I remember a time when I was young…going to an electronics store and not knowing what the owners of the store thought about penises and vaginas and such. And whether and in what way they went together. Or didn’t. And what kind of legislation should be voted on by Congress or signed by a president or ordered from the bench in relation to the sloppy pairing possibilities.

I remember that time. And what’s more, I prefer it.

For me, society crossed a line into unparalleled annoyance when corporations decided they should become as known for their politics as their products. Or known for their politics at all. I just wanna purchase some batteries; or some ice cream; or a sandwich; or a computer to write this article. I don’t care, or care to know, about the voting sensibilities of the suits or sandals behind the business.

But companies don’t care what I think, and so here we are — inundated with political statements and messages and activism by the corporate entities that facilitate our lifestyles. Like Apple. The notoriously left-wing company is certainly, for example, pro-gay. In fact, in 2015, CEO Tim Cook — who is, incidentally, himself gay — criticized a “Religious Freedom” law which, according to Fortune, “[prohibited] local governments from ‘substantially burdening’ any person’s free expression of religion. Opponents [claimed] the law could give business owners a free pass to refuse service to customers whose values conflict with theirs, notably same-sex couples. Supporters, however, [claimed] such laws shield citizens from government intrusion on their beliefs.”

Apple is open for everyone. We are deeply disappointed in Indiana's new law and calling on Arkansas Gov. to veto the similar #HB1228.

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) March 27, 2015

Okay. Fair enough.

Yet, when bowling for dollars in that evil Trump-colluded empire of Russia, suddenly gay-activist Apple’s all “mum.”

As per Fast Company, the tech giant has removed its Gay Pride watch face option for Apple Watches in the Soviet Union:

“iOS developer Guilherme Rambo found evidence that the pride Apple Watch face is ‘hardcoded to not show up if the paired iPhone is using the Russian locale.'”

The Apple Watch pride face is hardcoded to not show up if the paired iPhone is using the Russian locale pic.twitter.com/vEP8XquYsP

— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) August 31, 2018

The Verge confirms the disappearance of Pride once the watch’s ios 12 beta is set to a Russian location.

Apple’s pride Watch face simply disappears in Russia https://t.co/Pn1c8o9c8y pic.twitter.com/1wRDbFVqIt

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) August 31, 2018

Russia isn’t exactly rainbow-friendly: promoting LGBTQ issues can be rewarded with time in jail.

In the case of Moscow monetization, Apple could put its money where its political mouth is. But I guess at the end of the day, Steve Jobs’s former brainchild prefers green to all the other colors of the rainbow.

Thank you for reading! What do you think about Apple’s decision, how it fits with their activism, and corporate activism in general? I know many of you remember the same relatively-politics-free consumer world I do.

For something totally different, please check out my coverage of kids co-pooping, witches against Trump, and Alex Jones craziness.

Find all my RedState work here.

And as always, follow Alex Parker on Twitter and Facebook.