The Salvation Army pays a big price for its foray into wokedom

 I won't give nothing this year  

In November, the Salvation Army officially went woke, declaring that, after soul-searching, it was calling upon all White people associated with or donating to the Salvation Army to admit their racism and repent.  After an angry response from the public, the Salvation Army itself repented...of its wokeness, and it walked back its message.  It was too late, though.  Local Salvation Army chapters are seeing 50% drops in both volunteers and donations.  Get woke, go broke.

It all started when the Salvation Army issued a "Let's Talk About Racism" guide.  It made all sorts of woke points:

"There is an urgent need for Christians to evaluate racist attitudes and practices in light of our faith, and to live faithfully in today's world."

"What do we hope to achieve? ... Lament, repent and apologize for biases or racist ideologies held and actions committed."

"The meanings of these [racial categories such as White, Black, Latin, and Asian] have changed over time. What has not changed is that racial groups are placed in a hierarchy, with White or lighter-skinned people at the top; non–Indigenous People Of Color (POC) subjugated beneath lighter skinned people; Black and Indigenous people at the bottom of the racial system."

"True repentance is a decision to move away from sin and towards God. As believers, apology and forgiveness are not only a universal human need but are Kingdom values that Scripture points to as key to opening doors to healing in even the most difficult circumstances. And as we engage in conversations about race and racism, we must keep in mind that sincere repentance and apologies are necessary if we want to move towards racial reconciliation."

There are also long definitions that come right out of a CRT struggle session or an Ibram X. Kendi book regarding what constitutes racism.  There are the cant phrases about "systemic racism," "anti-racism," "institutional racism," "racism as a social construct," as well as the martyrdom of drug addict and felon George Floyd, who died resisting arrest, and the hideous dangers of a colorblind society, etc.

It's a leftist tract dressed up with references to God.  However, that language about God is the pamphlet's redeeming feature, as well as what makes it utterly incoherent.  The people who wrote it are desperately trying to reconcile the fact that we are all God's children, made in God's image, with racial determinism — that is, the leftist imperative that race is the only defining feature that matters when considering any person or community.

Image: Salvation Army tuba player by j_lai.  CC BY 2.0.

Despite the strong vein of Christian thinking in an otherwise hardcore CRT pamphlet, people were deeply offended by the implication that, merely by being White, they were racist or complicit in racism.  Therefore, just a few days after issuing that disastrous guidebook, the Salvation Army management withdrew the booklet, saying it was never meant to make people apologize for their skin color (which is exactly what the book told people to do).

By then, though, the damage was done.  The Salvation Army had managed to offend those most likely to work for it and donate to it: non-leftists.  (Leftists are usually less charitable, probably because they believe that the government is the only charitable organization that matters.)

People decided, correctly, that the Salvation Army must be punished, lest it — or any other charity — make the mistake of believing that it can simultaneously castigate Whites as evil people while demanding money and labor from them.  Combine that with the belt-tightening that comes with Biden's inflation (or, as I call it, Bidenflation), and you get a story such as this one out of Seattle:

The Salvation Army is facing a shortage of toys and donations ahead of the holiday season, and urge communities to find a way to help.

The nonprofit reports it gets 75% of total annual donations during November and December, and they are once again in need of support. That help can come in the form of an online donation at the virtual Northwest Red Kettle.

[snip]

Not only is the nonprofit organization short on donations, they also are in desperate need of bell ringers to staff the red kettles seen at businesses around the country.

"The situation is dire, and we are asking our generous supporters in the region to donate to the virtual Northwest Red Kettle as well as make donations at every physical kettle in whatever way you can," said Foley.

That's the way it goes: Antifa won't pony up money or labor, and those normal people who usually do aren't going to this year.  Let's hope that next year, when Bidenflation has caused even more damage, the Salvation Army decides that insulting people is a bad idea because it is, fundamentally, a very good organization.  It's just that a few foolish heads need to roll.  Otherwise, the leftist advance will never stop.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/12/the_salvation_army_pays_a_big_price_for_its_foray_into_wokedom.html