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Do not mess with the kids from Parkland.
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After another week of gunsanity in the United States where more innocent children were slaughtered, the activists from Parkland, Florida were appalled to find that the majorly-popular, Florida-based grocery store chain Publix had donated $500,000 to Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam, who receives kickbacks from the National Rifle Association. That’s when Hogg decided to take action.
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Here’s what went down.
On Thursday, Hogg issued this challenge to Publix on Twitter when he learned of their donation:
I call on @Publix to donate double the money they gave to Putman to the Stoneman Douglas Victims fund, $1,000,000. And never support an A rated NRA politician again.
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 24, 2018
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The tweet was majorly engaged by Hogg’s following, but was ignored by Publix.
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Undeterred, Hogg pressed on with his activism. On Friday, he and his fellow advocates staged a die-in at a Publix parking lot to publicly protest their donation to the NRA-beholden senator:
Early this morning @davidhogg111 teamed up with @ChangeTheRef to create an art instillation outside of @publix in protest of the corporation and their support of Adam Putnam. 17 chalk outlines in multiple parking spots were drawn and wrapped in caution tape. #msd #neveragain pic.twitter.com/043cC2o6kA
— Emilee McGovern (@EmileeRose) May 25, 2018
The morning proceeded with no reaction from Publix. Simultaneously, another school shooting was barely avoided at the Noblesville West Middle School in Indiana when teacher Jason Seaman managed to disarm a potential shooter before his students became the latest victims of the NRA.
The silence from the right and Publix was deafening, and some began to wonder whether Hogg had lost his power of persuasion. Vice President Pence ignored Hogg’s call against Publix and instead issued more hollow prayers to the victims of the shooting in his home state with no acknowledgment of the need to change the country’s out-of-date gun laws.
As morning turned to afternoon with no word from Publix, Hogg issued one more tweet, taunting the grocery giant:
.@Publix I’m shaking in my boots awaiting your DM.
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 25, 2018
Looks like they slid into his DM’s after all, as not long after, Hogg hit pay dirt.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that Publix has suspended “political donations,” in another victory for the same teenager who brought Laura Ingraham’s Fox News Ingraham Angle to its knees when he called on a national boycott costing her over 20 high-level sponsors.
Although it does not conform to Hogg’s original request for a donation to the Stoneman Douglas Victim’s fund, it’s still a fairly significant victory for progress, especially after the NFL’s first amendment crushing vote to fine any teams which allow their players to protest during games, a vote they attributed to pressure from the president.
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While Trump clearly abused the office of the presidency to push his agenda, corporate America has been able to do the same for the last eight years thanks to Citizens United, a landmark ruling which said billion-dollar corporations had the same rights as minimum-wage earning people. The decision turned campaign finance on its head and made it easier for candidates with corporate sponsorships to move forward and near-impossible for publicly funded campaigns to get off the ground.
The government has thus far failed to bring forth a vote to repeal Citizens United, but Hogg’s two victories suggest, small as they may be, a bit of hope in reclaiming the country for the people and not the corporations.
To quote David Hogg:
The young people will win. https://t.co/lBjWSbP9Y4
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 25, 2018
Follow Salvatore on Twitter and Instagram.
