Well, here’s a switch. Netflix just told its employees it now values individual creative freedom over the ideological conformity of Woke cancel culture. The company won’t “censor specific artists or voices,” even if employees deem them “harmful”. The company even told employees, in so many words, if you’re not on board with the company’s new direction, take a hike. The company, which once pushed Woke programming like ‘He’s Expecting’ and “Anti-Racist Baby’, is now banking on un-Woke talent like Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais.
This is a welcome break from the typical news coming out of Corporate America recently which, otherwise, has been unrelentingly Left-wing.
While Netflix is tacking Right – at least for the moment, other companies continue to march Left. Marvel Comics just introduced two new transgender heroes. Target is selling transgender gear like chest binders and ‘packing’ underwear. Fisher-Price rolled out three new drag queen-inspired dolls. Not to be outdone, Taco Bell is bringing in actual drag queens to perform in its stores. Calvin Klein celebrated Mother’s Day with a new ad featuring a ‘pregnant’ man, in homage to what it calls “the realities of new families.” The New York Times, Washington Post, Vice, and other media outlets have been running stories sympathetic to pedophiles or the early sexualization of children. Oreo’s is following up its rainbow cookies with ads telling people eating Oreos will give them the courage and love they need to come out as gay. Internal documents now prove American Express awards executive bonuses partially on the basis of hiring minorities and women and, in fact, does teach employees the “systemic evils” of capitalism. Amazon and Starbucks just joined the ranks of companies like Apple and Uber that pay employee travel expenses for abortions. Fly on United Airlines and you will be forced to watch an ad about the company going green, investing in ‘sustainable aviation fuel’, carbon capture, and ‘electric solutions for short flights’.
One can only hope all of this goes the way of the Edsel and New Coke, as more companies like Netflix discover the truth of the maxim ‘Go Woke, Go Broke’. Wasn’t it a Twitter employee who just got caught on undercover video basically saying it’s OK if Twitter doesn’t make a profit because ideology – meaning communism – is the important thing? With an attitude like that, you deserve to go broke – or get bought out by someone who takes fiduciary responsibilities to the shareholders of a publicly held company more seriously.
‘Woke’ is a bad business model, as Subway franchisees will tell you. They think having LGBT activist and soccer star Megan Rapinoe as company spokesperson has been a disaster. Exxon Mobil pulled back, no longer allowing gay pride or other affinity flags on its flagpoles. Conservative investors are filing more shareholder resolutions against identity politics and climate change goals. Which brings us to Disney – the Wokest of the Woke – that wants half of all its characters to be gay, transgender, or minorities. That provoked new state laws to end special treatment for Disney in Florida. Great business model – alienate half the country.
The economist Milton Friedman once said, the job of a corporation is to increase its profits while following the rules. It’s time for Corporate America to get back to that, and stop pandering to splinter groups who hate America and are trying to destroy it. Corporate CEOs should follow the lead of Netflix and tell their employees who want to play at being communists on company time and the company dime to take a hike.
