I’d like to comment on a disturbing story that appeared in the
Washington Post on November 19.
The story involves Barilla, the world’s largest pasta manufacturer, and,
as journalist Sandhya Somashekhar wrote, “how toxic it has become for a company
to be viewed as unfriendly toward gays.”
Key words: “viewed as.”
In September 2013 Barilla’s chairman, Guido Barilla, told an Italian
radio host, “I would never do [a commercial] with a homosexual couple, not for
lack of respect, but because we don’t agree with them.” He continued: “If
[gays] don’t like it, they can go eat another brand.”
That they did. Mr. Barilla’s comments prompted boycotts of his company around
the globe, including the United States, which comprises 30% of Barilla’s
market. Harvard University removed their
products from its cafeterias, gay rights groups promoted other brands of pasta,
and Barilla’s competitors “seized on the opportunity to present themselves as
more forward-thinking.”
Then came this disheartening line: “Guido Barilla issued multiple video
apologies in the wake of the scandal.”
What did he say that would require an apology, and where was the
scandal?
Re-read Mr. Barilla’s comment, with emphasis added: “I would not do [a
commercial] with a homosexual couple, not for lack of respect, but
because we don’t agree with them.”
Since when in civilized society does one need to apologize for
respectfully disagreeing with someone else? How in civilized society does
respectful disagreement come to be viewed as a scandal?
