Tractor supply anti gay

“I rolled into South Dakota on my 2003 100th anniversary pre woke edition Electra glide,” one wrote to Starbuck on X. “I heard HD Sturgis HQ is gonna be like Bud Light tent was last year!”

Country artist Travis Tritt called the allegations "disturbing."

"I seriously doubt that pushing a DEI agenda will be very popular with any of the HOG members I know," Tritt said on X.

Though his attacks may have won points with many Harley-Davidson riders, Starbuck also has his share of detractors.

A Harley-Davidson dealership in Vermont accused him of playing fast and loose with the facts and exploiting hot-button issues for personal gain.

So Montello texted his boss and turned in the store keys the same day. In a poll on his X account, he asked followers: “Should I sell my Harley or blow it up with a machine gun?!?!”

"Listen, man, I still go to Starbucks. He frames his anti-DEI campaign as getting politics out of business. He posts dozens of times over the course of weeks to get his followers' attention, urging them to protest with their voices and their wallets.

“If you give people the information, they are going to make wise choices with it, especially if you are doing it in a way that is focused at the right demographics and at the right customer base,” he told USA TODAY.

Starbuck’s message resonated with Ultimate Fighting Championship star Sean Strickland who has owned Harley-Davidson motorcycles most of his life.

Starbuck, who worked in the film industry in California before moving to a 12-acre farm near Nashville, said he canceled his membership in Tractor Supply’s loyalty program and rolled up his sleeves, peppering the company with social media posts taking issue with everything from its climate change initiatives to a warehouse displaying Pride flags.

Three weeks after Starbuck began his campaign, Tractor Supply scrapped its DEI initiatives and carbon emission goals.

“We need to be treated with the same dignity and respect.”

One Tractor Supply employee voted with his feet.

After seeing Starbuck's video on X, Strickland wheeled out his own soapbox and threatened to sell his custom cruiser. Now he’s working construction for $18 an hour while he figures out what to do next.

Tractor Supply employees and customers have stopped him in the grocery store aisles and on hiking trails and reached out to him on Facebook to voice their support, Montello says.

After weighing in on divisive topics like abortion, immigration and racial equity, business leaders are walking a fine line, trying to steer away from the nation’s cultural fault lines while continuing to embrace DEI initiatives that are popular with many consumers and employees.

“Starbuck and other activists are tapping into the sentiment that DEI and ESG initiatives, however well-meaning, have gone too far,” said David Primo, a professor of political science and business administration at the University of Rochester in New York.

In this volatile political environment, Starbuck sees himself as a corporate watchdog.

Joe Montello, who describes himself as a “rural, country, woodsy kind of guy,” says he’s happiest hiking mountain trails and paddling crystalline lakes. They are a valuable thread in the tapestry of American agriculture,” Frobose wrote on her brand Facebook page. Click here for more information.

Why are people mad at Tractor Supply?

After backlash from conservative consumers, Tractor Supply is eliminating DEI initiatives and refocusing efforts on other things.

“This is an overreaction to loud voices who are upset that LGBTQ+ and POC exist in agriculture and deserve equity and equality in our communities and workplaces.”

Ryan Goodman, founder of Pride in Agriculture, said the Tractor Supply team was “incredibly supportive” when he worked there in high school.

“HD has been judged, criticized, and attacked for various things over its 120-year history. According to an opinion piece published in The Tennessean in 2021, CEO Hal Lawton said he hoped to address multiple long-term DEI initiatives including increasing employees of color at the management level and above by 50% by 2026, increasing funding for education for African American communities by 30% by 2026 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

The company is now reprioritizing the "future of rural America" through support of veteran causes, emergency response, animal shelters, state fairs, rodeos, Future Farmers of America and more.

What does the statement from Tractor Supply Co.

say?

In response to the statement, some LGBTQ+ supporters posted that they'll no longer shop there.

Tractor Supply locations in Indiana