Also please note: Fidelity is not alone. Investors Against Genocide has a whole list of companies that embrace this practice, and I urge you to go to their website and take any conscientious course of action that you will in your means of investing and in your proxy votes. Click here for Investors Against Genocide's list of suggestions regarding how you can help fight this evil.
'For wicked men are found among My people,
They watch like fowlers lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch men.
Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
They are fat, they are sleek,
They also excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
Shall I not punish these people?' declares the LORD,
'On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?'
Jeremiah 5:26-29
Well, I'm sorry to give this update to my previous blog entry regarding Fidelity's shareholder proposal concerning "oversight procedures to screen out investments in companies that, in the judgment of the board, substantially contribute to genocide, patterns of extraordinary and egregious violations of human rights, or crimes against humanity." They recommended a vote that would allow them to continue to invest in these companies, and they won. I assume that the only reason that they won was because most people failed to open or read the mailing, and by failing to do so, failed to express what would most likely have been their response. They wasted their vote and Fidelity won, and genocide victims will continue to lose with their lives.
Maybe Fidelity will lose in the long run, by losing investors who realize what their money would be funding, and financial pressure will, after all, win the battle for what is right. We can always pray that this will be the case, that God will open the eyes of the people who can respond such--God is bigger and more powerful and cares about the defenseless and the orphan.
O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will strengthen their heart,
You will incline Your ear
To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed,
So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.
Psalm 10:17-18
1 comment:
I'm not sure your source for the Fidelity vote having been determined yet, but I received recently another proxy card asking again for my vote. Seems there were not enough votes to conclude the voting and another meeting is scheduled for 18 June. Ironically, or maybe not, the proxy is also asking to vote for a reduced required quorum for future shareholder meetings. Hmm.
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