Another Huge Win for Hogg and Parkland Students in Battle With the NRA

People in Florida love the Publix grocery store chain, but many were willing to forego shopping at their favorite store after news broke last week that Publix was a big political donor to an NRA-backed Republican candidate for governor, Adam Putnam.  There was not only a public outcry, but widespread boycotts were organized all over the state, creating a public relations nightmare for the Parkland, FL based retail chain.

Then David Hogg and other students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School got involved.  Shortly thereafter Publix backed down and said they would not only stop donations to Putnam’s campaign for governor, but they would stop all political donations.  Score another big political victory for the kids from Parkland.

Apparently Public had given Putnam $500,000 and the NRA had given him $1,000,000.  When he found out, David Hogg sent the following tweet:

“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.”

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Over 35,000 people liked Hogg’s tweet, but it was ignored by Publix. Not to be deterred, Hogg and his fellow students then staged a die-in at a Publix parking lot in Coral Springs, FL to publicly protest the company’s contributions to Putnam.

“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”

Even this didn’t the attention of Publix, a company with 175,000 employees. So Hogg tweeted: “@Publix I’m shaking in my boots awaiting your DM.”

Then Hogg tweeted his appreciation for the help the students had received from the ACLU and from the Coral Springs Police Department.

“Thank you @ACLU and @CoralSpringsPD for helping us all exercise our 1st amendment right. Talking about these issues is the first step to solving them. To the NRA supporters thank you for making your voice heard we are fighting for you too. Let’s save lives.”

And then finally, victory as press reports broke of Publix finally backing down:

“BREAKING: Publix suspends political donations as Parkland’s @davidhogg111 leads die-in protest:”

In his understated way Hogg claimed another victory. “The young people will win,” he tweeted.

So this does show incredible commitment and persistence on the part of 17 year old David Hogg and his fellow student activists.  They believe they can change the world, and it appears that they can.  Hogg took on Fox News and Laura Ingraham, and won there too, costing the conservative news outlet millions of dollars in lost advertising revenue.

The Publix story ended with the following public statement:

“We would never knowingly disappoint our customers or the communities we serve. As a result, we decided earlier this week to suspend corporate-funded political contributions as we reevaluate our giving processes.’’

The story of David Hogg and his fellow students’ fight against the NRA, however, has not ended, and will continue all the way to the November elections and beyond.  And don’t be surprised if, as Hogg has predicted, “the young people will win.”

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.