The Bible-thumpers on the extreme Christian right are embarrassing themselves again. This bit of news comes to us courtesy of some group called the "American Family Association" and the Reverend Donald Wildmon.
The company in his sights is The Ford Motor Company. What for? Ford has decided that it wants to sell more Jaguars and Land Rovers to gays and lesbians. They see a market opportunity. They way they're going to try and make those sales is by promising to donate $1,000 to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination (GLAAD) for each Jaguar and Land Rover sold.
This is basic capitalism at work: gays and lesbians have money, and Ford wants a piece of the action. Since nutcases like Donald Wildmon can't bear to think what two consenting adults might be doing in the privacy of their own home that he doesn't agree with, we have ourselves a boycott.
Do I agree with the GLAAD donations? Not particularly, but my disagreement isn't based on who's getting the money. It's based on the principal that I want to chose my charities. If I were to go out and buy a Jag, and they were to donate $1000 of my money, I would like for the cash to go to an animal shelter. For some reason I have much more sympathy for animals than I do for most humans.
But ... like most boycotts, this one will fail. Wasn't it this very same American Family Association that recently called off its 9-year boycott of Disney World? What a success that was! Attendance is at record levels at the Disney parks. Wildmon's crowd surely does carry some clout, don't you think?
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
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