Today, the right-wing American Family Association (AFA) announced a boycott of McDonalds.
According to AFA, Ronald McDonald and his gang are part of giant gay agenda:
What the boycott of McDonalds IS about
It is about McDonalds, as a corporation, refusing to
remain neutral in the culture wars. McDonalds has
chosen not to remain neutral but to give the full
weight of their corporation to promoting the
homosexual agenda, including homosexual marriage.
AFA is upset at McDonalds for refusing to condemn Vice President of Communications
Richard Elliss decision to serve on the Board of Directors of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).
AFA President Donald Wildmon said the situation is strange because
its the family that McDonalds appeals to childrens playland, you know, all the little toys, all of that.
And they are promoting a lifestyle that would utterly destroy the traditional family.
So far, McDonalds is holding strong, writing a letter to Wildmon on May 29 and rebuffing his attacks:
We treat our employees and our customers with respect and dignity,
regardless of their ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other factors.
We support our employees personal involvement in organizations of their choice.
Although AFA tries to make clear that it is NOT protesting McDonalds hiring homosexuals
or homosexuals eating at McDonalds, as Good As You notes, Whether its a direct attack
on gay customer or employees or an attack on particular employees role in a pro-gay capacity,
this situation is still about the company supporting diversity (something the AFA resists at every turn).
AFA has a long history of silly, offensive boycotts against, among others, Wal-Mart (for selling Brokeback Mountain DVDs),
Ford Motor Company (for advertising in gay-friendly publications), and the American Girl dolls (because the maker contributed
to a youth organization that was pro-choice and supported the acceptance of lesbians). In 2005, it called off its unsuccessful
nine-year boycott of Disney (for its embrace of the homosexual lifestyle).
McDonalds should follow Disneys lead and ignore the right-wing protests.
After all, during the nine years AFA was boycotting Disney, the company saw record profits.
hxxp://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/03/mcdonalds-boycott/