Chris Lange, FISM News
A Canadian branch of Home Depot is under fire for shaming certain groups of employees for “white privilege” in a “recognizing privilege” training program.
The major home-improvement retailer recently posted a notice to workers on the topic of “white privilege” that included a checklist for those who are “white, male, Christian, cisgender, able-bodied, and heterosexual.”
The notice, titled “Leading Practices — Unpacking privilege,” was displayed in an employee lounge at a Home Depot in Calgary, Alberta.
Welcome to the commissariat at Home Depot. How can our capitalist corporations be so blind to their own interests? https://t.co/bEgK2VFcTg
— Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) March 21, 2022
A spokeswoman from Home Depot’s US headquarters confirmed to The New York Post that the pamphlet was circulated by its Canadian division but claims it had not been sanctioned by the company’s diversity and inclusion department.
The training material encourages employees to acknowledge “societal privileges that benefit white people beyond what is commonly experienced by people of color under the same social, political, and economic circumstances.”
Staffers were urged to acknowledge their “white privilege” and cautioned that “the word ‘white’ creates discomfort — especially when individuals are not used to being defined or described by their race.”
The flyer also takes aim at Christians, stating: “If you can expect time off from work to celebrate your religious holidays, you have Christian privilege.”
Another bullet point reads: “If you’re confident the police exist to protect you, you have white privilege.”
The spokeswoman denied that the literature was officially approved by Home Depot as “part of any required company-wide training” and did not say whether the company’s Canadian division had discontinued the training.
“While we fully support diversity across our company, this material was not created or approved by our corporate diversity, equity and inclusion department,” the spokesperson said in a statement obtained by The Post, adding “This was a resource in our Canadian division and not part of any required programming.”
Additional privilege warnings displayed in the material include the following excerpts:
- “If you can use public bathrooms without stares, fear or anxiety, you have cisgender privilege.”
- “If you don’t have to worry about how to get into a store, you have able-bodied privilege.”
- “If you don’t have to explain that your spouse is of the same gender, you have heterosexual privilege.”
The training pamphlet is being circulated on social media, with several users on both sides of “white privilege” ideology weighing in.
“[D]on’t you see that this allows them to fire anyone at will? That this divides staff and fuels resentment? That this defuses and prevents people from organizing around “bread and butter” issues? It’s totally in their interest” wrote one Twitter user.
“Perpetual shaming people–punishing really–does nothing to rectify whatever is the problem,” another user chimed in. “Advocates of the thinking offer no solution, besides. Racism to solve racism, or shifting privilege from one to another epitomizes, ‘two wrongs don’t make a right.’”
“Imagine how messed up people have to be before a major corporation decides to post this and their break room,” opined one user whose included a link to The Post article which was slapped with a “sensitive content” warning by Twitter.
Others expressed a more positive reaction to the training initiative.
“This is actually a really great explanation of these concepts. If it unsettles you, well you’re in the wrong side of morality” a user wrote.
The spokeswoman quoted by The Post could not immediately say whether the information had been discontinued in its Canadian division.