Liberals sometimes think corporate America is a bulwark against bigotry, because corporations usually opt for inclusiveness in dealing with the concerns of minority groups. Such liberals should know better.
Corporate America backs inclusiveness because it doesn’t want any group of potential customers to stage a boycott. They are doing it to placate customers, not to make statements about their values — even if they often make statements claiming it’s about their values.
But see what happens when the offended minority is a worker and the offender is a customer. At the Home Depot in Albany, N.Y., a white man unleashed a racist rant at the black cashier who asked him to follow store policy by leashing his dog. Home Depot responded by firing the 60-year-old worker for failing to “disengage” with the customer. He had worked there for 10 years and was making under $13 an hour.
I’d respond by boycotting Home Depot, except I already boycott Home Depot because of co-founder Bernie Marcus, longtime conservative whiner and early Trump supporter.