Paradigm shifts are jarring. They disrupt and even destroy the status quo. One significant and easily understood example is what happened to the Swiss watchmakers when the Japanese introduced a new type of technology to the timekeeping industry. All of a sudden, a ten dollar disposable watch kept better time than a ten thousand dollar Swiss mechanical watch. Today, there is a cultural paradigm shift underway and it is impacting the very foundation of American culture and capitalism itself – and it is reactionary.
The suddenness of this emerging cultural paradigm shift should not be underestimated. Suddenly major companies like Anheuser-Busch, Target, Disney, and others are being called to task for abusing the overwhelming majority of their customers. Busch has, so far been the most significantly affected, -losing tens of billions of dollars in revenue and stock value because of one can of Bud Lite beer advertising the Transgender agenda. Target, however, has gone Busch one further. It has not only gone full bore Transgender but even introduced Satanic labeling on some of its Transgender and LGBTQ clothing. Disney has stepped into the grooming of children issue on the wrong side.
Apparently, enough is enough.
In the case of Bud Lite, the reaction of the beer-drinking customer base has been massive with consumer boycotts, restaurants, bars, and celebrities refusing to serve Busch products, and, most significant of all, brand switching. Busch corporate has tried everything to reverse the decline except an apology. (It is pathetic that Busch is effectively giving away and even buying back their beer. They are running patriotic ads in hopes of recovering the reputation of the Bud Lite brand thus admitting that the boycott is working and they have no solution.)
In the case of Target, the reaction of the average retail customer is just beginning but the stock price has plummeted likely because of what is happening to Busch. To compensate for the adverse impact of their latest decades long set of LGBTQ initiatives, Target corporate has moved the gay PRIDE collections to less visible places in their stores. They have apparently removed the Satanic labeling from the child clothing part of the collection – but not repudiated the evil it represents. The excuse for doing this is that their employees have been threatened by irate customers, not by the almost certain loss of sales.
In the case of Disney, corporate management decided to fight a popular Florida governor over a Bill that would protect the youngest of school children against an encroaching LGBTQ agenda. The publicity surrounding the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill was quite negative, and Disney suffered and continues to suffer losses associated with amusement park attendance and other services. (The replacement of Disney’s corporate president with a former corporate president has had no positive impact on the stock price which is now the lowest since the beginning of 2020.)
There is one other emerging example of this reactionary cultural paradigm shift. Boys and men are claiming transgender status and invading the sports activities of girls and women. The unfair competition is made obvious when these claimed transgenders win female competitions and cost a girl or woman a chance at a trophy or scholarship. (Most, but not all, of the cowardly sports associations have ducked biological reality and supported transgenders in female competitions. The situation, however, is beginning to change and pro-biological female protests are now appearing at competitions around the world.)
Nobody knows precisely how this will turn out. It is certain that (Corporations will also clearly have to choose between shareholders who want profits and stakeholders who want social justice at any cost.)
Good luck with that ESG score, Target, Busch and Disney, but don’t expect shareholders and customers to appreciate the mess you have created. And, by the way, an angry customer with a choice of options is not apt to return to your fold. Americans, in particular, aren’t sheep or programmable robots.
Note: It is ironic that Busch just previewed an ad with Harley-Davidson’s logo on their Budweiser beer cans. You have to wonder how much Busch paid Harley to take a very tangible risk. Harley ought to know better as their customers don’t just curse and complain. They are men and women of action. (This will likely do great things for the sales of Indian motorcycles.)
