Reader Mike L. sent me this article about Walmart:
On Monday Walmart confirmed that it’s ending some of its diversity initiatives, removing some LGBTQ-related merchandise from its website and winding down a nonprofit that funded programs for minorities.
The nation’s largest employer, which has about 1.6 million U.S. workers, joined a growing list of companies that have stepped back from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts after feeling the heat from conservative activists.
Some have also attributed changes to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year that struck down affirmative action programs at colleges.
Those companies include Tractor Supply, which said in June it was eliminating DEI roles and stopping sponsorship of Pride festivals. Lowe’s, Ford and Molson Coors have also walked back some of their equity and inclusion policies in recent months.
Others, such as Anheuser-Busch-owned Bud Light and Target, have faced sharp backlash and falling sales after marketing campaigns or merchandise focused on the LGBTQ community.
In a statement, Walmart said it is “willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America.”
…followed by the usual weasel corporate-speak about “being a Walmart for everyone” blah blah blah.
One would like to think that such a rethink involved realizing that at its heart, the whole “Diversity/Equity/Inclusion” initiative was anything but a vehicle for racial- and sexual inequality, but the reality is that the policy reversal was caused by the economic consequences of customer backlash and revulsion. (Jaguar, of course, has responded to such a reaction to its latest marketing campaign by calling its customers and the public in general hateful and intolerant — we’ll see what happens, but pretty much any fule can predict disaster… for Jaguar.)
And yes, the political ethos has changed as well:
All of a sudden (the Socialists think), what was okay is now somehow not okay. In the past, we made jokes about it:
…and all of a sudden, they think, it’s not okay.
Except that it’s not “all of a sudden”. Most of us have never thought all this woke nonsense was “okay”, but then something happened:
And to paraphrase Forrest Gump: “…and just like that, everything changed.”
Of course, those in the path of this new change are worried and are calling for “moderation” and “bipartisanship”, except:
So:
The change is not just going to come with the destruction of the Deep State (a political institution), but also in the Woke Mindset (a cultural one).
It’s been a long (too long a) time coming, but it’s about time now.
