Goya Boycott - opinions requested

Parksy

Hello All;

Please feel free to clarify or fact check anything I put here that's inaccurate.  I was hoping to get some thoughts and opinions about this present story regarding Goya Foods being boycotted. 

Story goes, the CEO of Goya went to the White House to speak with Trump and have a press conference whereby he ended up praising Trump and speaking positively about him.  It's my understanding that Goya is popular among Latin Americans and since Trump has said some disparaging things about Latin Americans, many popular Latin Americans both politically and in the entertainment industry have spoken out against Goya and basically called for a boycott. 

I saw a clip from Fox and Friends with the CEO and he was asked about the call for the boycott and he said it wasn't fair and that he was not going to apologize about what he said and going to the White House.  But he then said the call for a boycott is "suppression of speech."  

This is where I'm hopeful to get some input.  What does he mean by "suppression of speech?"  When he said it and the Fox people agreed with him I thought it was rather dumb. Isn't people calling for a boycott the opposite of suppression of speech?  And I'm curious if I'm wrong here... but it seems to be common with regards to the divisiveness of society... are people blaming the public for suppression or speech or suppression of rights and freedoms just because they are receiving backlash for doing something unpopular? 

Poncier

The boycott is an expression of free speech in response to Mr. Goya's expression of his free speech.
He was in his right to support Trump and say what he wants, and his customers are in their right to boycott his product if they disagree with him.
Similar to members of the LGBTQ community choosing to boycott Chik-Fil-A.

cincybearcat

I still haven’t seen/heard what the Goya ceo said.

But protests and boycotts are not suppression of speech. Only if the government were to arrest/harass people speaking would it be suppression of speech 

Ledbetterman10

cincybearcat said:

I still haven’t seen/heard what the Goya ceo said.

But protests and boycotts are not suppression of speech. Only if the government were to arrest/harass people speaking would it be suppression of speech 

Trump signed a Hispanic Prosperity Initiative executive order and the Goya CEO praised him for it. 

Bentleyspop

I for one do my best to no longer buy from or support any business or person that supports the current government. 
That is my right and is not a "suppression of free speech"

Halifax2TheMax

As reported in the WaPo (I didn't include all the tweets that are referenced). A reaction to "free speech" is not suppression of free speech. 

As Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue stood beside President Trump in the Rose Garden on Thursday afternoon, the head of a corporation that bills itself as America’s largest Hispanic-owned food company remembered his grandfather. The Spanish immigrant and Trump have something in common, Unanue said.

“We’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump who is a builder, and that’s what my grandfather did,” the executive said. “He came to this country to build, to grow, to prosper. And so we have an incredible builder, and we pray for our leadership, our president, and we pray for our country that we will continue to prosper and to grow.”

But what were intended to be celebratory comments marking Trump’s signing of an executive order that pledges to improve Hispanic Americans’ access to educational and economic opportunities instead fueled a firestorm of backlash targeting Unanue and Goya that culminated in widespread calls to boycott the popular brand.

As clips of Unanue’s remarks circulated on social media Thursday, Latinos and longtime supporters of Goya’s food slammed the CEO’s commendation of Trump, citing the president’s incendiary rhetoric and controversial policies aimed at minority communities and immigrants. By early Friday, “Goya” was still a top trending term on Twitter, along with the hashtags #Goyaway and #BoycottGoya, as a number of public figures, and Democrats such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and former presidential candidate Julián Castro, criticized Unanue — a third-generation Spanish American — for praising Trump.

“Oh look, it’s the sound of me Googling ‘how to make your own Adobo,’ ” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, sharing a video of Unanue speaking.

Castro urged Americans to “think twice” before buying Goya products.

Goya Foods “has been a staple of so many Latino households for generations,” he tweeted. “Now their CEO, Bob Unanue, is praising a president who villainizes and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain.”

Unanue defended himself during a Friday morning appearance on Fox News, decrying the boycott as “suppression of speech.” He also questioned why his past praise of former president Barack Obama went unchallenged, but Thursday’s remarks about Trump prompted such swift criticism.

“You’re allowed to talk good or to praise one president, but you’re not allowed — when I was called to be part of this commission to aid in economic and educational prosperity and you make a positive comment, all of a sudden that’s not acceptable,” he said. “So I’m not apologizing. … Especially if you’re called by the president of the United States, you’re going to say: ‘No, I’m sorry. I’m busy, no thank you.’ I didn’t say that to the Obamas, and I didn’t say that to President Trump.”

The Goya company, which describes itself as “the premier source for authentic Latino cuisine,” was founded in 1936 by Prudencio Unanue and his wife, Carolina, both immigrants from Spain, who launched the brand by opening a small store in Lower Manhattan.

“Driven by the belief that there was a growing consumer market for high-quality, fresh-tasting, Latin foods, the Unanues catered to local Hispanic families by distributing authentic Spanish products including olives, olive oil, and sardines,” according to Goya’s website.

A Goya boycott has people sharing alternatives for adobo, sazón and more pantry staples

Goya, which is now headquartered in New Jersey, has since grown to have 26 facilities across the United States, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Spain and employs thousands of people worldwide. As of 2014, the Unanues were reportedly worth $1.1 billion, according to Forbes.

In past interviews, members of the Unanue family have credited the brand’s authenticity for its popularity.

“To us, it’s important to make the connection through a product that maybe we’re not going to sell truckloads of, but we’re going to have the product on the shelf so when a consumer goes in they say: ‘Wow, I can relate to Goya because it’s authentic, this product makes me feel like I’m at home,’ ” Peter Unanue, Robert Unanue’s younger brother, told The Washington Post in 2013.

As Robert Unanue, who took over the company more than a decade ago, has said, his family takes pride in becoming “part of the culture” of Latino communities. In 2011, Goya was honored by Obama for its commitment to serving Latinos.

“They say, ‘I remember your slogans, I remember that you were in my neighborhood, you were part of my life growing up,’” Unanue told NBC News in 2016, referring to conversations with people he has met over the years. “That’s what makes us more than just a food company.”

On Thursday, however, it was the company’s storied legacy that left a number of loyal consumers in disbelief over Unanue’s glowing comments about Trump, who has long been criticized for his anti-immigration rhetoric that many Latinos have said makes them feel “scared and worried” and “vulnerable,” The Post’s Rachel Hatzipanagos reported.

“We are blessed?” tweeted chef and humanitarian José Andrés. “I think Latinos we are being mistreated.”

Andrés’s comments were echoed widely across Twitter on Thursday as critics, many of whom are Latino, denounced Unanue and vowed to no longer support Goya Foods.
The official Twitter account of Latino Victory, a liberal political action committee, promoted the boycott hashtag and urged people to vote.
“It’s shameful and appalling that the president of Goya Foods is praising the most anti-Latino president in the history of our country,” Nathalie Rayes, the PAC’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “We call for a boycott of Goya Foods products and anyone who stands with Donald Trump and against our community.”

The movement also drew support from several other prominent figures and celebrities, such as Chrissy Teigen.

“A shame,” Teigen, author of the popular cookbook “Cravings,” tweeted. “Don’t care how good the beans taste though. Bye bye.”

Some took their outrage a step further, saying that they were immediately purging their households of Goya products, with one person sharing an image of a semi-full trash can. In response, many discouraged the action and suggested that the unwanted items be donated to food banks instead.

Meanwhile, others pushing the boycott promoted alternative brands and shared recipes for Goya favorites, such as adobo seasoning.
Though the intense response to Unanue’s comments steadily gained steam Thursday, it was met with resistance — largely from conservatives who countered the boycott-related hashtags with “#BuyGoya” and blasted critics for being too quick to “cancel” the Hispanic-owned business that has a long history of giving back to minority communities. During Thursday’s White House event, for example, Unanue announced that Goya, along with other partners, would be donating a million cans of its chickpeas in addition to another million pounds of food in an effort to help relieve shortages caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

On Twitter, Fox News contributor Rachel Campos-Duffy, who is Latina, specifically called out Castro for backing the boycott.

“Liberals like Castro don’t care about Latinos, minority businesses or millions Goya gives to charity,” Campos-Duffy wrote. “They care about power! Buy more Goya products!”

But at least one person stressed that the fierce blowback against Goya should not have been surprising.

“When the vast majority of your customers are Latinos, you might expect a backlash from serving as a prop for a guy who puts brown children in cages, calls countries like El Salvador, ‘shit-holes’, denies Puerto Rican deaths and calls Mexicans, ‘rapists and criminals,’ ” CNN commentator Ana Navarro-Cárdenas tweeted. “That’s all.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/10/goya-boycott-trump/

Parksy

Thank you...  and just to add,  if people, CEOs, Presidents, etc. are incorrectly framing "suppression of speech" isn't that inherently a problem?  Same goes with calling the media the "enemy of the people."  Thoughts? 

oftenreading

Parksy said:

Hello All;

Please feel free to clarify or fact check anything I put here that's inaccurate.  I was hoping to get some thoughts and opinions about this present story regarding Goya Foods being boycotted. 

Story goes, the CEO of Goya went to the White House to speak with Trump and have a press conference whereby he ended up praising Trump and speaking positively about him.  It's my understanding that Goya is popular among Latin Americans and since Trump has said some disparaging things about Latin Americans, many popular Latin Americans both politically and in the entertainment industry have spoken out against Goya and basically called for a boycott. 

I saw a clip from Fox and Friends with the CEO and he was asked about the call for the boycott and he said it wasn't fair and that he was not going to apologize about what he said and going to the White House.  But he then said the call for a boycott is "suppression of speech."  

This is where I'm hopeful to get some input.  What does he mean by "suppression of speech?"  When he said it and the Fox people agreed with him I thought it was rather dumb. Isn't people calling for a boycott the opposite of suppression of speech?  And I'm curious if I'm wrong here... but it seems to be common with regards to the divisiveness of society... are people blaming the public for suppression or speech or suppression of rights and freedoms just because they are receiving backlash for doing something unpopular? 

Yes, they are.

This is a point that the right often gets muddled up (not saying this guy is on the right - I have no idea - but it's a common thread).

You have the right to say what you wish, as long as it doesn't shade into hate speech, incitement to violence, or other illegal speech. And I have the right not to listen to what you say, to disagree with it, and to take actions to show my disagreement like boycotting your company, posting my disagreement, and telling other people why I disagree; again, as long as what I say doesn't shade into hate speech or incitement to violence, etc. 

Parksy

Poncier said:

The boycott is an expression of free speech in response to Mr. Goya's expression of his free speech.
He was in his right to support Trump and say what he wants, and his customers are in their right to boycott his product if they disagree with him.
Similar to members of the LGBTQ community choosing to boycott Chik-Fil-A.

 That was my thought as well.  Freedom of Expression meets Freedom of Expression.  But they don't coincide with each other... as in they are in disagreement.  But for the person having one opinion saying that disagreeing with that opinion is suppression of speech seems foolish and simply inaccurate. 

Gern Blansten

That guy is an idiot.  Idiots always trot out the "suppression of speech" bs when they say something stupid.

No one is preventing him from saying it.  Just like no one is preventing us from not buying their shitty trumpster product.

mickeyrat

Parksy said:

Thank you...  and just to add,  if people, CEOs, Presidents, etc. are incorrectly framing "suppression of speech" isn't that inherently a problem?  Same goes with calling the media the "enemy of the people."  Thoughts? 

of course it is a problem. especially when so many lack critcal thinking skills or basic civics knowledge

Parksy

@ Halifax ... thanks for posting!  That's a ton more info than I provided.  

It also gives me another point to hopefully discuss.  He says...  and I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that ALOT of people are incorrectly saying this: 'I'm allowed to speak positively about Obama, but I'm not allowed to speak nicely about Trump.'   For &%$# sakes... no one is saying you're not allowed to do anything... but of course you're going to get backlash for doing something unpopular or of course offensive.  Why do folks who are against so called cancel culture continue to reference freedoms and rights and the suppression thereof?? It makes no sense to me.  

brianlux

I don't see how a boycott can be equated with suppression of speech.  If someone says something that offends others, that's their choice and they face the consequences.  Anybody if free to praise Trump all they like.  Nothing has been suppressed. The Goya CEO is free to praise Trump, you and I are free to boycott Goya.  Simple as that.

OnWis97

So many people either do not understand what free speech is about or they deliberately use the phrase to villainize their opponents (effectively doing the same thing) and play the victim.

There are people that claimed to boycott PJ after they were ripping W. in 2003.  I role my eyes at them, but it's their right.  They were not supressing the band's speech.

Parksy

brianlux said:

I don't see how a boycott can be equated with suppression of speech.  If someone says something that offends others, that's their choice and they face the consequences.  Anybody if free to praise Trump all they like.  Nothing has been suppressed. The Goya CEO is free to praise Trump, you and I are free to boycott Goya.  Simple as that.

100%

oftenreading

As a little addendum, there's the theory, voiced even on AMT within the last couple of weeks, that "you have to respect my opinion".

No, I don't have to respect your opinion. I have to respect your right to have an opinion, but I am not under any obligation to respect the opinion itself.

Gern Blansten

My self imposed boycott on Chik-fil-A didn't last long...couldn't resist that mac and cheese and spicy chicken sandwich

dankind

oftenreading said:

As a little addendum, there's the theory, voiced even on AMT within the last couple of weeks, that "you have to respect my opinion".

No, I don't have to respect your opinion. I have to respect your right to have an opinion, but I am not under any obligation to respect the opinion itself.

It's against my religion to respect anyone's opinion. 

oftenreading

dankind said:

oftenreading said:

As a little addendum, there's the theory, voiced even on AMT within the last couple of weeks, that "you have to respect my opinion".

No, I don't have to respect your opinion. I have to respect your right to have an opinion, but I am not under any obligation to respect the opinion itself.

It's against my religion to respect anyone's opinion. 

Church of the Latter Day Contrarians? 

OnWis97

Gern Blansten said:

My self imposed boycott on Chik-fil-A didn't last long...couldn't resist that mac and cheese and spicy chicken sandwich

Mine's still going...of course, I would probably not have gotten anything from there anyway given that they are rare up here in Minnesota (Suburbs but I'm in St. Paul) and that I don't eat fast food during a typical month.

I had it once at the ATL airport before they took the bad press...It was OK but I didn't get the hype.  It's like the chicken version of Krispy Kreme.

dankind

oftenreading said:

dankind said:

oftenreading said:

As a little addendum, there's the theory, voiced even on AMT within the last couple of weeks, that "you have to respect my opinion".

No, I don't have to respect your opinion. I have to respect your right to have an opinion, but I am not under any obligation to respect the opinion itself.

It's against my religion to respect anyone's opinion. 

Church of the Latter Day Contrarians? 

I'm a Dudeist priest.

oftenreading

dankind said:

oftenreading said:

dankind said:

oftenreading said:

As a little addendum, there's the theory, voiced even on AMT within the last couple of weeks, that "you have to respect my opinion".

No, I don't have to respect your opinion. I have to respect your right to have an opinion, but I am not under any obligation to respect the opinion itself.

It's against my religion to respect anyone's opinion. 

Church of the Latter Day Contrarians? 

I'm a Dudeist priest.

You wear it well. 

F Me In The Brain

F Goya and that fool.  I will no longer buy their products.  His "suppression" comment is almost as dumb as supporting Trump when your customer base is Latino.  

Gern Blansten

OnWis97 said:

Gern Blansten said:

My self imposed boycott on Chik-fil-A didn't last long...couldn't resist that mac and cheese and spicy chicken sandwich

Mine's still going...of course, I would probably not have gotten anything from there anyway given that they are rare up here in Minnesota (Suburbs but I'm in St. Paul) and that I don't eat fast food during a typical month.

I had it once at the ATL airport before they took the bad press...It was OK but I didn't get the hype.  It's like the chicken version of Krispy Kreme.

Excuse me Sir but until you try their mac and cheese you are just going to have to believe me.  The shit is legit.  

josevolution

Gern Blansten said:

My self imposed boycott on Chik-fil-A didn't last long...couldn't resist that mac and cheese and spicy chicken sandwich

lol 

josevolution

Anything that comes in those tin cans or plastic bags you can buy other brands of it! So yeah screw Goya Adobo is a rub anyone can make it..

Gern Blansten

There are all kinds of videos on tiktok of tRumpsters going to the store and buying up Goya stuff.

They won't be able to do that for long.  I'm guessing the GOya moron will resign or apologize in about a month

jeffbr

josevolution said:

Anything that comes in those tin cans or plastic bags you can buy other brands of it! So yeah screw Goya Adobo is a rub anyone can make it..

Exactly right. I boycotted Goya years ago simply based on price. I'm not paying $2.75 for an $0.89 can of beans.

what dreams

This is not the first time Goya has been in the news. Over the past several decades, they have had several complaints brought against them by the National Labor Relations Board and brought to court for their violations of labor law. They have a terrible record.

joseph33

It's a dangerous thing when businesses are boycotted because the owner may have a differing political opinion.  I dont have to boycott Goya,because I never bought their products to begin with. But I think I'll buy from them now.

oftenreading

joseph33 said:

It's a dangerous thing when businesses are boycotted because the owner may have a differing political opinion.  I dont have to boycott Goya,because I never bought their products to begin with. But I think I'll buy from them now.

I'll bite. Why is this dangerous? It seems a very normal and reasonable thing to patronize businesses whose practices you agree with and refrain from buying from businesses whose practices you disagree with.