As my friend Steven Barnes says, “A corporation is an organism that eats money and shits products and services.” It’s not a person and it has no conscience. In fact, corporations often compete with humans for resources, particularly money, but also environmental resources like water, air, energy, and other things they may need to produce their products.

On occasion, a corporation’s needs may align with your own. But it is not your friend.

For example, a number of corporations want to cater to the LGBTQ community and their allies. They proudly advertise their inclusiveness initiatives and participate in Pride parades and other LGBTQ community events. Meanwhile, their economic interests tend to align with political parties who also oppose LGBTQ rights, including same-sex marriage and access to public facilities for trans and non-binary people. Remember, money is what a corporation eats.

These corps support anti-LGBTQ politicians

According to Popular Information, these corporations both promote their alliance with the LGBTQ community and donated significant amounts of money in the last election cycle to politicians and PACs who oppose LGBTQ rights:

• AT&T donated $2,755,000 to 193 anti-LGBTQ causes
• UPS donated $2,366,122 to 159 anti-LGBTQ causes
• Comcast donated $2,116,500 to 154 anti-LGBTQ causes
• Home Depot donated $1,825,500 to 111 anti-LGBTQ causes
• General Electric donated $1,380,500 to 97 anti-LGBTQ causes
• FedEx donated $1,261,500 to 75 anti-LGBTQ causes
• UBS donated $1,094,750 to 72 anti-LGBTQ causes
• Verizon donated $1,022,803 to 74 anti-LGBTQ causes
• Pfizer donated $959,263 to 52 anti-LGBTQ causes

This is not hypocrisy, it’s survival. A corporation is not a person and has no conscience. In that place where a person has a conscience, a corporation has only needs. What, you might ask, does a corporation need? Money. Only money. This behavior is entirely consistent with the corporation’s need for money. Deny the corporation its money and it will adjust its behavior.

What you can do

Your wallet is your power. Use that power for the good of your community. Remember, a corporation is an organism that eats money and shits products and services. When you deny your money to these corporations they will protect their own interests the only way they know how — by adjusting their behavior. Any organism will fight to preserve its food supply. If these corporations see their supply of money slow, they will stop supporting politicians who oppose LGBTQ rights so they can have your money again.