https://www.ft.com/content/0c8974ee-60bf-4edb-839c-bc24b8ecbc81

Conservatives looking to reverse corporate America�s commitment to
diversity, equity and inclusion have found a champion in Robby Starbuck,
a filmmaker, influencer and �anti-woke� activist.Though investors,
Republican state attorneys-general and litigators have long pressured
companies to abandon policies designed to diversify their workforces and
support gay rights, few have had as much success as Starbuck.Ford,
Lowe�s, Harley-Davidson and tractor maker Deere & Co are among the
companies to announce they would end some diversity work after being
targeted by Starbuck for consumer boycotts.

This week they were joined by Molson Coors, the brewer.�The situation
these companies are facing is a very different new world where I have a
direct line to a sizeable portion of their customers,� Starbuck told the
Financial Times.

�These customers are engaged and they now understand something very
important: their wallets are a weapon.�All of the companies Starbuck has
contacted about their DEI policies told him they would make changes,
including retailer Tractor Supply and Jack Daniel�s whiskey maker Brown-
Forman, he said.

Although the 35-year-old activist says he is pushing corporate America
to be politically neutral, he has advocated for right-wing causes where
he lives in Franklin, Tennessee, just outside Nashville.He campaigned
against Covid-19 mask and vaccine mandates during the height of the
pandemic and made a film opposing gender-affirming care called The War
on Children with his wife, Landon.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump Jr promoted the project, which faced
controversy for its allegedly misleading production tactics.�As a
corporate activist, Starbuck gathers tips on companies� diversity
efforts from his 600,000 followers on X and researches them with the
help of two employees. They study a brand�s customers, executives and
directors to identify one that may be �primed� for change, Starbuck
said.

He uses revenue from his social media pages to fund the operation.��The
reason [corporations] adopted a lot of the far-left, woke policies is
because a very small, loud [group] of people were there and they were
putting pressure on these companies . . . saying, you need to do this,
that and the other thing or you�re racist, or you�re homophobic,�
Starbuck said.

�We were perfectly happy being a silent majority. Well, that�s not OK.�

He began by targeting companies he thought relied heavily on
conservative consumers. But he has turned his attention to what he calls
�50-50 jump ball companies� � those whose customer base could swing
either conservative or liberal, in reference to the moment at the start
of basketball games where two players jump for the ball.

The first company in that category that Starbuck targeted was Lowe�s. He
shared videos explaining the home improvement retailer�s DEI efforts and
asked his largely conservative followers to boycott them. The company�s
rival Home Depot is next on his list.�

Starbuck has a simple explanation for how he became more influential
than many more experienced and better resourced shareholder activists:
�The truth is, they don�t know how to communicate in the same way we
do.��I think that I can put together a puzzle that makes sense to people
and that they can relate to in their life,� Starbuck said.

�You know, when I talk about somebody being afraid to say anything about
how they feel at work because they�re afraid they�re going to lose their
job, that connects with somebody a hell of a lot more than a shareholder
proposal does.�Farming retailer Tractor Supply said in July that it had
�heard from our customers that we have disappointed them�, and pledged
to �retire� its current diversity goals and climate pledges.

Weeks later, John Deere said it would ensure that �socially motivated
messages� were absent from its internal policies.

Since then, Harley-Davidson has cited �negativity on social media� in
announcing it was ending its DEI function and affiliations with LGBT+
advocacy groups, while Brown-Forman has said it would no longer link
executive compensation to progress on diversity.

Lowe�s announced it would stop participating in surveys from the LGBT+
advocacy group Human Rights Campaign and restructure its employee
resource groups, although it said these changes had been discussed
internally before it received messages from Starbuck.Ford has also
withdrawn from the HRC�s workplace rankings and said it had �taken a
fresh look at our policies and practices to ensure they support our
values, drive business results, and take into account the current
landscape�.

On Tuesday, Molson Coors said it would also stop taking part in the
HRC�s rankings and drop its supplier diversity goals.�The driving force
behind this shift was the understanding that when all our people know
they are welcome, they are more engaged, motivated and committed to our
company�s collective success,� the brewer said in an email to employees.

Starbuck�s boycotts come amid a broader re-evaluation of the role
companies should play in America�s culture wars.Corporate DEI
initiatives such as anti-bias training, recruiting outreach strategies
and sponsorships of civil rights groups multiplied after a Minneapolis
police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020.Polling conducted in July
by Morning Consult found that a majority of US adults still support
corporate DEI programmes, with 57 per cent approving of efforts to
recruit from minority groups.

But men and Republicans are most likely to disapprove, the pollsters
found, and such initiatives are facing growing political pressure.

�DEI is on shaky legs,� said Emma Obanye, a DEI advocate who is also the
chief executive of OneTech, a support programme for entrepreneurs from
minority backgrounds.

�So really, it�s a case of going back to the drawing board and shoring
up the things that make sense and getting rid of the things that don�t
make sense.

�Diversity advocates say the types of initiatives Starbuck has succeeded
in rolling back, such as relationships with LGBT+ advocacy groups and
employee resource groups, are not as effective in boosting workplace
equity as measures such as pay and promotion audits.

�Starbuck is testing the robustness of these policies and we�re seeing
which companies have just paid lip service to these real issues,� said
Obanye. �That says a lot more about the companies than Starbuck.

�Kelley Robinson, the president of Human Rights Campaign, said after
Ford decided to end its partnership with the organisation that she
�could not be more disappointed� and called Starbuck an �internet
troll�.

Starbuck, however, said he would keep pushing to get corporate America
and school systems to withdraw from �social justice fights�.�If we could
make both of those places just neutral ground where people can just
exist and they don�t have to have ideology shoved down their throat that
they disagree with . . . I think that everybody would benefit from
that,� he said, �and maybe people would treat each other a little bit
better�.

Meet Kelley Robinson

https://mobilizeamerica.imgix.net/uploads/event/Mobilize%20Headers%20%
285%29_20241007171404226838.png?auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&h=
494.24083769633506&w=944

--
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump. We look
forward to America being great again.

The disease known as Kamala Harris has been effectively treated and
eradicated.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.

Leroy N. Soetoro wrote:
> diversity, equity and inclusion have found a champion in Robby Starbuck,
> a filmmaker, influencer and “anti-woke” activist.Though investors,

Never heard of him.

--
Siri Seal of Disavowal #000-001. Disavowed. Denied. @
'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' /|\
The Church of the Holey Apple .signature 3.2 / \
of Discordian Mysteries. This post insults Islam. Mohamed