The Power of the Green

St. Patrick's is a day for the "wearing of the green" -- "Kiss me I'm Irish" buttons, shamrocks and plastic fedoras. The Chicago River flows green and gallons of green beer are guzzled. But, "the wearing of the green" didn't begin this way. Green was the symbol of Irish independence and wearing it could put one in harms' way. The phrase "the wearing of the green" originates from a song with the verse "they are hanging men and women for the wearing of the green." That's how green became so powerfully associated with the Irish people.

Nowadays, the wearing of the green is mostly done on St. Patrick's Day. A high religious holiday set aside to honor the contributions of the patron saint of Ireland and to reflect on the somber history of the Irish people. Doesn't sound like your St. Patrick's Day? Mine either. Let's face it, St. Patrick's Day is basically a day to party.

The history of the saint, the Irish people and the significance of the color green seem long forgotten (or more likely, were never known) at least in America. While the most faithful make it to Mass on St. Patrick's Day, the real action is in the bars where revelers sing, dance, reminisce, tell tall-tales and yes, may even end their night with a fight or some other public disgrace. For better or worse, this is the universal, all-American, St. Patrick's Day experience -- fun, often raucous and probably more than a little drunken. But still, a fitting tribute to the spirit of the Irish people celebrated by all on the one day a year when everyone's Irish.

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Unless, you're openly gay. In that case, Irish or not, you aren't welcome to march in the parades in Boston or New York. While "don't ask, don't tell" is long gone in the military, pro sports accept openly gay athletes and, even the Pope is addressing the topic of homosexuality in a compassionate manner, the issue of gay participation in Boston and New York parades has become intractable.

Organizers of the cities' parades and gay rights activists have been locked in a long battle with seemingly no end in sight.

Until now. Boston's parade took a blow when the Sam Adams brewery pulled its sponsorship. Sam Adams had sponsored the parade for years and it was a no-brainer why; Boston is about as Irish a city as you can get and, Sam Adams is the hometown brew. So, what made Sam Adams pull its support this year?

A new power of the green -- but nothing to do with the Irish. This power of the green is spending power. Businesses recognize the risk of alienating customers and losing their business. Sam Adams pulled its sponsorship under the threat of boycott because of its association with the parade. While Sam Adams may genuinely sympathize with the LGBT cause, the boycott threat likely put some urgency into the decision. The same happened in New York where Heineken pulled its parade sponsorship over exclusion of openly gay marchers. And, this weekend, Guinness also pulled its sponsorship of the New York parade over the issue. (And, it doesn't get more Irish than Guinness).

Recently, we saw this new power of the green on display in Arizona.

Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill that would have allowed businesses to deny service to gay and lesbian customers if serving them was contrary to the religious beliefs of an establishment. While it's impossible to know Gov. Brewer's true motivation, it's clear she faced tremendous pressure from business. Large companies such as American Airlines, AT&T, and Intel all pressured Brewer to kill the bill telling, her it would be disastrous for Arizona businesses.

Sure, cynics may say business only cares about money and not about the cause. And, the cynics may be right. But that's OK because ultimately consumers wield the final say and businesses recognize that. If a social media movement can help bring down unpopular governments (Egypt, Libya), businesses put themselves at great risk if at odds with the values of their customers.

Corporate interests wield tremendous power, power that has too often seemed in conflict with individual interests. That no longer has to be the case. Businesses are listening and, more important, they're acting to effect change. The tremendous power of corporate America can be shaped and influenced by the desires of consumers -- who are, after all, the ultimate source of the money that creates that power.

It's great news for all. We have another tool to effect change: the spending of our green.

From this week's USA Today column

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/03/17/st-patricks-day-gay-rights-trish-regan/6515803/

Check out my video link here:
https://mobile.bloomberg.com/video/why-green-isn-t-just-about-the-irish-uvc23PfqTDuIG91klmHwaw.html