Capehart: Apple's Tim Cook Is No Hypocrite

The Washington Post's Jonathan Capehart came to the defense of Apple's gay CEO, Tim Cook, in an opinion piece published Thursday.

Capehart commends Cook for publicly condemning the "religious freedom" laws passed in Indiana and Arkansas, and proposed in numerous other states, that would actually amount to a license to discriminate against LGBT people (the laws have now been amended to make them less harsh). Some conservatives though, have accused Cook of hypocrisy since Apple operates stores and does business in some of the most homophobic nations in the world, including places like Nigeria and Qatar, which have laws that condemn some gays to death. This sentiment is reminiscent of that voiced by Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who told Americans to have "perspective" about the "religious freedom" laws, since nations like Iran execute gays.

The issue isn't that black and white, Capehart argues. First off, Cook is an American and an American businessman.

"In a perfect world, Cook would be as publicly vocal abroad as they have been at home," Capehart writes. "Yet, you would be a fool to expect them to shake their fists with equal vigor in less tolerant countries -- unless your goal is to get them fired. The Almighty Dollar reigns supreme in the publicly traded companies they run."