Tim Cook Calls for a 'Durable and Hopeful Future For All' in Wall Street Journal Op-Ed

[MacRumors]

Apple CEO Tim Cook has penned an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, calling for more action to be taken against systemic racism and the need to speak up in light of the disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had on communities.

Cook's piece highlights how the pandemic has impacted various communities differently and draws on his personal experience of growing up during the civil rights movement.

In simple theory, a disease should affect all of us equally. But in plain fact, the opposite is true. We have all seen, in real time, how structural discrimination and obstacles to opportunity do their work in a crisis. In our communities, every burden—from rates of infection and care outcomes, to economic adversity, to the challenges of virtual learning when schools are closed—falls heaviest on those for whom true equity has always been farthest from reach. As someone who grew up during the civil-rights movement, it has been frustrating to see how much work is still to be done but heartening to see the degree to which people of good will have set aside comfort with the status quo to march and to demand something better.

As the end of the pandemic nears, Cook says it is a collective responsibility to ensure that moving forward, all individuals, communities, companies, and governments do everything they can to ensure a hopeful and "durable" future for all.

When the pandemic recedes, we can't simply assume that healing follows. It falls on all of us—individuals and communities, companies and governments—to ensure that what's ahead is not just the end of a disease but a durable and hopeful future for all who sacrificed and endured during this unprecedented time.

The global health crisis has forced millions of students to learn remotely from home, and Cook says Apple is committed to building "powerful learning tools and [sharing] them freely with tens of thousands of teachers, educators, and parents." Cook goes on to describe Apple's multiple investments for Black and underrepresented communities.

And it's led us to undertake major new investments through our Racial Equity and Justice Initiative. These projects include the Propel Center in Atlanta, which we're helping to build in partnership with the country's historically Black colleges and universities, to support the next generation of leaders of color in fields ranging from machine learning to app development, entrepreneurship to design; and our first Apple Developer Academy in the U.S., in downtown Detroit, home to more than 50,000 Black-owned businesses and no shortage of great ideas for the app economy.

Cook ends with a hopeful message, saying that if anything, he hopes this pandemic has taught us that there is a need to speak up and that a long history of injustice should not be used as an excuse to do nothing.

The old saying goes that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the second best time is today. If this pandemic has taught us anything, I hope it’s that none of us can use injustice’s long history as an excuse not to act. Our lives on this planet are precious and fleeting, and fate has a way of reminding us that society is only as strong as those who, for too long, have gone overlooked and undervalued.

Cook's full op-ed can be read with a subscription to The Wall Street Journal.

Article Link: Tim Cook Calls for a 'Durable and Hopeful Future For All' in Wall Street Journal Op-Ed

 

[nikaru]

What he is talking about? The pandemic hit harder the most developed countries in the world. The infection and death rate in Europe and North America was far greater than in Africa, India and other developing countries/regions.

 

[SoldOnApple]

Glad that Apple want to use some of their fortune and ingenuity to do some good in the world.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

That’s a nice thought, but somewhere around half the country just learned everything they know about medical science from politicians and think they’re invincible. The next one of these that comes that turns out to be even slightly more effective should wipe out a pretty large percentage of the population. ...but I guess it’s just like in any species, reckless behavior in the face of disease becomes a self-solving problem.

 

[dav1dd]

All I really want is for you to make good computers.

 

[LFC2020]

Apple CEO Tim Cook has penned an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, calling for more action to be taken against systemic racism and the need to speak up in light of the disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had on communities.

What about China Tim? 🤔 Oh that’s right 🤐💰💰💰

 

[timidpimpin]

Then maybe Apple should stop running sweat shops in China. You can't act like you want the best for all, and then turn around and contribute to workers being treated like garbage.

 

[DHagan4755]

If America is systemically racist why then are tens of thousands of migrants crossing the US/Mexico border illegally to live here?

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

What he is talking about? The pandemic hit harder the most developed countries in the world. The infection and death rate in Europe and North America was far greater than in Africa, India and other developing countries/regions.

Keep in mind that the developed countries have enhanced reporting and infrastructure available to them. The lesser developed countries may not have these, and could very well be as badly affected, if not, even worse.

We may never know the true extent of this pandemic, and we will likely feel its impact for decades to come.

 

[matrix07]

Then maybe Apple should stop running sweat shops in China. You can't act like you want the best for all, and then turn around and contribute to workers being treated like garbage.

I don't care about sweat shops. Not that much anyway. But China is a threat to civilized societies so how Tim Cook can do business with them with straight face? Just looks at all Hong Kongers who are suffering under CCP. That's the true suffering.

 

[Mike_Trivisonno]

Just give us technology, Tim. Stop with the pontificating. Plus, racism is learned, it's not inherent in any individual regardless of melanin content. People learn to be bigots and racists. It's not preloaded in the human OS.

 

[Rob_2811]

Is there a more sanctimonious CEO out there? Still no word from Tim on the human rights abuses in China..

 

[Starscape]

This hyper-imagining of perceived ‘systemic racism’ really needs to die out now. Yes, racists are always white. Sure. Racism is a one-way street with 10,000 lanes. I get it. This kind of garbage and the policies that result from it only creates more real racism.

 

[Black Belt]

This is why there is no event on Tuesday, Tim was too busy writing a glorified ad for Apple’s “wokeness”

 

[ThunderSkunk]

If America is systemically racist why then are tens of thousands of migrants crossing the US/Mexico border illegally to live here?

Just going out on a wild limb here, but perhaps, just maybe, those people bought into a century of the country blaring its star-spangled marketing materials all over the world, and don’t yet know the reality they’re actually in for here, and won’t until they actually arrive and it becomes their reality. ...what with time proceeding in one direction and all.

 

[Aluminum213]

God bless you Tim Cook, God bless you to the heavens above

 

[hagar]

What he is talking about? The pandemic hit harder the most developed countries in the world. The infection and death rate in Europe and North America was far greater than in Africa, India and other developing countries/regions.

I came for the comments and people sure don’t disappoint. Why do you assume he’s only talking about developing countries? We know poor, black and Hispanic communities in the US have been hit much harder by the pandemic. The US is the OECD country with the fourth highest poverty rate. In many aspects, the US is still a developing country.

All I really want is for you to make good computers.

If the CEO of Facebook only talks about his plans to make his company richer, he’s an evil guy. If a CEO talks about improving society, he should stick to running his company. They can’t win, can they?

Apple CEO Tim Cook has penned an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, calling for more action to be taken against systemic racism and the need to speak up in light of the disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had on communities.

What about China Tim? 🤔 Oh that’s right 🤐💰💰💰

Why do you expect an American company to go after a foreign government? The topic of this interview is how to come out of this pandemic safely on the other end, not “a random collection of horrific things happening around the world“.

If America is systemically racist why then are tens of thousands of migrants crossing the US/Mexico border illegally to live here?

I assume this question is a joke? Can’t get my head around this much ignorance. So, I’ll just assume it’s meant sarcastically.

This hyper-imagining of perceived ‘systemic racism’ really needs to die out now. Yes, racists are always white. Sure. Racism is a one-way street with 10,000 lanes. I get it. This kind of garbage and the policies that result from it only creates more real racism.

Racism is built into the US since before it was founded and it’s still very real and detrimental for the future of the country. If you think it’s imagination, you should step out of your privilege bubble and join reality. Only then will the US be able to leave the dark ages of its past behind.

 

[justperry]

This hyper-imagining of perceived ‘systemic racism’ really needs to die out now. Yes, racists are always white. Sure. Racism is a one-way street with 10,000 lanes. I get it. This kind of garbage and the policies that result from it only creates more real racism.

Racist always white, huh... bullocks, I've travelled extensively and can tell you racist aren't always white.

 

[infinitejest]

Then why are they still selling real leather products.........

 

[svanstrom]

If America is systemically racist why then are tens of thousands of migrants crossing the US/Mexico border illegally to live here?

Because in many cases the ones fleeing their homes are less hurt by 🇺🇸 racism than they are by the gangs and (in many cases 🇺🇸 caused) political instability of their home countries.

 

[nexusrule]

What he is talking about? The pandemic hit harder the most developed countries in the world. The infection and death rate in Europe and North America was far greater than in Africa, India and other developing countries/regions.

It doesn’t surprise me that you really don’t know what you are talking about.

 

[justperry]

Keep in mind that the developed countries have enhanced reporting and infrastructure available to them. The lesser developed countries may not have these, and could very well be as badly affected, if not, even worse.

We may never know the true extent of this pandemic, and we will likely feel its impact for decades to come.

I can tell you that for a fact it is more in the developed world, there's are a lot more obese people in the west, diabetes is also a lot more or other underlying health problems, all of the above leads to more (severe) corona cases.
There's also less interaction in between groups of people in for instance African countries or in between those countries located within Africa, like import/export so less chance to get infected, just look at the number of flights above Africa compared for instance to Europe, while above Europe the map is all yellow (on flightradar24), the map of the whole of Africa shows just 10's of flights in real-time, Europe has thousands, and Africa is immensely bigger than Europe.

 

[Rob_2811]

Why do expect an American company to take down a foreign government?

Nobody is asking them to 'take down' the Chinese government he could speak on human rights abuses that happen there but he won't.

 

[jimothyGator]

Just going out on a wild limb here, but perhaps, just maybe, those people bought into a century of the country blaring its star-spangled marketing materials all over the world, and don’t yet know the reality they’re actually in for here, and won’t until they actually arrive and it becomes their reality. ...what with time proceeding in one direction and all.

So migrants come to the USA, discover it’s a cesspool of systemic racism and a gazillion other “isms”, and they don’t think to call their kin back home warning them it’s not really a land of opportunity?

I welcome immigrants. In fact, I’d like to have a program where we send out one native-born spoiled, commie wannabe who hates America, and bring in one hard working immigrant who wants to experience American opportunity. A foreign exchange program.

 

[svanstrom]

I can tell you that for a fact it is more in the developed world, there's are a lot more obese people in the west, diabetes is also a lot more or other undelying health problems., all of the above leads to more (severe) corona cases.

Oh, how nice, the noble savage trope used to justify some sort of "poor me"-attitude.

Here's the thing… There actually are a number of places that appear to show Covid-19 as less of a deadly problem simply because the average person doesn't live long enough to hit those ages where Covid-19 really has taken the most lives. That's not really enough of a reason to go all "poor us (relatively) rich people" with a noble svage trope, though; more a reason for getting upset that other people are living such bad lives that they don't live long enough to die from Covid-19.