DAGEN: CRITICAL RACE THEORY IN
THE OFFICE.
BANK OF AMERICA AND LOWE’S
REPORTEDLY SPONSORED CRITICAL
RACE THEORY TRAINING THAT URGED
WHITE PEOPLE TO, QUOTE, CEDE
POWER TO PEOPLE OF COLOR.
THESE TWO COMPANIES ARE THE
LATEST TO HOLD DIVERSITY
TRAINING WITH CRT ELEMENTS.
AMERICAN EXPRESS, RAYTHEON,
DISNEY AND LOCKHEED MARTIN HAVE
ALSO DONE SO.
JOINING ME NOW, VIVEK RAMASWAMY,
ENTREPRENEUR AND AUTHOR OF WOKE,
INCORPORATED.
VIVEK, YOUR WHOLE BOOK IS ABOUT
THIS.
WHY WOULD A MAJOR CORPORATION DO
THIS?
>> YEAH, WELL, LOOK, I TALK
ABOUT THIS EXTENSIVELY IN THE
BOOK.
I THINK A LOT OF THIS DATES BACK
TO THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS
WHEN AFTER THAT CORPORATIONS
WERE THE BAD GUYS IN THE EYES OF
THE OLD LEFT.
BUT THERE WAS A NEW OPPORTUNITY
WITH THE RISE OF A NEW WOKE
PROGRESSIVE LEFT.
TO BE ABLE TO SAY WE CAN
ACTUALLY GO FROM BEING THE BAD
GUYS TO BEING THE GOOD GUYS IF
WE SAY THE RIGHT THINGS ABOUT
RACIAL DIVERSITY, ABOUT RACIAL
INEQUITY AND GUESS WHAT,
FINANCIAL FIRMS ESPECIALLY LIKE
BANK OF AMERICA, LIKE AMERICAN
EXPRESS, JUMPED ON THAT
OPPORTUNITY.
THEY WERE HAPPY TO USE THEIR
MONEY AND LEND LEGITIMACY TO THE
WOKE MOVEMENT.
THEY USED THAT TO PUT OCCUPY
WALL STREET UP FOR ADOPTION AND
THE TRADE HAS WORKED REALLY WELL
FOR THEM.
IF YOU’RE WALL STREET, OCCUPY
WALL STREET IS A PRETTY TOUGH
PILL TO SWALLOW.
THE NEW DIVERSITY AGENDA UNDER
THE WOKE BANNERS, THAT’S A
PRETTY EASY PILL TO SWALLOW.
THAT’S HOW THEY WERE ABLE TO
MAKE THAT TRADE AND IT WORKED
OUT WELL FOR THEM TO DEFLECT
REGULATORY ACCOUNTABILITY, TO
DEFLECT PUBLIC SCRUTINY, CHANGE
THE CONVERSATION FROM THE KIND
OF THINGS THEY WOULD RATHER NOT
BE TALKING ABOUT SO THAT’S WHERE
IT BEGAN.
UNFORTUNATELY, I NEVER IMAGINED
HOW FAR IT WOULD COME.
DAGEN: DEFLECT CRITICISM FROM
WHAT THESE FIRMS, PARTICULARLY
FINANCIAL FIRMS ARE DOING IN
CHINA, KOWTOWING, JEN KOWTOWING
COMMUNIST PARTY THERE.
IT’S WORKED SO FAR BUT WILL IT
CONTINUE TO WORK?
BECAUSE AGAIN, IT’S ALL
EMPLOYEES WHO ARE BEING
SUBJECTED TO THIS TRAINING THAT
THEY FIND KIND OF SHOCKING.
BUT HOW LONG CAN THIS KEEP GOING
ON?
>> WELL, LOOK, ONE OF THE THINGS
I TALK ABOUT IN MY BOOK, IS I
HOPE NOT VERY LONG.
THERE ARE LEGAL STRATEGIES
AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYEES WHO DON’T
WANT TO BOW DOWN BUT MANY DO
BEND THE KNEE FOR FEAR OF LOSING
THEIR JOBS.
ONE OF THE THINGS I TALK ABOUT
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE BOOK
IS A LEGAL ARGUMENT THAT SAYS
THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
PREVENTS DISCRIMINATION ON
ACCOUNT OF RELIGION.
THAT PREVENTS AN EMPLOYER FROM
DISCRIMINATING AGAINST AN
EMPLOYEE ON ACCOUNT OF HIS
RELIGION, PREVENTS AN EMPLOYER
FROM STUFFING THEIR RELIGION
DOWN THE THROATS OF THEIR
EMPLOYEES AND IF YOU LOOK AT
WHETHER THIS NEW TEST OF
WOKENESS ACTUALLY MEETS THE
SUPREME COURT’S TEST FOR
RELIGION, IT ACTUALLY HITS THE
SUPREME COURT’S TEST IN SPADES.
SO IF WOKENESS IS REALLY A
RELIGION, THEN FORCING EMPLOYEES
TO ACTUALLY BOW TO THIS NEW
RELIGION IS A VIOLATION OF THE
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.
THAT’S ONE OF MANY LEGAL
ARGUMENTS THAT I THINK EMPLOYEES
AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS CAN TAKE
TO COURT TO SAY THAT A LOT OF
THESE BEHAVIORS AND FORMS OF
WOKE CORPORATE OVERREACH ARE
DOWN RIGHT ILLEGAL EVEN UNDER
CURRENT LAW SO HOPEFULLY WITH
THE PUBLICATION OF THE BOOK LAST
WEEK, WE’RE REALLY CHANGING THE
CONVERSATION AROUND THESE TOPICS
AND I THINK ONCE CORPORATIONS
START TO FACE LEGAL CONSEQUENCES
FOR THEIR OVERREACH, NOBODY WILL
WANT TO GO TO GO TO COURT OVER
IT AND I THINK THAT WILL BEGIN
TO SHAPE BEHAVIOR IN A DIFFERENT
DIRECTION.
I THINK THAT LEGAL SOLUTIONS ARE
SYMPTOMATIC THERAPY.
WHAT WE NEED IN THIS COUNTRY IS
A CULTURAL CURE AND THAT’S A LOT
HARDER TO DO, SOMETHING I TALK
ABOUT IN THE BOOK.
BUT I DO THINK THAT THE TIDE IS
GOING TO CHANGE AS LONG AS WE
HAVE SHAREHOLDERS AND EMPLOYEES
AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS OF
BUSINESSES BEGIN TO ACTUALLY
TAKE LEGAL ACTIONS AGAINST THESE
FORMS OF OVERREACH.
DAGEN: THERE’S A LOT OF MONEY
AT WORK BECAUSE THERE’S A VAST
ECOSYSTEM OF -- AND I USE THIS
TERM LOOSELY -- CONSULTANTS WHO
GO INTO THESE COMPANIES AND
TEACH ALL OF THE DIVERSITY,
EBBING WHICH THE AT THIS,EQUITY,
>> IT’S A BIG INDUSTRY.
DAGEN: IT’S A HUGE INDUSTRY.
II ARGUED A LOT OF THE PEOPLE WH
ARE YOUNGER, THEY WERE EDUCATED
AT THESE -- AT VERY SUPER LEFT
WING UNIVERSITIES OR COLLEGES
LIKE LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES SO
THIS WAS ENGRAINED IN THEM IN
COLLEGE.
THIS IS WHAT THEY GOT FOR A
QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS OR
MORE AND THEN THEY GO INTO THESE
COMPANIES, INTO HUMAN RESOURCE,
AND SO IT’S KIND OF BURIED IN
THE CORE OF THESE -- MANY OF
THESE CORPORATIONS.
>> YEAH, YOU NAILED IT.
PEOPLE LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE
DEEP STATE.
I LIKE TO TALK ABOUT DEEP
CORPORATE.
I WASN’T BORN IN ELITE AMERICA
BUT I LIVED IT IN THE LAST 15
YEARS.
I’VE BEEN TO HARVARD, YALE, I
WORKED ON WALL STREET, STARTED A
VENTURE BACKED COMPANY.
I HAVE SEEN HOW THIS GAME IS
PLAYED AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT
THIS DEEP CORPORATE FORCE IS
ACTUALLY A REALLY PROFITABLE ONE
FOR THE DIVERSITY INDUSTRIAL
COMPLEX ON THE OUTSIDE.
THIS WEEK OF AFGHANISTAN, TALK
ABOUT THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL
COMPLEX, A BUNCH OF PEOPLE THAT
HAD NO INCENTIVE TO STAND UP TO
AFGHAN MILITARY ON THEIR OWN BUT
MADE A BUCK FOR 20 YEARS.
I’M SEEING THE SAME THING IN THE
WOKE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX, NO
INCENTIVE TO SOLVE ACTUAL SOCIAL
PROBLEMS BUT HAS EVERY INCENTIVE
TO KEEP TALKING ABOUT THEM AND
KEEP CHARGING A HIGH FEE FOR IT
AND THE BANKS ARE HAPPY TO PAY
IT.
THEY WOULD RATHER PAY A LOT OF
MONEY TO TALK ABOUT WHITE
FRAGILITY.
IF YOU HAVE A MARXIST TO COME
IN, THEY WOULDN’T LIKE WHAT THEY
HAVE TO SAY.
IT’S A WAY TO SILENCE THE OLD
LEFT THAT CARED ABOUT ECONOMIC
INEQUALITY AND IT’S WORKING OUT
FOR EVERYBODY, EVEN THE CHINESE
COME MIST PARTY BUT THE PEOPLE
LEFT HOLDING THE BAG ARE THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE AS WE KNOW IT.
DAGEN: THE BOOK IS WOKE,
INCORPORATED.
I BOUGHT IT.
IT’S AMAZING.
VIVEK, I HOPE EVERYBODY GOES AND
GETS A COPY OF IT.
WOKE, INCORPORATED BY VIVEK
RAMASWAMY.
PLEASE COME BACK.