,

In the wake of last weekend's NFL events, we have a few practical ideas from our own experience with boycotts since last November's election that I would like to share. In theses days where issues can engulf a business seemingly out of nowhere, there really is great value in planning ahead. As the NFL found, as much as they tried to stay on the sidelines, they could not keep the reality of politics being everywhere today from overwhelming events on the field.

It's important to recognize that for America, today's culture of politics being everywhere is not a passing fad or a trend that came out of nowhere. It is instead the outcome of our long-standing past colliding with what is hopefully our temporary present. America, though not yet perfect, is a pretty unique and amazing country, well crafted with realism by our founders to be forever seeking a more perfect union through greater equality for all. After 241 years of progress, this is who we are and something that can't be changed overnight. What has changed is the Republican Party.

As business leaders it's our job to look past our own party affiliations and previous political traditions and see the bigger picture. The fact is, and there's not much point in sugarcoating this, the moment the Republican Party chose to bring racism and the fear of "others" to the forefront of its election strategy is the moment being able to keep politics at a distance became a thing of the past. Like it or not, the moment the the Republican Party turned away from the drive for equality and began to instead promote inequality is the moment politics entered every facet of American life.

Last weekend, in what may well be a turning point, while the players did the right thing in kneeling in support of equality, the owners did the math and the right thing. A big part of why so few until now have chosen to stand up to this administration on racism is that they've been very successful in creating an inflated sense that their support is much larger and far deeper than it truly is. Until last Sunday, they had pretty much succeeded in creating the sense that if you stood up to their racist bullying you would lose half your business. This past Sunday the owners called the administration's bluff.

When it comes to calls for boycotts from the right, we have some experience. And even if you didn't believe us before when we said those few that actually follow this president have almost no economic impact, the math is not hard to do for yourself. Most Americans simply don't vote. Even among voters, the president came in at well less than 50% and that was back in November when there still was the perception that he was a successful businessman and skilled negotiator. Factor in those just voting party lines, and the reality of who the NFL risks losing now that the president has called for a boycott by his supporters, and it's high single digits at most and it's not in the groups their advertisers most want to reach. In our experience, that loss will be more than offset by the bonus that comes with doing the right thing.

Here's the important part—if the NFL can keep their resolve, if they can hold their ground, they will push open a previously rapidly closing door to a whole new generation of viewers who, until Sunday, never saw the NFL as reflecting their values. The league has made missteps in recent years, leaving many who were their fans a decade to find other things to do on their Sunday afternoons. Standing up to the president in support of their players' drive to bring awareness to America's need for greater equality is something worthy of all our respect and a big step in bringing those lost fans back to the fold. Well done.

But for all that's good about what's come from the NFL's response to this issue, there's also something bigger in all this that we need to come to grips with. As much as the Republican Party cynically nurtured racism to elect the majority they needed to cut the Affordable Care Act and fund tax cuts for the wealthy, the reality is they can't control it anymore. Many of the NFL owners donated large sums to the Republican Party but still could not be shielded from what they set in motion.

To put racism back into its box won't be an easy task, or happen quickly, and it's going to take all of us acknowledging that this is a very real problem. That the very same people, who seem totally at ease giving a free pass to a white president for saying POWs are not heroes because they where captured, see a grave affront to our veterans that can't go unchallenged in African American athletes taking a knee to protest inequality, is an undeniable sign we have issues. Issues that won't go away by themselves.

One of the things we learned on our path is that giving visible support to those on the front lines of this struggle really means a lot, as does challenging behavior that crosses the line. From my emails it's pretty clear this president has emboldened many to share ideas and use words that have not been a part of public dialogue in a long time. As business leaders, we must not step back from calling out all that is at odds with the fundamental American belief in equality. This country is just too important to let fade on our watch.

Thanks for reading, and please pass along to wherever you think this can help,

Bill Penzey

Does Penzey know that Colin Kaepernick began his protests while Obama was in the White House?

Kaepernick was protesting and wearing socks with images of police officers as pigs while Obama was the sitting president.

Apparently, Penzey supports anti-police protests.

That's not a smart business move.

Penzey is not smart.