Exxon Mobil To Ban Outside Flags From Company Flagpoles Including 'Pride' Banner

Exxon Mobil To Ban Outside Flags From Company Flagpoles Including 'Pride' Banner


As the state of Florida revokes Disney’s special governing status after the ‘woke’ company butted into state politics and after other ‘woke’ companies like Netflix and Facebook have seen their stock plunge in recent months, it could be that corporate America is finally getting the message that “go woke, go broke” is a real thing.

According to a New York Times report over the weekend, energy giant Exxon Mobil has announced that the company will no longer allow politically charged banners and outside flags on the company flagpoles:

The new policy allows only government flags and those representing Exxon Mobil and its employee resource groups, which are employee-led affinity organizations that are generally blessed by employers. Workers can display the pride flag and representations of other groups such as Black Lives Matter on other areas of the company’s properties, including on lawns or in digital spaces.

“It is a long-standing practice at our facilities around the world that ERG flags can be flown during signature months,” Tracey Gunnlaugsson, vice president of human resources at Exxon Mobil, told the Times in a statement. “The flags are directly related to our business and company support of our ERGs.”

The Times noted further that the logo for the energy giant’s resource group for LGBTQ workers includes bubbles filled with a number of colors surrounding the word “Pride.” The logo has been displayed at Exxon Mobil offices around the country as well as having been used on t-shirts that employees have worn at Pride parades.

While current Exxon employees did not comment for the story, “J. Chris Martin, a former employee who used to head the resource group, said that a different flag featuring the Exxon logo on a rainbow background ‘was flown at many company locations last year without question’ but that he had been told that approval to display that flag had been revoked ‘without explanation,'” the paper said.

“I’m also told that the employee resource groups were consulted only in a perfunctory way regarding this matter, based on momentary discomfort with displaying a symbol of open-mindedness and support for long-suppressed voices,” he said. “While they may say nobody has lost anything, the symbolism is unmistakable.”

Seeking to reinforce its nakedly obvious story perspective that what Exxon Mobil did was wrong, the Times made sure to include a comment from the Human Rights Campaign — “an organization that works to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people” — regarding the issue.

“There’s no such thing as ‘neutrality’ when it comes to our rights. Our flag isn’t just a visual representation of our identities. It is also a staple of allyship,” the organization wrote.

In fact, there is no need for any company to display the flag, symbol, or banner for any group in order to display “allyship,” given that our Constitution as well as federal statutes guarantee equality and defend and protect equal rights, regardless of any factor to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

For years, companies have been shamed and extorted into granting various groups and subgroups special treatment by recognizing and even celebrating the lifestyles and/or lifestyle choices of very small minorities throughout the country, in lieu of being ‘permitted’ to celebrate traditional lifestyles and cultural choices.

But perhaps in response to ‘go woke, go broke,’ and in the wake of Florida’s actions against Disney, maybe, just maybe, Corporate America is getting the message: Stay out of politics and out of the culture wars or it will cost you.


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