Jose Romero
campus editor

 Corporations demonstrating how “woke” they are is a great way to determine which ones do the most harm. 

The word woke refers to someone aware of issues on racial and social justice, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. 

It’s not bad to be cognizant of social issues, but it’s terrible when a famous personality or company preaches ideologies just for attention instead of caring about the issue. For example, Kendall Jenner — a television star — did a tone-deaf advertisement with Pepsi during the Black Lives Matter movement. 

In the ad, Jenner hands a Pepsi to a police officer during a protest, diffusing the situation entirely. The disconnect between the severity of the actual events and what was happening in the commercial is mind-boggling. The BLM movement was downplayed so Pepsi and Jenner could sell soda. 

Corporate wokeness is especially evident when companies change their logos for a month in hopes people will believe they’re fighting for a cause, but in reality, it’s only done to elevate sales or raise user numbers. Facebook adding a rainbow to its logo doesn’t hide how malicious of a company it is. 

Chick-fil-A is another company trying to spread a message of positivity while spitting in the face of others. Over $1.8 million was donated to charities with anti-LGBTQ agendas in 2017, according to Vox. The company pulled out of these sorts of donations last year but refused to specify if they would go back to donating to other charities with similar agendas. 

But don’t worry, their website says “Chick-fil-A is committed to a workplace culture where everyone is treated with honor, dignity and respect.” That must mean they care, right?

I understand a company isn’t going to come out and talk about how terrible they are outright, but I also don’t want to lie in my face. 

Corporations need to take a good long look at themselves and realize the “positive” messages they push are directly juxtaposed with the negative actions they commit.