The recent Ambercrombie and Fitch dust-up has brought up some common issues faced by activists. The minute we point out corporate behavior that is discriminatory, someone pipes up that corporations have a right to discriminate. Of course, that not the point.
When someone engages in activism against discriminatory practices we’re rarely arguing whether or not someone has the legal right to do the thing (though it’s very often a legitimate question and this type of activism is valuable), we’re typically questioning whether it’s ok with us that they are doing it and, if not, what we want to do about it.
Whenever an activist says “This corporation’s practices are discriminatory and that’s wrong,” someone always feels like the definitive and final answer to the concern is to say “It’s legal for them to discriminate in that way .” To which I would like to say “Dude, thanks for pointing that out, because I forgot to eat my bowl of No Shit Sherlock Flakes this morning.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live in a world where the fact that bigotry against a group is legal constitutes a good enough reason to let it go on unchallenged.
Yes, I know it’s not illegal for a clothing store to delight in their refusal to make plus size clothes (though if a businesses’ expression of their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is to take pride in discriminating against a group of people for how they look, I think they might want to rethink their use of precious freedoms.) Regardless, I have the right to discuss that businesses choices, take action against them, and try to incite others to take action as well. The fact that someone, somewhere can justify the behavior is not a reason for me to stop taking action against it. If discrimination is happening, it’s highly likely that there is already a justification for it, but that doesn’t make it right or indicate that nobody should try to change it.
One thing I’ve learned about activism is that when you decide to do something, there will always be someone who insists that there is a reason why you shouldn’t do it. In my experience, anything worth doing is worth doing despite the critics.
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