OPINION: “As customers reacted to what felt like an endorsement of Rick Jackson, chef Virgil Harper of Toast on Lenox attempted to squash the controversy by posting, “A Discussion is not a Vote,” with the hashtag #StayWoke. But co-owners Tamara Young and Harper are the ones in need of a wake-up call. Not only did their response fail to address customers’ concerns about their values, but their actions revealed a disappointing naïveté from otherwise savvy business owners. Businesses are entities created by people. Business owners reveal their ethics through brand positioning, advertising and publicity among other things. The values they reflect, whether based on truth or perception, are just as important as the product or service they are delivering. Consumers want to spend their time and money supporting the people, businesses and ideas that seek to build and sustain the kind of world they want to live in, now and in the future. Businesses exist to do business, and the first rule o...