Victor Davis Hanson of National Review Online highlights rich Americans who live to scold their “inferiors.”
Ed Bastian made $17 million in 2019 as a chief executive officer of Delta Airlines, Georgia’s largest employer. Bastian just blasted Georgia’s new voting law. He thinks it is racist to require the same sort of ID to vote that Delta requires for its passengers to check in.
Yet most Americans believe that voting is a more sacred act than flying Delta and, moreover, may have noticed that Delta has partnerships with systemically racist China. Also, a recent Associated Press poll showed that 72 percent of Americans favor requiring photo ID to vote.
The most privileged CEOs of corporate America — those who sell us everything from soft drinks and sneakers to professional sports and social media — now jabber to America about its racism, sexism, and other assorted sins.
The rules of cynical CEO censure are transparent.
First, the corporation never harangues unless it feels it has more to lose — whether by boycotts, protests, or bad publicity — than it stands to gain in staying neutral and silent.
Second, class concerns are never mentioned. Bastian made about $65,000 for each working day of 2019. In a sane world, he might seem ridiculous as a voice of the oppressed.
Third, CEOs never fear offending the conservative silent majority, who are assumed not to boycott or protest.
The woke revolution is not a grassroots movement. It is powered by a well-connected and guilt-ridden elite. Yet the religion of wokeness assumes that these high priests deserve exemptions. Their wealth, credentials, contacts, and power ensure that none are ever subject to the consequences of their own sermons.
Multimillion-dollar NBA stars blast America’s “systemic racism.” They utter not a word about Chinese reeducation camps, the destruction of Tibetan culture, or the strangulation of Hong Kong’s democracy. Player salaries depend on coaxing a huge Chinese market.
