Many corporations across the United States have recently decided to use their platform to either support or regulate the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. For example, a few airlines have decided to take a stand and allow BLM pins to be worn by all employees if they so desire. Delta Airlines was the first to design their own rendition of the Black Lives Matter pin for their flight attendants to wear, and American Airlines soon followed, issuing a statement of support. 

“American Airlines believes in equity and inclusion for all. In light of the appropriate attention to lives of Black Americans, we will allow team members who wish to wear a Black Lives Matter pin to do so if they choose,” read a statement from American Airlines provided to USA TODAY by representative Sarah Jantz. 

While some employees frowned upon this decision from American Airlines, saying it goes against their own belief that “all lives matter,” American Airlines made it clear that it is an option and not a requirement for their flight attendants. 

“One symbolic way to show our support is through a uniform pin,” said one American Airline employee. “We are working with our Black Professional Network on designing a specific pin that may be worn with the uniform. In the interim until this pin is produced, to recognize the significance of this moment in history, we are allowing people to wear a Black Lives Matter Pin.”

Outside of the sky, this debate continues. Companies such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Taco Bell and Starbucks decided to regulate the Black Lives Matter attire and restrict employees from taking a stand with their clothing and masks, to avoid controversy. 

Starbucks issued a statement to their employees explaining that Black Lives Matter buttons were verboten because they violated dress code policies forbidding attire that advocates for “political, religious or personal issues” and could be used to “amplify divisiveness,” but the company quickly retracted it after Buzzfeed brought the memo to the public. 

Taco Bell also issued a retraction statement after sending an employee home in Ohio for wearing BLM masks, but Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s have stood by their managers and have yet to issue a statement in support of their employee’s attire. 

When asked by the North Star, Trader Joe’s said “We understand this is a time for us to use our voice, and we appreciate the desire to hear how we plan to take action, sooner rather than later. It’s also critical that we take the time and steps that bring about the most meaningful change. When we say we’re committed to listening, caring, acting and continuously improving, we mean it.”

While this is a tough topic to speak about because of the tension going on in the United States, many companies have found it imperative to do so, in spite of fear of backlash or losing business. The NFL, NBA and MLB have all spoken in support toward Black Lives Matter, and they are huge corporations with big support and continue to have support. Many big corporations agree with this statement and have even given millions of dollars to the cause to show full support, such as Apple, Amazon and Microsoft.

Millions of people across America downloaded the iOS13 update for their iPhones this past week, bringing multiple innovations to the world’s most popular smartphone. According to statcrunch.com, Apple has a commanding lead in the phone market, to no one’s surprise, with a 46 percent hold. Android comes in at 36 percent, while Microsoft’s attempt at the smartphone market, holds a measly 2 percent.

This is in a long and storied rivalry between the two technological giants. A long time ago before they turned rivals, Microsoft was one of the few companies that developed for the Apple Computer when it became first available. It wasn’t until Bill Gates deceived Steve Jobs into believing that Microsoft would accept controlling the application market whereas Apple would control the Computer market. Gates didn’t fold the way Jobs wanted him to.  

In the first decade of the 2000s, the two companies settled into their respective roles in the new age of technology. Microsoft had a monopoly on the hardware and software of the working person, offices were filled solely with computers that ran windows. Apple was a leisure product. They had the iPod, a device dedicated to music. The mac was practically dead at that point, as the company shifted focus to entertainment. Until the release of the iPhone, Microsoft was all work and Apple was all play. 

The iPhone changed the world as we know it, and now the average person owns at least one Apple product. The company eventually released the Macbook and began an effort to evolve its product to be one that you could go to for fun and for work. 

Just look around campus, maybe one out of every ten students has a laptop that doesn’t have an apple on it, and for that reason, they’ll get made fun of. We’re even given IPads. Macs, something that used to wow kids like myself when we saw them in the classroom, are now a standard in most schools across the nation. 

Apple may be the winner of the 21st century so far, but there are still Microsoft products that allow them to turn a profit. They own the Xbox, a brand that daily, monthly and annually brings in ridiculous amounts of revenue. Apple has yet to find an answer to hold a stake in the gaming market, despite numerous attempts. Their Apple Arcade service seems promising but lacks the scale that the Xbox One and Playstation 4 are able to capture thanks to their hardware. 

Apple continues to evolve mobile games and market them as traditional gaming experiences but with little success. The majority of mobile game success is from taking advantage of children who don’t realize that money comes out of their parents’ pockets when they conduct microtransactions. 

Even then, Microsoft is still in second place, far from where it used to be in the ’90s. Microsoft has found itself in the middle of a technological war that it has yet to gain ground in and they are constantly fighting for second place. 

They do a lot of things well but don’t have that one thing that they’re the best at. As a consumer, it’s beyond me as to why people blindly buy the latest Apple product every year. Apple just has to name its price. Once Apple won a popularity contest, it didn’t matter if they were the most innovative, or the cheapest. They could do whatever they wanted, and the public would still obey. 

Microsoft was in this position back in the days of the Xbox 360, where everyone and their mother had one because everyone else had one. Now, this role has flipped in favor of Sony’s Playstation 4. 

It’s honestly kind of depressing watching Microsoft, once the royalty of the technological world sinks to a level of such never-ending mediocrity. However, Apple was in the same position before the turn of the century, so it’s entirely possible that we could see the tide shift. Until then, millions of people will wait in line for the iPhone 11 despite spending over $1,000 the previous year on their products.