The Almighty Dollar.

The bottom line tops oppression, or how mega-corporations can get away with ignoring their diversity policy.
Apple has just announced plans on building a corporate complex in North Carolina…

Apple commits $430 billion in US investments over five years
The accelerated commitment will fund a new North Carolina campus and job-creating investments in innovative fields like silicon engineering and 5G technology
Press Release
April 26, 2021


CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced an acceleration of its US investments, with plans to make new contributions of more than $430 billion and add 20,000 new jobs across the country over the next five years. Over the past three years, Apple’s contributions in the US have significantly outpaced the company’s original five-year goal of $350 billion set in 2018. Apple is now raising its level of commitment by 20 percent over the next five years, supporting American innovation and driving economic benefits in every state. This includes tens of billions of dollars for next-generation silicon development and 5G innovation across nine US states.
[…]
As part of its investments and expansion, Apple plans to invest over $1 billion in North Carolina and will begin construction on a new campus and engineering hub in the Research Triangle area. The investment will create at least 3,000 new jobs in machine learning, artificial intelligence, software engineering, and other cutting-edge fields.

Apple will also establish a $100 million fund to support schools and community initiatives in the greater Raleigh-Durham area and across the state, and will be contributing over $110 million in infrastructure spending to the 80 North Carolina counties with the greatest need — funds that will go toward broadband, roads and bridges, and public schools. When up and running, Apple’s investments are expected to generate over $1.5 billion in economic benefits annually for North Carolina.

From Apple’s Diversity statement…

We’re all in.
Across Apple, we’ve strengthened our long-standing commitment to making our company more inclusive and the world more just. Where every great idea can be heard. And everybody belongs.

Now tell me how they can reconcile the fact that state that they are expanding to is trying to pass laws attacking trans children and adults?

N.C. General Assembly's three anti-trans bills follow a recent nationwide trend
The Daily Tar Heel
April 26, 2021


In the past month, the N.C. General Assembly has introduced three bills seeking to discriminate against LGBTQ+ individuals, especially those who are transgender and gender-nonconforming, in sports, health care and gender-affirming care.

This follows a recent increase in anti-transgender legislation nationwide, which activists say specifically targets transgender youth.

On March 22, Reps. Mark Brody, (R - Union), Pat McElraft (R - Carteret), Diane Wheatley (R - Cumberland) and Jimmy Dixon (R - Onslow) introduced House Bill 358, titled the “Save Women’s Sports Act.” The bill seeks to segregate women’s sports teams based purely on biological sex, prohibiting transgender individuals from competing on sports teams corresponding with their gender identity.

Two weeks later, on April 5, Sens. Ralph Hise (R - Mitchell), Warren Daniel (R - Burke) and Norman Sanderson (R - Carteret) filed Senate Bills 514 and 515, titled the “Youth Health Protection Act” and “Health Care Heroes Conscience Protection Act,” respectively.

These bills seek to make it illegal for health care providers to provide gender-affirming care to individuals under the age of 21, as well as allowing health care providers to refuse service that “violates his, her, or its conscience," opening the door for discrimination against LGBTQ-identifying individuals on religious or moral grounds.

Tell me if you are an Apple employee and your child comes out a trans how would you feel if the state wants to make you and your child criminals because you gave them proper medically approved treatment?

Apple has a 100% CEI rating from the HRC and the HRC even lists as one of the best LGBTQ friendly employers (And how can the HRC justify giving a company a 100% rating when they are in a state that openly has anti-LGBTQ+ laws on its books?)! 

Not only is state attacking trans children they are also attacking voter rights…

NC’s voter ID law blocks voters, not fraud
The Raleigh News & Observer
By Ned Bernet
April 18, 2021


The legality of North Carolina’s new voter law will be reviewed in a federal trial that starts this week. Fortunately for the law’s GOP authors, they are protected by legislative privilege and won’t have to testify about the motive behind making it harder for people to vote.

But what if they had to? After swearing to tell the truth, they’d have to take the Fifth. Otherwise they’d risk perjury by repeating the claim that the General Assembly changed the voting law to prevent election fraud. Then they’d get into deeper trouble by testifying that the notion that the changes would suppress voting by young people and African Americans – two groups that tend to vote Democratic – never entered their minds.

They’d have to concede that, yes, it’s true, Republicans who control both chambers waited until the U.S. Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act before they passed a wish-list of voting restrictions and changes.

But ultimately, this case brought by the U.S. Justice Department, the N.C. NAACP and voting rights advocates won’t be about the truth. The trial will be about what’s legal. In that respect, the law may survive.
[…]
Not only did the horde of voting cheaters shrink from 35,750 to maybe 11, the act of voting in two states would not necessarily be stopped by presenting a photo ID.

The new law goes on trial this week, but the verdict is already clear. The law targets an illusion while doing real damage to the right to vote.

And somehow Apple can justify moving to North Carolina to a racist and anti-LGBTQ+ state.

All hail the mighty dollar!

Apple has lost the moral high ground, they have put profits before human rights.

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Yesterday I took part in a panel discussion on the LGBTQ+ non-discrimination laws here in Connecticut at Central Connecticut State University, this year marks the tenth anniversary of the passage of the trans bill and the thirtieth anniversary of the lesbian and gay bill passage and I was invited to be on the panel.

I was leery of such a large panel that I didn’t want to accept the invite at first but others talked me into being on the panel and I was glad that I accepted.

There were eleven panelists and out of the eleven two were trans, so most of the discussion was centered around the passage of the lesbian and gay bill. I was very impressed with the panel most of whom came out when it was still dangerous to come out lesbian or gay and back then trans was never thought of.

However, I did manage to bring into the discussion that trans bill of 2011 and also bring the talk away from youth to our elders.

When the video of the panel discussion is available I will post it.