In this current era of resistance against President Trump, many progressives are more eager than ever to fight the conservative agenda.
Those who want to resist President Trump and the Republican’s agenda with their wallets as well as their votes and activism would do well to avoid these 9 corporations who actively fight against progressive values.
1. Walmart
Walmart is well-known for crushing small businesses, coming into communities with prices that make it impossible for other stores to compete. Even when mom and pop stores attempt to lower their prices, Walmart simply matches or undercuts them. Recently, the retail behemoth closed 269 stores, leaving some small towns without grocery stores.
The company – which is currently the largest employer in America – has also frequently been sued for promoting less senior male workers over female workers. Women employees have even taken the corporation all the way to the Supreme Court for gender discrimination.
2. Exxon
As recently as last week, Exxon was forced to pay $20 million in fines for releasing 10 million pounds of air pollution into Texas.
Besides this sadly-typical disregard for environmental concerns that seem to be a prerequisite for running an oil company, Exxon has the dubious honor of being the first business to receive a negative score on the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Corporate Equality Index.
The abysmal score largely stems from Exxon’s bitter fight against the gay community. For years, Exxon has fought all attempts to give non-discrimination protections and equal benefits coverage to its employees. Most damning, when Exxon acquired Mobil in 1999, the corporation quickly stripped pre-existing protections for gay employees.
Oh, and Exxon’s CEO Rex Tillerson is also now President Trump’s secretary of state. So. Ya know. There’s that.
3. Carl’s Jr.
Carl’s Jr.’s most visible controversy is their borderline-pornographic advertising which consistently objectifies women.
What’s less well-known is the founder’s well-documented hatred of homosexuality. Carl Karcher went so far as to publicly support a 1978 proposition which would have permitted school boards to fire homosexual teachers or even teachers who spoke favorably of homosexuals.
Carl’s Jr. also donates huge sums of money to conservative Super PACs and the Republican party, especially extreme pro-life causes which aim to ban abortions even in the case of rape or incest.
4. Hobby Lobby
Hobby Lobby successfully managed to strip away a provision of Obamacare that required employers to provide birth control to women in their insurance policies, after winning one of the most controversial Supreme Court battles of the last decade. Ironically, the company is also staunchly against abortion, a procedure which tends to become more common without access to contraception.
5. Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A’s anti-gay stance has been well-documented, with the company’s founder proudly saying in 2012 he is “guilty as charged” regarding his opposition to gay marriage
The company’s charity continues to donate millions to anti-LGBT causes and Christian programs which advocate “sexual purity” between heterosexual married couples.
6. Waffle House
Exactly 100% of Waffle House’s donations go towards right wing causes and candidates. CEO Jim Rogers Jr. even went so far as to join the finance team for Mitt Romney’s Super PAC in 2006. In 2012, the company also gave a whopping $100,000 to Karl Rove’s Super PAC to help influence the election for Republicans.
7. Angel Soft, Brawny, and Dixie
Angel Soft toilet paper, Brawny paper towels, and Dixie cups are subsidiaries of Koch Industries, owned by the Koch brothers, who donate millions of dollars every year to such conservative groups as The National Rifle Association and The National Right to Life Committee.
8. Cracker Barrel
A 2004 Justice Dept. investigation found that 50 Cracker Barrel locations segregated customers, permitted their white waiters to refuse to serve black customers, and seated white customers before black customers. The company also once fired 11 employees for not exhibiting “normal heterosexual values.”
9. Urban Outfitters
Some of Urban Outfitters’ charming fashion designs over the years include a V-neck T-shirt sporting the words “Eat less,” a shirt with the words “Everybody Loves a Jewish girl” with dollar signs and shopping bags surrounding it, and a shirt with a six pointed star badge reminiscent of the Star of David badges that the Nazis forced the Jews to wear.
And don’t worry, the company hasn’t neglected the African-American community, once offering a shirt in two color combinations: “White/Charcoal” and “Obama/Black.” They also made a Monopoly knockoff called Ghettopoly, where players can buy such properties as “Cheap Trick Avenue” and “Smitty’s XXX Peep Show.” Players could also draw “Hustle” bonus cards which feature such cards as “You got yo whole neighborhood addicted to crack. Collect $50.”
Oh, and there was the shirt which featured a 15 year old girl in short leather shorts with her legs spread on the back of a motorcycle, a picture which the company used without the girl’s permission.
And who can forget this lovely Kent State shirt spattered in blood?
The company also is known for being anti-women and anti-LGBT, with the company’s founder endorsing the famously homophobic Rick Santorum for president in 2008.
Nathan Wellman is a Los Angeles-based journalist, author, and playwright. His less-political Youtube channel can be found here. Follow him on Twitter: @LightningWOW
