Have You Heard?
by Terry Zimmerman
Last issue I wrote about some of the challenges that are
facing us as gay people in America. Well, the latest poop to be
thrown at us is the Southern Baptist's (America's largest
Protestant denomination) anti-gay Disney Boycott. In a non-
binding resolution the church asks its 15 million members to
boycott the Walt Disney Co.
The reasons put forth by the Southern Baptists is Disney's
"anti-Christian and anti-family direction." They also call on their
members to strike back at "any company that promotes immoral
ideologies and practices."
What are these practices that they find so offensive?
It is Disney's policy of extending benefits to same sex domestic
partners. It is the Ellen Degeneres show. It is the fact that as
much as 40% of Disney's employees are Gay. It is doubtful, even
to the Southern Baptists that this boycott will be effective. Disney
is everywhere, and it would be next to impossible to avoid doing
any business with them. Remove Disney from your life and you
will miss a lot more than you would imagine. ABC, ESPN, A&E,
are but a few of the enterprises of Disney.
So then, we come to the real motives: Anti-gay publicity, The
continuing assault by the religious right to deny the rights of the
Constitution to gay Americans. These people will stop at nothing
to force their religious beliefs on the rest of the nation. DOMA was
a law to violate our rights. Chrysler's dropping sponsorship of
the Ellen show was another example of anti-gay publicity. Had
you figured out that Ellen was gay before she came out? I had,
and so did almost everyone that I know. Gay people are
acceptable as long as they don't say they are gay, seems to be
the mindset of these people. They better trade in their GM and
Ford products on Chrysler products, or they will be condemned
to hell, right along with us.
There is too much to write about, and too little space to do it
in, but we as a minority had better get ourselves ORGANIZED into
a politically influential, voting block. If we do not, then everything
that we have gained in the last few decades will be lost.
There is a focused, organized, anti-gay movement afoot and
we had better wake up to this reality. All we need to do is open
our eyes and ears and it will easily be seen. More on these and
other important facts, next issue.
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