Imagine a Republican Bay Area CEO stating in regard to Trump, like Barrett said of his pro-Biden support, “We needed to stand true for what we believe in and hope that most people agree with us. It’s not like we did this with a lot of enthusiasm. We did this out of a perceived necessity.” Would anyone these days consider a conservative-leaning corporate leader thinking it was his moral and civic duty to speak up for a candidate as standing true and perceived necessity? Not likely... They would shout about corporate pressure, emotional turmoil, and an unsafe working environment. It’s happened before and will likely happen again because the Right remains contained and silent, inherently intent on not wreaking havoc on businesses and employers. We all remember what happened to Mozilla CEO, Brendan Eich, right? In certain political circles, mainly on the Right, there is increasing concern about the growing vitriol toward Libertarians and Conservatives in the tech space. Prior to Barrett’s very public endorsement of the Democratic candidate for president, another tech CEO was getting negative buzz for his decision to ban political talk at his offices. Brian Armstrong, chief executive of Coinbase, said he would only engage in “activism” if the political need existed within the parameters of the company’s cryptocurrency purview.
Corporations across the economic sphere, from retail to restaurants, have made public their very political and racial statements to the masses. Everyone from mom-and-pop owned cycle businesses (still shut down due to COVID-19), to the Gap and makeup companies, made long-winded and often- repetitive statements regarding their position in support of Black Lives Matter. Many companies included promises to increase their outreach and hiring of minority groups. Some pledged and spent millions of dollars donating to organizations within the “movement.” These days, Right-wing audiences and consumers are sadly used to woke social- justice signaling and passionate Leftist commentary via celebrities on Instagram. And everyone from grocery stores to fashion magazines make it well known where they stand on current social-justice issues. In certain political circles, mainly on the Right, there is increasing concern about the growing vitriol toward Libertarians and Conservatives in the tech space. In October, David Barrett, the CEO of Expensify, a digital expense-management tool used by over 10 million customers, sent out an e-mail to its entire list urging them to vote for Joe Biden over President Trump. He stated that a vote for Trump was anti-democracy and shared with media outlets that he felt compelled to speak up and do what was right. Expensify revealed it had mixed responses from their customer database.
American Consequences
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