Facts matter – if only someone had read my New Year’s resolution about boycotts
Cox Farms has long been an important place for Northern Virginia families. This includes my family. When he was a little boy, Hillary would take Sam and a friend or two to Cox Farms in October for the pumpkins, hayride, animals, slides and scores of other activities. This went on for many years. I even joined them a couple of times. We are big fans of Cox Farms.
That’s why, last night, Sam quickly picked his head up from his 10th grade chemistry homework and asked, “What the heck is that about?” He had just overheard a phone conversation I was having about police officers in Fairfax County wanting us to boycott Cox Farms.
The call for the boycott came Tuesday night from Brad Carruthers. Carruthers is President of Fairfax Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 77. The message was posted on the organization’s Facebook page. Carruthers explained in detail that he and other officers were offended that Cox Farms had a “Black Lives Matter” sign posted in a window on the property. Brad Carruthers concluded his message by saying, “I hope you will join me and my police family and make a choice to go somewhere else to enjoy your family fun this fall, where you will not be confronted by such baseless criticism and judgment.” (Read entire message here.)
Click here if the video above fails to play
It appears Brad Carruthers information was not accurate. News coverage indicates the window in question is on a private home not located on the Cox Farms property. Cox Farms owner Gina Cox told WUSA-TV’s Mola Lenghi that the home belongs to her daughter and does not represent the feelings of Cox Farms. About 22 hours after it was posted, Brad Carruthers removed his boycott message.
(THIS PART IS IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ) The purpose in posting this is not to spark debate about “Black Lives Matter” or policing in Fairfax County or anywhere else. There are plenty of forums where you can have those discussions. This is about social media and boycotts.
Some of you may recall my January 1 column titled, “My New Year’s Resolution: I won’t boycott Chipotle, Jet Blue or any business based on your Facebook post, but I will boycott you.” The short-lived Cox Farms boycott is a great illustration of many of the issues covered in that column.
No matter where you are on the political spectrum, it’s easy to find something to be outraged about while scrolling through Facebook. Much of what you read is tailored to trigger that emotional response. That’s why I have long urged that we all question what we read, whether it’s from Brad Carruthers or Dave Statter. It’s also why we need to be very cautious before calling for a boycott or sharing another person’s campaign to shut down a business.
Whatever the hot button issue is of the day, whether it’s on the right or the left, it seems somebody always wants us to boycott something. Too many of these boycotts are based on bad information or, as in the Chipoltle case in my New Years column, are based on the actions of a rogue employee who doesn’t represent the feelings of the owner.
My first thought on reading the post from Brad Carruthers was that something didn’t make sense. No matter what the political message, I couldn’t see Cox Farms taking a stand that alienated any part of its customer base. That was just my skepticism kicking in as part of my effort to critically question something I was reading on Facebook (see, I follow my own advice).
At the time he wrote the original message, I’m sure Brad Carruthers was doing what he thought best in his role representing his officers. But calling for a boycott of a business shouldn’t be taken so lightly. In my mind, it should be closer to the last resort rather than the first. And, at a bare minimum, make sure your facts are correct.
