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Why do Fortune 500 companies, one after another, roll out sales or advertising campaigns that offend the beliefs of a large number of their customers?
While the percentage of Americans formally associated with organized religion is dropping, America is still a relatively religious country. Most Americans have some religious association and most likely perform religious observance. “Holy” tends to describe items or people that are separated and elevated from everyday things. A holy book, while it might be printed in the same place where Harry Potter books are produced, has by its content standing in the eyes of its owner that he would not bring it into the bathroom or use it to hold open a barn door. That which one holds as holy is treated with reverence.
Now think about a person who grew up in a completely secular home. He went to a secular high school and later college and then moved to a big city, where he enjoyed the nightlife and entertainment. For such a person, maybe at no fault, nothing in his life is “holy.” He has a special baseball card he treats with incredible respect, but that is for financial and not religious reasons. People like our secular fellow are the ones who make up the vast majority of executives and directors of Fortune 500 companies. While there may be a diversity of age, men and women, Blacks and Hispanics, gays and gender curious, there is almost no diversity of thought. All of them are college graduates, and at the highest levels, the majority likely all graduated from a few dozen schools selected from the Ivy League, expensive private schools, and top public universities. These people grew up with little to no religion, and pride week or month is standard on campus. I remember a Harvard student complaining in 2016 to the Harvard Crimson that as a Hilary Clinton supporter, she had to hide her affiliation at a campus overrun with Bernie Bros. Now, take these people, who have a tiny idea of what religion is and do not participate themselves in any organized religion, and give them the reins of the largest and most powerful corporations in the United States, and what do you get? A guy pretending to be a girl selling beer. Target puts “pride” clothing front and center in its numerous stores. Disney pushing sexually aggressive material in movies for very young children. And when there is a backlash, they do not understand why.
Americans are, by and large, not racist people. The Left can yell and scream how racist the US is, but if one looks at the incredible diversity of American life, he will conclude that all walks of life are allowed to succeed. Americans do not care what people do in their bedrooms, and they do not judge people by their characteristics. Most Americans think of meritocracy—can you get the job done? Americans do not like or even tolerate when a large corporation that, until last Thursday, used to hawk its products suddenly advertises or puts forward a position that belittles religious beliefs that millions hold to be holy. The Bible has what to say about homosexuality, and while Americans couldn’t care less what their colleagues do on their own time, they do not like when companies tell them that something that the Good Book says is bad is somehow wonderful. Anheuser Busch, Target, Disney, Kohl, and other big firms do not have a clue how a large percentage of their customers live their lives—peddling narratives or products that say that your religion is stupid or backward means that people will have to choose between their beliefs or your cheap products. Most will stick with their beliefs. And since the top executives of these companies come from a near-uniform secular background, they don’t know how their customers live their lives and cannot believe that there is a backlash to promotions that they think are benign.
Busch started backpedaling almost immediately, with pseudo-patriotic ads and a joint ad with Harley Davidson. But the damage has been done. Again, Americans are very tolerant and don’t care how others live their lives. But they will take it personally when they are told their lifestyle is wrong. And that is exactly how free markets should work. Not everything is price, and not every best-performing product is best-selling. People vote with their feet; if you offend your customers, expect a backlash. But those making the decision come from the same college/university experience of Left-think, and they don’t know that if one promotes sexually offensive products, consumers might take their business elsewhere. The recent boycotts of Busch and Target have not been organized. Simply, each consumer decides that they have had enough and there are more than enough alternatives in beer and discount stores to leave the offenders behind. Money is the only language that corporations understand, and if they want to offend religious and traditional Americans, they can see their sales and stock price head south. Target has lost billions on its market cap, and Bud Light sales are still falling. That’s how a free market works. They may not have taught that in their Marxist economics classes.
If one boycotted every company that put out offensive content, there would be no sports to watch, movies to see, clothes to buy, or food to eat. Everyone can decide how to spend their money in their pockets and let the big corporations know that offending that which is holy means that their money goes to their competitor. Then, when the executive layoffs come, and the stock gets a downgrade (as Target did), they will start to respect the people who have made them rich.
Mo de Profit says
“ These people grew up with little to no religion, and pride week or month is standard on campus. ”
They grow up without common sense.
Mo de Profit says
ESG investment rules that have miraculously appeared worldwide within two years seem to all be driven by the World Economic Forum’s agenda 2030.
Pro-fit is no longer needed by the executives who encourage perversion.
Kasandra says
That’s right but there is also the lavishly funded Humans Rights Campaign’s “Corporate Equality Index” which it describes as “the national benchmarking tool measuring policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) employees,” and is “a primary driving force for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion.” Undoubtedly, a company’s rating on this index influences it’s ESG ration given to them by huge financial management companies like Black Rock and Vanguard. And this rating has an enormous influence on their ability to raise capital and engage in business. So these financial management companies (run by people described in the column who all came out of the same academic bubble) have the companies by their gonads and can exert significant pressure on them to engage in ritual obeisance to the LGBT+~¿it community.
Goodnight Irene says
EXCELLENT. There is a God and he sees his people are suffering. It has been breathtaking to see what has happened financially to Bud and Target pushing transgender/gay sickness. People are FURIOUS.
Hey, even nonreligious types are OUTRAGED that schools and organizations are pushing sick, sick, sick drag queen shows for children. If somebody ever did that to a child of mine, I would s h oo t them dead on the spot.
Sir Madam Jihad says
Woke corporations are sucked in by the CULT of the LAWLESS LEFT.
Woke corporate “leaders” are actually small members if the woke heard , who respond only to the groupthink of their Marxist leaders. Like “good NAZl soldiets” they follow the commands, regardless of whether their actions will decimate the companies they “lead” – in that sense, like Obama, they ate embracing the “lead from behind” oxymoron that their impressionable small brains erroneously think is leadership. Pathetic losers. As are those on the boards of those companies.
T Crandall says
Intolerance of evil is quite refreshing. Morals are convictions of the heart. Voting with our dollars is very effective as corporations attempt to perpetuate their darkness. The corporations exist for one purpose: to make a profit. It appears that the sleeping bear is waking up to this fact. When people realize that they have power over corporations they can change the narrative. Be mindful of this power and express your values with your dollars.
K.F. Smith says
It’s good news that these corporations have been hit hard, but we have to hit harder. Our boycotts must close one or more permanently. That would be a great shot across the bow. What are their employees to do? Work for conservative companies. As we get rid of the woke companies, conservative replacements should be full speed ahead.
While we’re at it, all patriotic Americans of retirement age should immediately cancel their AARP membership. Putting Jane Fonda on the cover of two of their magazines was no accident. It’s AARP’s way of saying FU. We should say it right back at them. There are plenty of alternatives: AMAC is one.
Plus, AARP thinks the elderly are nothing but a bunch of celebrity obsessed mindless nitwits.
Sandi says
Excellent points. I never joined AARP – I joined AMAC when it was founded.
whirlwinder says
Does anybody know the effect that Blackrock has on corporate America? With a controlling interest in 700 of the Fortune 1000 companies, Blackrock can dictate a woke agenda on most of Americas corporate world which works to destroy the country.
Old Fogey says
So the question is: Why does Blackrock pursue its agenda? What can the investment managers gain from intimidating corporate management to support an anti-family, anti-science, anti-faith, and anti-culture agenda?
LC says
Maybe its the large shareholders influencing these things. This is the general rule. There could be exceptions.
Take a look at a proxy for any S&P 500 company. There is a page that discloses the big shareholders – that own 5% or more of the company’s stock.
The two biggest shareholders are – – >
Vanguard
Blackrock
Together they can own 15-25%. (now please try to act surprised)
Some companies list other 5% institutional owners that can bring ownership to about 50%.
Then there are the institutional owners who don’t have to report, as their ownership is just under 5%
I’ve seen sources implying the institutional ownership exceeds 90%
Brian says
Concerning the rainbow. The rainbow GOD created has 7 colors and the rainbow of the LGBTQ+++ only has 6 colors. GOD’s is a perfect prism and theirs is an imperfect imitation.
Warm Pablum says
They know if they act repentant we will let them back inside the walls of civilization. They know we are the side of forgiveness and all con men know a mark when they see one!
Cat says
i just read that Anheuser funded some big drag queen event. Thats Since the trans beer can. Customers dollars mean nothing to them. Their income is from elsewhere, I guess. Or someone is holding a weapon to their head. Idk but they don’t care about our boycotts. I boycott anyway just on principle.
Old Fogey says
There’s plenty of good fun to be had without patronizing businesses run by people who hate you and hate what you care about. I haven’t watched NASCAR, basketball, pro football, or commie futbol in years, and MLB is on a pretty short leash. I cancelled Netflix. I no longer buy Jack Daniels or any InBev brew (sorry, Negra Modelo, I miss you).
But I live near great outdoors places to walk the dog, enjoy the company of the people with whom I attend church, have pleasant neighbors – even if some of them actually believed the CDC, and have lots of books to read. My focus is on saving my grandchildren from the maelstrom, and just maybe influencing the sellouts in Congress who “represent” me… just a little bit.