Last updated on February 22nd, 2022 at 07:13 pm
The historic Civil Rights Law of 1964 and similar legislation at the state and federal levels were passed to prohibit discrimination based on race, sex, and ethnicity in hiring, promoting, college admissions, the awarding of grants and sponsorships, and the like. Feminists and civil rights leaders had been fighting for decades to assure that people would be judged on their character and competence, rather than on things like race, sex, and ethnicity that have no bearing on merit.
Unfortunately, many woke corporations are flagrantly flouting these non-discrimination laws by openly discriminating against people based on race, sex, and ethnicity. The latest corporate bigot is Anheuser-Busch, which has just created a NASCAR sponsorship program open to just one sex. The other sex is not even eligible to apply while every member of the preferred sex over twenty-one years old will receive support. According to its press release on February 14, 2022, Anheuser-Busch stated:
“At the 64th running of the Daytona 500, Busch Light [an Anheuser-Busch beer] will announce the launch of the Busch Light Accelerate Her Program, a three-year, $10M commitment that takes aim at the inequity of resources available to women drivers, including to provide more funding, track time, media exposure and training to every 21+ woman driver in NASCAR.”
Was the program being created because Anheuser-Busch found discrimination against women in NASCAR? Of course not. The program is being created simply because women are not proportionately represented among NASCAR drivers. The press release declared:
“This first-of-its-kind program is focused on addressing the one number that needs the most attention in NASCAR — zero women drivers are currently competing at the sport’s highest level. [Safety is not the number one issue in a dangerous, high-speed sport? But I digress….] As one of the only large-scale sports organizations where women and men compete directly, accelerating gender equality in NASCAR presents a major and immediate opportunity to advance diversity in sports, both today and for future generations.”
To reiterate the point of not enough female drivers, the press release continued:
“’Busch Light has been an iconic sponsor in NASCAR for decades and we’ve been lucky to witness some of the greatest women drivers in history, but it can’t be argued that the NASCAR Cups Series field is dominated by male drivers,’ said Krystyn Stowe, Senior Brand Director, Busch Family of Brands at Anheuser-Busch.”
You see, according to the woke, it is irrelevant if discrimination actually exists when implementing quotas. If a profession, corporation, or college does not have proportional representation of women and minorities, discrimination and bigoty are the only reasons why. The fact that women and minorities did not proportionately apply, or that those who did were less qualified, does not matter. All that counts is proportional representation. (Unless, of course, you are in a field such at the NBA and the NFL where minorities are disproportionately represented or in colleges where women will soon represent two-thirds of all students. Then proportional representation is thrown out the window.)
Thus, not one male is eligible for any of the $10 million. The press release went on:
“This program will invest directly in every 21+ women driver and put in place a program to track their development, improve their access to the sport and celebrate their success.”
Wow, any female NASCAR drive over 21 will get some of the money. The poor guy from Appalachia or the Mississippi Delta trying to break into NASCAR will not get a cent. That sounds fair.
But everything is ok as Anheuser-Busch is committed to “diversity, equity, and inclusion”—all code words for quotas.
“’Through our sponsorship rights and our platform, we’re seizing the opportunity to make historic progress toward gender inclusivity’…Busch Light is proud to play a part in the larger cultural movement toward equity in sport…[A]ccelerating gender equality in NASCAR presents a major and immediate opportunity to advance diversity in sports….”
So there you have it. Yet another woke corporation is engaging in bigotry by offering a program to only one sex in violation of the Civil Rights of 1964 and sister-legislation. For the woke, if proportional representation does not exist in a profession like race-car driving, discrimination must be the culprit, which must be fought with programs that are discriminatory themselves. The next time I am offered a Busch Light beer I will pass.