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Reader: Stop Ford Boycott for Gay Ads
Recently, NewsMax received a letter to the editor from one of our readers about Ford Motor Company and a boycott by Christian groups of the automaker. (See "Ford's Head-On Collision With Gay Rights," May, 2007.) We thought we would share this with you.
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Dear Editor: In recent months my former employer, Ford motor company, has been boycotted by a Christian right group called the American Family Association (AFA). While I share some of AFA’s conservative values and concerns, their boycott has hurt a once vibrant American company, and as a result, in my view prompted Ford to close many facilities including the one in Norfolk, Va. where I worked for many years. As a laid-off Ford employee, I think that a continued boycott of Ford at this juncture is ill-advised because Ford has clearly heard their concerns now and there are other far worse corporate offenders. Moreover, I think Ford has explained how its current and future actions are and will continue to be more in line with AFA’s concerns. For instance, Ford has already acknowledged that some gay-themed advertising was inappropriate and offensive to the pro-family community. In addition, Ford has not ever advocated for same-sex marriage and has stopped their advertising in homosexual publications. At this point, the boycott only hurts Ford dealers in conservative states like Texas, Georgia, and my home state of Virginia. It also hurts employees like me, many of whom share the American Family Association’s values.
The other part of this boycott which I find confusing is why continue to boycott Ford when they have shown progress? According to the Parents Television Council, Ford is also the No. 1 auto manufacturer in terms of ads during family television, and specifically Ford is the single largest advertiser in the Christian radio, print, and Internet ads. On the other hand, Toyota, Chrysler, Subaru, General Motors, and other auto companies spend more on advertising to the gay community than Ford, and many of those ads contain directly gay-oriented content. Recent news stories show that Toyota is now the No. 1 automaker in the U.S. in terms of sales. In fact, Toyota is even opening a new plant in Don Wildmon’s home town of Tupelo, Miss. Surely, they are a better target now for AFA considering they are a much greater culprit?
Finally, everyone sees that Ford is cutting jobs like mine and is in financial difficulty. A boycott will only increase the financial stress on Ford and seems unfair in light of where Ford stands among its peers with respect to AFA’s concerns.
Do [AFA Chairman] Don Wildmon and AFA really want to take actions that will force even more layoffs of U.S. employees and potentially forcing a major U.S. automaker into bankruptcy? I think the American Family Association has made their point. I think that kicking Ford while they are down is ill-advised, and AFA can find many more useful targets in the corporate world. Sincerely,
Steve Lopes Norfolk, Virginia
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
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