Tim Cook has chosen, time and time again, submission over principle, proximity to power, servitude over unity, profit over people. His sly donald trump His reputation was ruined, but he probably didn’t care.
Mr. Cook is no secret executive navigating a hostile world. He’s one of the most powerful openly gay men on the planet, the CEO of a company with an exorbitant amount of cash, and a man who never misses an opportunity to remind us that Apple “stands for values.”
But when those values ​​are put to the test, when the LGBTQ+ community, along with other innocent law-abiding Americans, comes under open and sustained attack, Cook dissolves into a submissive, despicable shadow of himself.
Look at the pattern. Cook proudly attended Donald Trump’s inauguration, lending legitimacy to the man who implemented and ruled brutal policies. Mr. Cook frequently visits the Oval Office and has even presented gifts to Mr. Trump. decorative glass and gold ornamentsa grotesque symbol of loyalty dedicated to a man who achieves political skill through dehumanization.
Related article: Apple CEO Tim Cook kneels down to Donald Trump with golden Oval Office gift and $100 billion pledge
He smiles and poses for pictures while President Trump and his administration systematically dismantle protections for gay and transgender people, shooting innocent people to death on the streets of idyllic neighborhoods.
Mr Cook appeared at a lavish state dinner in Britain hosted by King Charles and rubbed elbows with Mr Trump as if they were old friends. And there was a moment that should have shattered any remaining illusions about Mr. Cook’s moral compass.
At a time when Americans are reeling from the national sadness, anger, and outcry over the murder of Alex Preti in Minnesota, Mr. Cook has chosen to attend a screening of a sickeningly tone-deaf glossy film. Documentary about Melania Trump. A vanity project full of controversy and dirty money.
As people grieved, Mr. Cook clinked his glass and was drawn to the despicable President Trump. While the country was in upheaval, Mr. Cook became displeased. The contrast was disgusting and obscene.
Related article: Apple CEO Tim Cook comes under fire for attending melania Screening at the White House
new york times published an article on Monday in which several brave Silicon Valley tech CEOs spoke out and spoke out. But what about others? Not at all. And the reason is obvious. as times “But in recent years, companies including Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Apple’s Cook, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang “Top Silicon Valley executives and investors encouraged conservatives to forge political relationships that benefited their companies. Some tech giants have cracked down on employees expressing their political views and fired those who broke the rules.”
By remaining silent about Trump, Cook is not demonstrating neutrality. He’s into collusion. It’s all about tax cuts, it’s all about cash-for-money returns, all while casually passing it on to the very consumers who buy his products at exorbitantly high prices.
Mr. Cook doesn’t need to court Mr. Trump and make a fuss. But money speaks louder than speaking out.
All of this unfolds during the Trump administration’s relentless campaign against LGBTQ+ people. They include banning transgender people from the military, erasing LGBTQ+ history from government websites, eradicating diversity and inclusion efforts, firing federal employees over pride flags, and cutting life-saving AIDS aid overseas. A cruel tsunami. A deliberate attempt to push queer people back into invisibility, instability, and death.
And what about Cook? Silence. smile. handshake. Presentation of gifts. He flatters and flatters Trump, who is in a bad mood.
Yes, Cook occasionally tweets vague platitudes about inclusion. However, he has rarely, if ever, used his immense power to counteract anything meaningful. President Trump’s attacks on the LGBTQ+ community. No sustained pressure. There is no official calculation. There are no moral boundaries. Just access, access, access. Just money, money, money.
why? Why all the fuss about Trump? Apple is not a fragile startup clinging to government favor. The company is one of the richest companies in human history. Estimated cash of $162 billion. How much more does Mr. Cook need? How many billions of dollars will it take before a stiff spine becomes affordable for him?
The answer, it seems, is that there is no money that satisfies people who confuse wealth with value. When you are surrounded by more money than God, responsibility becomes optional. You can afford to laugh at your critics. We can afford to ignore the boycott. He can afford to pretend that his hands are clean while his fingers serve to manipulate the harmful mechanism of playing cards.
and the people call for boycottBecause at some point, anger has to be turned into action. Mr. Cook might scoff at that. He may ignore it as noise. He may hug Trump tighter and retreat further into the warm greenhouse where elites are impunity. But history has a way of remembering who stood up for dictators and who bent over backwards.
Cook seeks the honor of being the “historic” gay CEO while rejecting the responsibility that comes with such high profile. He wants to be celebrated by the LGBTQ+ community while treating our pain as an acceptable cost of doing business. Queer rights and tax breaks? Cook laughs at such choices.
This shames him not only as a CEO, but also as a person who has benefited greatly from a community he now refuses to protect. Mr. Cook should be a personality in the LGBTQ+ space. His silence, his following of Trump, and his relentless pursuit of access to Trump even as gay lives are at risk should disqualify him from claiming moral leadership.
It’s about putting Melania in a corner while Minneapolis and the country suffer.
After all, Mr. Cook is no different from Mr. Trump in the most important respects. Both are billionaires and believe that money is more important than morality, God, people, and life and death. Money frees him from everything. That wealth is insidious, and so is Mr. Cook.
Cook may think he’ll never catch up. He may believe that history will be kinder, that profits will drown out protests, that time will obscure betrayals. But moral baseness has a way back.
After endlessly kissing Trump’s ass, Mr. Cook may finally find that the power of his indulgence comes back to bite him in the ass.
Opinions is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and influential opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and allies. visit Advocate.com/submit Click here for detailed submission guidelines. The views expressed in opinion articles are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors and do not directly represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, Equality Pride.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
