Opinion

Editorial: Shout-out to quiet voices of reason opposing HB2

Posted 6:00 a.m. Friday

Protests over House Bill 2 continued Wednesday night as critics say the bill could cost the state billions of dollars in education funding.

A CBC Editorial: Friday, Oct. 21, 2016; Editorial# 8071
The following is the opinion of Capitol Broadcasting

The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, created sometime around 1963 by the late Gov. Terry Sanford, has been the state’s version of a key to the state – a way to recognize visiting dignitaries and make note of special accomplishments by North Carolinians.

In recent months, thanks to notorious House Bill 2, there has been a whole new list of individuals, organizations and companies worthy of recognition.

We propose today, a new statewide club – say the “Order of The Scrub Oak.” Qualification for membership: to have been driven out of the state, shunned as unwanted, hypocritically or otherwise denigrated by Gov. Pat McCrory, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest or the leadership of the General Assembly for opposing HB2; and standing up for the dignity of all individuals and opposing government-sanctioned discrimination -- in all its forms.

While our state leaders have denounced these individuals and companies -- jobs, corporate investment, conventions, entertainment and athletic events have made an exodus from the state. But the biggest loss is to our state brand, our reputation, our good name.  Changing our bad brand will be hard to do – impossible without first repealing HB2.  Please vote for candidates who have pledged to do just that.

Here’s a list of those individuals, organizations and companies that have publically stood up and denounced HB2. Congratulations on joining the club!

(Know of others who might be nominated? Send your suggestions to: opinion@cbc-raleigh.com).

ORDER OF THE SCRUB OAK – Charter nominees:
Accenture
Affirm, Inc.
Airbnb, Inc.
American Airlines
American Kennel Club
American Society of Association Executives
Apple Inc.
Atlanta, city of
Atlantic Coast Conference
Bank of America
Barnes and Noble
Barber, Rev. William
Biogen Inc.
Bloomberg L.P.
Blue Man Group
Boehinger Ingleheim USA
Boston, city of
Box
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.
Brodhead, Richard – Duke University president
California
Capital One Financial Corporation
CheapTickets.com
Chicago, city of
Choice Hotels International
Cirque du Sole
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Citibank
Citrix
Clements, James – Clemson University President
Connecticut
Consumer Technology Association (CTA)
Corning Incorporated
Cummins Inc.
Davidson College
Deutsche Bank – 250 jobs
Dow Chemical Company
Dropbox, Inc.
Duke University
Durham Bulls
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (“DuPont”)
eBay, Inc.
EMC Corporation
Etsy, Inc.
Everlaw, Inc.
Expedia, Inc.
Facebook
FiftyThree, Inc.
Folt, Carol – University of North Carolina
Frenk, Julio – University of Miami
Gallagher, Patrick – University of Pittsburgh
Galxyz, Inc.
Gap Inc.
General Electric Company
Glassdoor, Inc.
Gottfried, Mark – N.C. State University basketball coach
Google
Grokker
Hatch, Nathan – Wake Forest University
Hilton Worldwide
Honor
IBM Corporation
IKEA North America Services, LLC
Instacart
Intel Corporation
John Hancock Financial
Jenkins, Frank – Notre Dame
Krzyzewski, Mike – Duke University basketball coach
Leahy, William – Boston College president
Levi Strauss & Co.
LinkedIn Corporation
Lionsgate Studios
Logitech Inc.
Lowe’s Co.
Marriott International
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
Microsoft Corporation
Minnesota
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams
Morgan Stanley
Motion Picture Association of America
National Basketball Association (NBA)
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
New York
Nextdoor
NIKE
OppenheimerFunds, Inc.
Oracle
Orbitz Worldwide
Pay Pal
Pearljam
Pearlman, Izhak
​Pepo Inc.
PepsiCo
Peterson, G.P ‘Bud’ – Georgia Tech
PNC Financial Services Group
Qualcomm
Quotient
Ralph Lauren
Ramsey, James – University of Louisville
RBC Capital Markets, LLC
Red Hat
Replacements, Ltd.
Rogers, Jim, former Duke Energy CEO
Sands, Timothy – Va. Tech State University
Salesforce
San Francisco, city of
Santa Fe, city of
Seattle, city of
Slack
Springsteen, Bruce
Starr, Ringo
​Sullivan, Teresa – University of Virginia
SV Angel LLC
Symantec Corporation
Syverud, Kent – Syracuse University
Target
TD Bank, NA
Teespring
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
ThirdLove
Thrasher, John – Florida State University interim president
Tumblr
UnifyID, Inc.
United Airlines, Inc.
Vermont
Wake Forest University
Washington
Washington, D.C.
Wells Fargo
West Palm Beach, city of
Wicked producers
Woodson, Randy – N.C. State University
Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
Yahoo
Yelp Inc.
YouTube
ZestFinance
Zynga Inc.

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6 Comments

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  • Paul Hayeze Oct 21, 11:59 a.m.
    user avatar

    Yes, I am sure that the tin foil hats including; Tami Fitzgerald, Paul Stam, Phil Berger, Tim Moore will all be meeting with Governor McCrory to round up all electronic equipment that the state owns that IBM, Microsoft, and Red Hat have created and have it all destroyed. They then be telling them to take the company and their jobs and get out of our state…

  • Paul Stroud Oct 21, 11:00 a.m.
    user avatar

    So you folks will all be dropping your cellphones and tablets off huh? All three major cell platforms, iOS, Android and Windows ALL are against HB2. You should really make a YUGE political statement and use a phone to smash them and record it .... on your Camera and upload it to ... uh some video site besides youtube(google). I look forward to you keeping your words lol.

  • Aiden Audric Oct 21, 10:12 a.m.
    user avatar

    "Thanks for the list, I'm going to boycott them all! Although I guess I'll have to throw away pretty much everything I own and live in my mother's basement, grow my own food, and dig a well. But, hey! I stopped them!"

    Toss your Microsoft (or Apple!)-based computers, phones, and tablets, don't work with your bank because they're using software running on Red Hat Linux and IBM made their ATMs, don't look at that YouTube video, buy books, use any Corning products including medical supplies.

    Or admit you don't have the fortitude to stand by your convictions; it's easier to mock a vegan for their unwavering lifestyle changes that accommodate their conscience than it is to stand up for your own. It's easier to mock a transgender person for having the strength to be their authentic selves than to look in the mirror and follow-through with the same.

    And remember, folks - HB2 isn't in Dubai. Red herring right there.

  • John Townsend Oct 21, 9:40 a.m.
    user avatar

    A good reporter would go through the list and see if any of the entities are being hypocritical. One example is Cirque du Sole which won't do shows in NC over HB2 but will do shows in Dubai where the penalty for being gay is death.

  • Arron Lee Oct 21, 9:35 a.m.
    user avatar

    Thanks for posting this list. Now I and so many others will avoid doing business with these individuals and companies who support perversity.

  • John Smith Oct 21, 8:59 a.m.
    user avatar

    I sincerely hope wrote this garbage feels "purposeful".
    PepsiCo, American Airlines, Lowes, etc etc... I don't see them being so denigrated that they are forfeiting making money off of North Carolinians by the minute.
    I know,...give them all a Participation Trophy!