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Corporate America’s Strategy Of Mob Appeasement Will Destroy it, Just As It Always Has
The Federalist ^ | June 17, 2020 | Christopher Bedford

Posted on 06/17/2020 6:45:08 AM PDT by Kaslin

Twenty-six years ago, Morgan Stanley hired Marilyn Booker as their first diversity director, charged with overseeing corporate efforts from the firm’s New York City headquarters, a 685-foot, glass, Times Square skyscraper. Ten years ago, Booker left that post to work in their financial wealth management division. Seven months ago, Booker was fired.

But that was before video aired of George Floyd’s death, and spreading, national protests escalated into riots, violence, church burning, monument defacing, and occupations. How quickly things change. Now Booker is leading a group of black women in suing the company that employed her for a quarter-century, charging that the firm systematically discriminates against black employees.

The suit comes after a notably active week for the investment bank’s activism. Since Black Lives Matter blasted back into our Alzheimer’s-addled news cycle, Morgan Stanley’s chief executive, James Gorman, committed $25 million to a new internal “diversity” effort, sent $5 million to the NAACP, promoted two black women, and sent an email about it all to staff. For his efforts, he was personally named in Booker’s lawsuit.

But Morgan Stanley is not uniquely stupid for empowering an activist whose sole job was to call them racists. For decades, corporate America has launched similar efforts in the vain hope that money, press releases, and choice divestments could virtue-signal them out of the mob’s cross-hairs and even hurt their competitors. None of it saves them. On the contrary, moves to embrace the mob have placed corporations more clearly in their sights than they were before.

At root is the reality that corporations are cowardly, and there’s a reason for that. While conservative consumers are adept at patronizing companies that support their worldview, a la Chick-fil-A, they rarely target private industry for blatant Democratic partisanship. Liberal consumers and their media enablers, on the other hand, will boycott a company for the slightest connection to the slightest transgression.

Over the past 30 years, this has taught corporations like Nike that attacking conservatives has no consequence, while pushing left-wing values has no detriment. Until now.

We’ve seen this sort of suicidal partnership before — and recently — with the secret alliance between environmental radicals and energy companies. First, the energy companies went after their competition in the coal industry, with firms like Chesapeake Natural Gas sending more than $25 million to the Sierra Club. Now this is the model, and at the moment, major oil companies like Exxon are funding a Republican-staffed carbon tax effort that would disproportionately hurt their smaller competitors.

The list goes on, but one thing remains constant: Soon enough, as company after company and job after job are forced to climb to the guillotine, the corporations paying the bills get closer and closer to the front of the line.

The left employs this tactic because it works. And part of why it works is that Wall Street capitalists and corporate leaders think its better to pay homage to the mob, feeding it employees, executives, and competitors and hoping this will satisfy the demands. It doesn’t, of course, and won’t ever.

Now the mob is both inside the door and at it, its supporters running H.R. departments and manning diversity posts while boycotting, threatening and suing from outside. While they could once count on their friends in the GOP to help them out, they no longer have any real friends in the party. If executives don’t stand up for themselves now, no one will. And the scaffold is calling.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: blacklivesmatter; business; capitulation; chickfila; chpnaturalgas; corporate; exxon; georgefloyd; morganstanley; naacp; nike; racism; sierraclub
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To: marktwain

“Now, with the election of President Trump, who refuses to play the game, we have a chance to stop paying the Dane-Geld.”

We are paying it more than ever! Trump has been a Godsend but we rely on him to single handedly solve all our problems. We never take to the street in support of him, we never publicly confront the other side, we never hold our own politicians feet to the fire.

We just sit on our asses and say, we’ve elected you now go on and fight our battles on your own. Frankly we deserve all that we’re getting.


21 posted on 06/17/2020 8:09:00 AM PDT by aquila48 (Do not let them make you care! Guilting you is how they control you.)
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To: aquila48
We just sit on our asses and say, we’ve elected you now go on and fight our battles on your own. Frankly we deserve all that we’re getting.

So get up and do something. I appreciate you are posting. That is already more than most.

There are other things which can be done.

Comment on other places. The primary strength of the opposition is their control over the narrative though most of the media.

Get involved in local politics. Votes still matter. Push candidates who are committed to Constitutional government, and who understand the media must be fought against, as President Trump has shown.

Attend rallies. Do not concede ground to the left.

Stop giving money to the left. Cut the cable. Promote OAN, Freerepublic, other conservative outlets.

Join your local activist 2nd Amendment group. They exist in most states, and are more active than the NRA.

22 posted on 06/17/2020 8:16:18 AM PDT by marktwain (President Trump and his supporters are the Resistance. His opponents are the Reactionaries.)
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To: Bishop_Malachi
Why do we continue to spend money with them? If you really want to do something, stop buying their products and services.

Now excuse me, I have to have my Starbucks before I put on my Nikes and go shopping at H&M and later on grab a quick bite at McDonald's before returning home to watch a movie on Netflix. I can't wait for the NFL season to start. /s
23 posted on 06/17/2020 8:41:51 AM PDT by Tommy Revolts
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To: Kaslin

In the beginning there was “Right” and “Wrong”....and we’ve been compromising in the WRONG direction ever since.


24 posted on 06/17/2020 9:08:12 AM PDT by G Larry (The People must shutdown the tyrants.)
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To: Kaslin

Just because you’re nice to them won’t make them hate you any less.


25 posted on 06/17/2020 10:17:41 AM PDT by MeganC (There is nothing feminine about feminism.)
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To: Alberta's Child

States grant charters of incorporation. You think they do that out of the goodness of the hearts? Why have state sanctioned corporations at all? Why would the state grant them?

Look into the history of corporations and you will see I am correct.


26 posted on 06/17/2020 1:07:20 PM PDT by FreedomNotSafety
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To: Kaslin

The Left said, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” and they have taken over the Corporations.

Communism is coming via the Corporations.


27 posted on 06/17/2020 1:09:00 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Kaslin
Twenty-six years ago, Morgan Stanley hired Marilyn Booker as their first diversity director, charged with overseeing corporate efforts from the firm’s New York City headquarters, a 685-foot, glass, Times Square skyscraper. Ten years ago, Booker left that post to work in their financial wealth management division. Seven months ago, Booker was fired.

...

Now Booker is leading a group of black women in suing the company that employed her for a quarter-century, charging that the firm systematically discriminates against black employees.

After twenty-five years she is suing them for systematic discrimination? How does that work? Did they have her scrubbing floors all that time?!

28 posted on 06/17/2020 3:39:41 PM PDT by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel.)
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To: Kaslin
And from diversity director to the wealth management division? A move like that doesn't exactly inspire confidence in Morgan Stanley's practices. Unless she got an MBA and a law degree in the interim....
29 posted on 06/17/2020 3:41:27 PM PDT by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel.)
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To: Kaslin
Now the mob is both inside the door and at it, its supporters running H.R. departments and manning diversity posts...

They could just do away with diversity posts. It might hurt business in the short term but I think they could weather it.

30 posted on 06/17/2020 3:45:38 PM PDT by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel.)
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To: PGR88
I am amazed and disappointed that everyone from Starbucks to my credit card supplier to the NFL feel the need to issue saccharin slogans about supporting “black lives” and reacting to riots.

Yes, it's sickening.

31 posted on 06/17/2020 3:46:31 PM PDT by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel.)
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