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Almost two thirds of white voters would support a law making it illegal for an employer to fire an employee for exercising a Constitutionally protected right while off duty.

Almost half of white voters are less likely to support a business if it fires an employee due to pressure from the Left.

Our first Homeland Institute poll ever was conducted last year in August, 2023, on the topic of cancel culture. Cancel culture merits research because it is used with great effect by the Left to chill resistance to globalism, multiculturalism, and mass immigration. More specifically we explored which was more damaging: the charge of “racism” or a charge of “woke.”

Much has happened since last year, so we decided to repeat the poll to track public opinion. For example, there has been a strong conservative backlash to the “woke” opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, and the X/Twitter account “Libs of Tiktok” has doxed Leftists who publicly wished that Donald Trump had not survived the assassination attempt on him.

Along with repeating last year’s poll on cancel culture, we also expanded it with new questions. The Homeland Institute polled 950 respondents who are politically and demographically representative of white, non-Hispanic American registered voters between July 25 and July 31, 2024. The margin of error was plus or minus 3%.

1. The Endgame

The most important findings came from the new questions we asked. There is a growing consensus that the Right must develop a cancel culture of its own to counter the Left—but for what ultimate, concrete goal? One realistic goal would be to bring the Left to the bargaining table to abandon their cancel culture.

In an internal poll by Counter-Currents of 541 of their readers, 24.4% had been doxed. Of those who had been doxed, only 13% suffered initial employment consequences and 10.7% ongoing employment consequences. 22.2% suffered no consequences beyond initial anxiety. This suggests that doxing is no longer as powerful of a weapon as it once was, especially since employment consequences are the most important.

If doxing were bereft of economic consequences, it would lose most of its sting. Thankfully, the Right is already in a position to achieve this goal of forcing the Left to abandon the economic impact of doxing.

Almost two thirds of all respondents at 64.7% would support a law making it illegal for an employer to fire an employee for exercising a Constitutionally protected right while off duty:

Q.12 Which of the following best describes your opinion of a law making it illegal for an employer to fire an employee for exercising a Constitutionally protected right while off duty?
Results by Party
	% All	Democrats	Independents	Republicans
Strongly support	39.6%	35.5%	36.8%	39.0%
Slightly support	25.1%	24.2%	22.4%	24.2%
Neutral/No opinion either way	17.0%	16.7%	16.2%	14.0%
Slightly oppose	8.6%	6.8%	7.9%	8.7%
Strongly oppose	9.7%	9.9%	7.9%	9.3%
I don’t know	7.0%	6.8%	8.7%	4.8%

Support was high and consistent across party lines, so such a law would be a bipartisan, or even better, a non-partisan issue. Only 18.3% of respondents were in some form of opposition. That this was the final question in our poll suggests that the mere specter of an incipient Right-wing cancel culture is enough to bring the Left to the bargaining table due to the nature of the other questions. We do not need to obtain parity or even substantial parity in cancel culture to achieve this result.

Furthermore, passing such a law may be more viable than beating the Left in a tit for tat cancel culture war due to a lack of enthusiasm for developing a Right-wing cancel culture:

Q.11 Which of the following best describes your opinion of the following statement:
“The Left has wielded ‘cancel culture’ to great effect for years. Until the Left decisively disavows cancel culture, the Right has no reasonable option but to develop a cancel culture of their own.”
Results by Party
	% All	Democrats	Independents	Republicans
Strongly agree	10.3%	1.7%	7.2%	20.5%
Slightly agree	12.7%	6.1%	11.6%	18.8%
Neutral/No opinion either way	25.9%	24.2%	30.7%	24.4%
Slightly disagree	15.2%	11.6%	19.9%	14.3%
Strongly disagree	29.4%	50.2%	24.9%	14.3%
I don’t know	6.5%	6.1%	5.8%	7.6%

One can wonder why support for a Right-wing cancel culture is so low. A GOP establishment which pushes a message of unity rather than vengeance and the inherently defensive nature of conservatism probably play a role. Regardless of why, only about two fifths of Republicans at 39.4% would support developing their own cancel culture, while 28.6% would be in opposition and the rest neutral or undecided. Two fifths of Republicans is still substantial, especially if their target is vulnerable, so this does not mean that fostering a Right-wing cancel culture should be abandoned. However, it does mean that bringing the Left to the table now for a ceasefire on the employment aspect of doxing would be more effective.

Cancel culture can encompass more than pressuring employers to fire employees. For example, it can use boycotts. But regarding firing employees, there was widespread resistance among respondents:

Q.9 If a business fires an employee due to pressure from the Left, would it make you:
Results by Party
	% All	Democrats	Independents	Republicans
More likely to support them	7.8%	14.7%	3.2%	4.5%
Less likely to support them	49.5%	24.2%	49.5%	71.6%
No real effect either way	23.8%	35.5%	24.2%	13.8%
I am not sure	18.9%	25.6%	23.1%	10.1%
Q.10 If a business fires an employee due to pressure from the Right, would it make you:
Results by Party
	%	Democrats	Independents	Republicans
More likely to support them	7.7%	3.4%	3.2%	14.6%
Less likely to support them	45.5%	55.6%	46.6%	35.4%
No real effect either way	26.8%	22.2%	25.6%	32.9%
I am not sure	20.0%	18.8%	24.5%	17.1%

This was true whether the pressure to fire the employee came from either the Left or the Right. With Republicans and Democrats favoring their respective sides and Independents being consistent, the end result among all respondents was very similar. The 7.8% of respondents who were more likely to support a business for firing an employee due to pressure from the Left were decisively outnumbered by the 49.5% who were less likely to support them. These numbers were almost the same for pressure from the Right at 7.7% versus 45.5%.

Given that almost half of their white customers would be less likely to support them, employers would be wise to refrain from firing an employee due to political pressure from either side. This is especially true since whites held 70% of all buying power in the United States in 2020 and are projected to have 68% of US buying power in 2025.[1] How non-whites feel about employers firing employees for political reasons merits further research.

Because doxing has almost exclusively been a Left on Right phenomenon, employers realizing that it is more dangerous to fire a doxed employee than to not fire them would be a major boon to Right-wing activists. In the balance of terror between doxees and doxers on employers, the doxees clearly have the upper hand.

Getting people fired from their jobs has become an unpopular tactic. Perhaps it never was popular, and we simply didn’t realize it because a lack of hard data made it easy for antifa to gaslight employers and doxees. Regardless, agreeing to laws which protect the right of employees to exercise their constitutional rights during their off duty lives would be an effective solution to ending the worse effects of cancel culture. In the meantime, doxees should stand their ground against their employers.

2. “Racism” versus “Woke” for Boycotts

We replicated last year’s findings on comparing the charge of “racism” versus a charge of “woke” regarding business boycotts.

63.3% of respondents said they are less likely to support a business if it is accused of being racist, versus 61.9% last year.

But only 42.2% said they would be willing to follow through with boycotting a business that is accused of being racist if they had to pay 10% more or drive an extra mile, versus 41.8% last year.

42.2% said they are less likely to support a business if it is accused of being woke, versus 43.7% last year.

But only 27.2% said they would be willing to follow through with boycotting a business that is accused of being woke if they had to pay 10% more or drive an extra mile, versus 29.1% last year.

Q.1 If a business is accused of being “racist,” would it make you:
Results by Party
		% All	Democrats	Independents
More likely to support them		3.9%	1.7%	3.2%
Less likely to support them		63.3%	92.5%	63.5%
It doesn’t matter		32.8%	5.8%	33.2%
Q.2 If a business is accused of being “racist,” would you be willing to boycott that business if you had to drive one extra mile or pay ten percent more?
Results by Party
	% All	Democrats	Independents	Republicans
Yes	42.2%	71.0%	40.8%	18.3%
No	33.2%	10.2%	32.9%	53.7%
I am not sure	24.6%	18.8%	26.4%	28.1%
Q.4 If a business is accused of being “woke,” would it make you:
Results by Party
	% All	Democrats	Independents	Republicans
More likely to support them	18.6%	41.3%	13.7%	2.5%
Less likely to support them	42.2%	9.9%	39.4%	73.3%
It doesn’t matter	39.2%	48.8%	46.9%	24.2%
Q.5 If a business is accused of being “woke,” would you be willing to boycott that business if you had to drive one extra mile or pay ten percent more?
Results by Party
	% All	Democrats	Independents	Republicans
Yes	27.2%	8.2%	21.3%	48.6%
No	51.4%	77.8%	53.1%	26.7%
I am not sure	21.5%	14.0%	25.6%	24.7%

The difference between this year’s and last year’s results were within the 3% margin of error.

3. “Racism” versus “Woke” for Electoral Politics

We replicated last year’s findings on comparing the charge of “racism” versus a charge of “woke” regarding electoral politics.

68.2% said they would be less likely to vote for a politician if that politician was accused of being racist, versus 65.7% last year.

46.1% said they would be less likely to vote for a politician if that politician was accused of being woke, versus 45.6% last year.

For Independent respondents, 68.2% said they would be less likely to vote for a politician accused of being racist compared to 43.7% of Independents who said they would be less likely to vote for a politician accused of being woke. Last year, these numbers were respectively 65.5% and 41.3%.

Among Republican respondents 43% said they were less likely to vote for a politician accused of being racist, compared to 78.1% who said they were less likely to vote for a politician accused of being woke. Last year, these numbers were respectively 42.6% and 79%.

Additionally, 7.3% of Republican respondents said they were more likely to vote for a politician who is accused of being racist, versus 7.2% last year.

Q.3 If a politician is accused of being “racist,” would it make you:
Results by Party
	% All	Democrats	Independents	Republicans
More likely to support them	4.0%	1.0%	2.9%	7.3%
Less likely to support them	68.2%	97.6%	68.2%	43.0%
It doesn’t matter	27.8%	1.4%	28.9%	49.7%
Q.6 If a politician is accused of being “woke,” would it make you:
Results by Party
	% All	Democrats	Independents	Republicans
More likely to support them	20.4%	45.7%	14.8%	2.5%
Less likely to support them	46.1%	11.9%	43.7%	78.1%
It doesn’t matter	33.5%	42.3%	41.5%	19.4%

The difference between this year’s and last year’s results were within the 3% margin of error, and a charge of “woke” is still remains almost twice as powerful as a charge of “racism” among white Republican voters. Thus the strategy of Susie Wiles, a senior Trump campaign advisor, that “For every Karen we lose, we’re going to win a Jamal and an Enrique” makes little sense.[2]

Republicans who pander to everyone except whites would be wise to rethink their strategy, lest they be perceived as being woke—and especially since whites remain 70% of the electorate.

4. A Changing Country

Regarding the first six questions of the poll which explored a charge of “racism” versus “woke,” a significant number of respondents said that their answers would have been different five or ten years ago.

Q.7 If you had been asked the previous six questions ten years ago, would your answers have been different?
Results by Party
	% All	Democrats	Independents	Republicans
Yes	23.3%	20.5%	29.2%	21.1%
No	76.7%	79.5%	70.8%	78.9%
Q.8 If you had been asked the previous six questions five years ago, would your answers have been different?
Results by Party
	% All	Democrats	Independents	Republicans
Yes	13.5%	11.9%	17.0%	12.4%
No	86.5%	88.1%	83.0%	87.6%

5. Conclusion

Key takeaways:

• Almost two thirds of respondents at 64.7% would support a law making it illegal for an employer to fire an employee for exercising a Constitutionally protected right while off duty.


• Almost half of white voters at 49.5% are less likely to support a business if it fires an employee due to pressure from the Left.


• Support for developing a Right-wing cancel culture is not particularly strong but may still be enough to apply pressure to vulnerable targets.


• Among Republican respondents, a charge of “woke” was almost twice as damaging as a charge of “racism” regarding whether they would support a politician.


• Last year’s poll and this year’s poll both strongly suggest that Republican pandering to minorities will backfire as it risks voters perceiving them as woke. Such voters may choose to punish the GOP by staying home like they did during the “red puddle” of 2022 in contrast to the mass mobilization in 2016.

[1]https://www.insiderintelligence.com/chart/252370/us-buying-power-by-raceethnicity-2000-2023-billions

[2] https://modernity.news/2024/07/12/top-trump-campaign-operative-wants-to-appeal-to-jamal-and-enrique-not-so-much-karen/