Discussion for article #234896
This will be interesting. If WalMart really desires legislation one way or another in Arkansasâand pulls the necessary strings (read: lines the right pockets)âthen that legislation happens. I guess the question is: Did WalMart line any pockets in the state capitol?
It all starts with our core basic belief of respect for the individual," Walmart CEO Doug McMillion said in a statement on Twitter.
Yeah, riiight. Nice sentiment but its hardly their over-riding business model. Hate to be a downer, but I seriously doubt Walmart will relocate out of the State of Arkansas if Hutchinson signs this stateâs RFRA bill into law. And they really wonât be doing much more than giving âstrongly wordedâ statements of âdisappointmentâ, even after it happens, though Iâm sure they have the power to do far more to change things if they wanted to.
As much as I want to believe corporate America wants to say and do the right thing, Walmart just isnât one those companies that tends to walk the walk. They are very good at talking the talk however when asked for their opinion.
And boy oh boyâŚHutchinson sure hasnât wasted any time getting his ultra-conservative agenda moving speedily in that state, as he just assumed office this past JanuaryâŚthree months ago!
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Yeah, we need a new word for easy corporate suck-up to the idea of basic person-ness of gay folk. Maybe ¨rainbow-washing¨?
Edit: A quick googling yields a reference to rainbow-washing on site called ¨Womanist Musings¨ from 2010 with a description of exactly this phenomenon.
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Well, this certainly puts Arkansas conservatives in an awkward position: they must choose between their church and their favorite restaurant.
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Wal-Mart. Eli Lilly. These are big names and big political contributors. The problem is that they funded tar babies like Mike Pence and Asa Hutchison, and itâs going to be rather hard to unstick them from their brands, no matter how much their CEOs decry the actions of state lawmakers.
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genius
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I share your skepticism of Wal-Martâs motives: Iâd much prefer that it and other corporations act out of a progressive social conscience and not because whatâs proposed is potentially bad for business. Acting on behalf of the profit motive means that advocating that the state not discriminate against gay people gets lumped right in there with advocacy for right-to-work legislation and looser environmental regulations.
That said, though, Iâd argue that if Hutchinson does decide to veto the bill, itâs not as though Wal-Mart would be the sole beneficiary of that action. Perhaps Iâm overreading your post, but it seems as though we should discount those benefits because Wal-Martâs motives are probably less than altruistic.
Note to bigots: When you lose NASCAR and Walmart, the writing is on the wall.
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Original or not, I like ârainbow-washing.â Sounds just about right. Thanks.
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Definitely rainbow-washing. Good catch.
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Man, this is tough. Which GOP religion is going to triumph: Christianity, or Money?
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Exactly. The likes of WalMart and Eli Lily, etc., should not act all surprised and get the vapors when their bought-and-paid-for politicians pull these right-wing sleights of hand â theyâve been funding the likes of Asa Hutchison and Mike Pence for years now; they should know them pretty well by now. Have they not been paying any attention? â Of course, they have but only to the legislation that affects their bottom line and anything that greases the wheels even better to get their product(s) to the consumer. Truthfully, unless this actually affects their profit margin, this is nothing but lip service.
That said, I do take Marc Benioff at his word as he has a long history of putting his money where his mouth is â and has pretty decent morals (IMHO).
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I think you are over-reading my post. I have no doubt also that theyâre doing it based on profit motive. I am not the least bit surprised or moved by this personally. But to pretend that they care about their gay shoppers or gay employeesâŚthat I have a harder time believing.
Walmart has endorsed some pretty rightwing causes and politicians in the past that advocate for the exact things their PR people are now saying theyâre against. So my cynicism, if thatâs what you call it, is based of what is already out there in the public square regarding their basic business practices. And most of their awful business practices towards their own employees isnât even about a personâs sexual orientation, but moreover Walmartâs propensity to exploit workers for that ungodly profit motive. So to say they care about diversity, blah, blah, blah when theyâre really pretty anti-worker in general, is really not all that impressive a statement coming from them.
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QuoteFix:
Gov. Asa Hutchinson ÂŽ said recently that he would sign the bill âto prove Arkansas pols can supersede the stupidity of the Indiana Legislature by passing the same style law in the wake of that sh^tstorm.â
Heckuvaâ job Hutchie!
jw1
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Money. Its more than a religion for them. Its a callingâŚ
It trumps everythingâŚbecause to them, it is Gawd.
this is what happens when you let the gop govern.
hate legislation. restriction of voter rights. tax breaks for the extremely wealthy. chuck science out the window and bury your head in the sand while crossing your fingers.
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Heâll sign it, I have no doubt.
These CEOs and Governors KNOW how rabid and crazy the people in their states are, and how immediately they will be plunged into chaos as store owners and employees start immediately refusing services to LGBT people, and anyone who seems Muslim, andâŚoh, just about nobody else! The bad press and legal morass will engulf them, and the news cycle with all manner of prejudiced Jebus folks blathering all over the news. They want to avoid that.
Couldnât agree with you more. As SRfromGR pointed out, the first quarter of the year has been VERY busy for these Rethug governors. They probably correctly assume that the time to enact the batsh*t crazy legislation of the GOP base is now and not a moment later. Their window of hate is closing. Got to get as much in as possible. Once the general population of the country sees whatâs going on, itâs pretty appalled.
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