‘Woke’ U.S. Companies Relearn An Old Lesson: Profits Before Politics

I & I ^ | May 27, 2022 | I & I Editorial Board

[Hojczyk]

In recent years, a rash of companies suddenly discovered a new “woke” identity, taking sides with the left in America’s ongoing cultural civil war. Now, after a powerful popular backlash, many of those same companies are retreating from the fight. Smart move.

Companies have apparently discovered that Instapundit’s oft-quoted rhyme, “Get woke, go broke,” isn’t a joke. It’s more like an economic truism.

Americans, it seems, don’t like having their cherished cultural, personal, religious and moral beliefs belittled, diminished and ridiculed by the very corporations they do business with.

The latest company to suffer for its wokeness is State Farm, not exactly known for its cutting-edge social activism. And yet, its recent foray into identity politics through a partnership with a group called The Gender Cool Project alarmed even its own employees with its alienating message to customers.

The “partnership” was intended to donate books on transgenderism and gender fluidity to schools in an effort to “increase representation of LGBTQ+ books and support our communities in having challenging, empowering, and important conversations with children Age 5+.”

But “after the CEO reportedly heard from more than 2,000 independent State Farm agents nationwide (and probably a flood of customers), the company announced that it was ending its partnership with The GenderCool Project,” as RedState reported.

So much for Woke Insurance.

Similar things are happening across the country, as companies get woke to a different reality: Americans largely don’t like companies meddling in politics and social issues, and prefer not to be lectured by woke CEOs about raising their children.

The trend has picked up speed following a relentless stock market sell-off in in recent weeks.

[Hojczyk]

They though going woke would save them from more goverment regulation

[Albion Wilde]

That would be a good idea. Though the propaganda organs would lambaste them for doing that... “collusion”, you know. But I agree, for them to get a collective backbone they need to organize and support each other (and we on the right should give them our vocal support and business).

You are correct; they would have to do it the way Soros, the Clintons and the Obamas do it, by having one individual set up a fund-raising foundation that they could contribute to, and that in turn doles out the money to smaller activist groups.

The problem with conservatives is that they scold each other for edgy behavior, no matter what the provocation. The now-defunct DC Chapter of FR stood outside the Walter Reed Army Hospital every Friday night for seven years, rain, shine, or snow, to face off against the wicked admittedly communist protest group, including VVAW, a government employees union, and Code Pink, who were at the gates every Friday. They were protesting the war, trying to unionize the soldiers— and horrifying the families of the troops, who had to pass their gauntlet to get in and see their wounded son, daughter, husband, wife or father. They had terrible signs like "babykiller" and "Bushitler", fake coffins, etc, but when we put up a series of signs that called the Code Pink shrews "hags", countless freepers posted outrage that we would stoop so low.

We were probably the last of the organized counterprotesters in DC, having finished the job in 2012 when the WR base actually moved to another location. Now, if the left throws a Molotov cocktail at a patriot and the patriot kicks it out of the way, the patriot gets arrested.