Having succeeded in bullying the Publix supermarket chain into suspending making political contributions, Parkland, Florida, student David Hogg was looking to use his media-infused star power to continue shaking down the company down for money.
It would appear that Hogg doesn’t mind if Publix makes political donations, as long as the money goes to causes he approves of, but the Florida-based grocer that came under intense fire last week for not having a backbone in the face of the student’s campaign of intimidation appears to have finally stiffened it’s resolve.
Hogg demanded $1 million from Publix in the early going last week to support the Stoneman Douglas Victims fund.
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
He revisited that demand Tuesday, although he discounted the shake down fee to $670,000 — in relation to how much money Publix contributed to NRA-supporting hometown candidate for governor Adam Putnam.
Best thing for me to see on graduation is $670,000 out of @adamputnam campaign and into the MSD victims fund.
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 29, 2018
Earlier in the day, the 18-year-old high school student — he does still attend school, right? — requested a meeting via Twitter with the head of the employee-owned $34 billion dollar enterprise.
To Todd Jones, CEO of @Publix Thank you for hearing the voices of young ppl working to end gun violence. We have one request: A face-to-face meeting. We need business leadership to join the effort to end the carnage.
Let's lead by example together.
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 29, 2018
Of course, this reasoned request came after Hogg taunted the company last week.
.@Publix I’m shaking in my boots awaiting your DM.
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 25, 2018
The request to meet prompted a reply from Fred Guttenberg, the father of Parkland shooting victim Jaime Guttenberg, who had some bad news.
(Guttenberg dismissed the fact that Hogg’s antics were the cause of his discontent.)
Black Mirror Season 4 2k19 pic.twitter.com/WC3w4cTezC
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 27, 2018
In a series of tweets, the father explained that he spoke with Publix CEO Todd Jones, only to come away “extremely annoyed.”
“He had the gall to say to me that because the die in made this so political that he would not be able to come down here to meet with the Parkland kids and families and that Publix would not be making any donation to the victims fund,” he tweeted.
was first breaking. I never heard back. Last week on Thursday morning, the day of the die in, I left another message and this time I did hear back. I explained to him how unfortunate it was that he did not call back the week before as he had the chance to do something proactive.
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) May 29, 2018
explain that in person and to hear from us why we are concerned about the donations to Putnam. I also let him know that most other large Florida based companies had donated to the victims fund but Publix had not and perhaps Publix could make a donation to offset what they gave to
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) May 29, 2018
families, as a reminder we are customers, and that Publix would not be making any donation to the victims fund. That is the right of Publix to make a decision like that, but I also have the right to call it out. To be clear, this became political because of the donation to
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) May 29, 2018
Putnam and the lack of response from Publix until there was an outcry. The victims in Parkland did not make this political.
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) May 29, 2018
While Hogg’s attack on the Publix brand stopped the company from making political donations, the misguided “protest” may have have done more harm than good for the true victims of the school shooting.
But Hogg managed to elevate his public profile — see celebrity status — that much more, so all is not lost.
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Tom@bizpacreview.com
The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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