In yet another Twitter dust-up, Home Depot is being lambasted for being overly "woke," and some customers are even threatening to boycott the chain.
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The home-improvement giant is under scrutiny after a photo of an employee handout called "Leading Practices: Unpacking Privilege" surfaced on Twitter. The handout details white privilege, class privilege, Christian privilege, cisgender privilege, and the privilege of being able-bodied and male. One page notes that, “If you’re confident that the police exist to protect you, you have white privilege.”
Home Depot has gone woke pic.twitter.com/iCy3uMJ4VC
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) March 23, 2022
Angry Twitter users took to the app to call for a boycott and suggest Lowe's as a substitute. Home Depot was soon trending on Twitter, with more than 17,000 tweets as of Wednesday.
A Home Depot spokesperson told MarketWatch that the “Unpacking Privilege” guide is authentic, but it's actually from Home Depot’s Canadian division, and was “not part of any required companywide training.” If you look closely — always a good idea before rage-tweeting — there are clues in the pictures, such as the non-American spelling of "colour." The guide also appears to be stapled to a wall, much like other handouts largely ignored in break rooms by retail workers.
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“While we fully support diversity across our company, this material was not created or approved by our corporate diversity, equity and inclusion department," Home Depot added.
While the explanation isn't likely to change the mood of an angry Twitter mob, the chain is, like many companies, still trying to figure out how to navigate the complicated flash-point issues of diversity and inclusion.
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