Woke Capitalism In Retreat?

A lot of leftists are claiming that the move of Florida Republicans to strip Disney’s favorable tax treatment and local governance prerogatives is a hypocritical attack on free speech, but it is nothing of the sort. There is no attempt to curtail the speech or political activism of Disney or any other corporation, though the irony is that the left wants corporate political speech banned or regulated by the government, so what’s their problem?

The message of the Florida bill is simple: if you want to wade into politics, fine. Just don’t expect us to protect your corporate welfare. This is good policy, as well as good politics. Let Democrats be the party of Wall Street and big business.

Meanwhile, there are other signs that perhaps corporate America is rethinking its capitulation to wokery. From the Houston Chronicle:

Exxon’s ban on LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter flags at Houston headquarters sparks employee backlash

Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to prohibit the LGBTQ-rights flag from being flown outside its offices during Pride month in June, prompting a furious backlash from Houston-based employees.

Exxon updated company guidance on what flags can be displayed outside its offices, banning “external position flags” such as PRIDE and Black Lives Matter, according to the policy seen by Bloomberg News. In response, members of Exxon’s PRIDE Houston Chapter are refusing to represent the company at the city’s June 25 Pride celebration, according to an employee group email also seen by Bloomberg.

Also comes news that the former CEO of McDonalds is starting a new organization to fight against corporate wokery:

Ex-McDonald’s CEO Ed Rensi: Companies have ‘no business’ being in politics

Former McDonald’s CEO Ed Rensi said companies have “no business” being in politics — and has launched a conservative initiative to fight “woke” corporate policies.

The 78-year-old — who led the Golden Arches from 1991 to 1997 — spearheaded The Boardroom Initiative to push back against boardrooms of American corporations that have become too politicized, Fox Business reported.

“Corporations have no business being on the right or the left because they represent everybody there and their sole job is to build equity for their investors,” the man who thought up Chicken McNuggets told Fox Business.

Fox Business reports that the first initiative of The Boardroom Initiative will be a resolution at upcoming annual meeting of Bank of America:

The Boardroom Initiative’s first effort is a shareholder proposal at next week’s Bank of America annual meeting calling for a civil rights audit of the racial equity policies at the company to ensure no race or gender groups are being excluded in the name of equity or anti-racism.

Bank of America is one of several major U.S. corporations to come under fire for implementing training sessions for their employees that incorporate Critical Race Theory (CRT), a framework that involves deconstructing aspects of society to discover systemic racism beneath the surface.

Last year, Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow and director of the initiative on critical race theory at the conservative think tank, Manhattan Institute, reported that Bank of America’s Market President in Charlotte, North Carolina promoted a new initiative called United in Action, in partnership with the United Way of Central Carolinas. Rufo described the program as promoting ideas such as putting “marginalized” staff above “privileged” staff and teaching them to “decolonize” their minds.”

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