This past Christmas was another contentious one, as Christians throughout North America took action to point out attempts by businesses to suppress the true meaning of the season in favour of a no-name “holiday.” On the positive side, Wal-Mart eventually relented from its position of using “holiday” exclusively in its stores and advertising.
But the U.S.-based Liberty Council’s Friend or Foe of Christmas Campaign drew up a “naughty” list of other U.S. companies that attempted to censor Christmas. They includedLowe’s, Toys ‘R’ Us, Best Buy, Eddie Bauer, Gap, Home Depot and K-Mart. The American Family Association reported Best Buy went so far as to attempt to block e-mails to it complaining about the issue.
On the Canadian side, the blog site The ABCs to Learning (nonesblog.blogspot.com) listed the following companies that didn’t recognize Christmas north of the border: Best Buy, Chapters, Costco, Gap/Old Navy, Home Depot, the LCBO, Rona, Sobey’s, Sportchek,Staples and Tim Hortons. Some of the Canadian companies that did recognize Christmas included Canadian Tire, The Bay, Lee Valley Tools, Home Hardware, MDG computers and Fido.
While conceding on the Christmas issue, U.S. Wal-Mart also said it “will not make corporate contributions to support or oppose highly controversial issues, unless they relate directly to our ability to serve customers.” However, the retailer will continue to work with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and other gay rights groups. And its score with the pro-homosexual Human Rights Campaign rose from 14 to 65 (out of 100) between 2002 and 2006.
British Airways, after a “hurricane” of criticism, has backed down from a ban on its workers wearing Christian crosses to work. An overwhelming alliance of British cabinet ministers, 100 MPs, Church of England bishops and the Archbishop of Canterbury issued four days’ worth of angry condemnations that succeeded in lifting the ban.
The American Family Association reported that, prior to the November 2006 mid-term elections, the Ford Motor Company in the U.S. endorsed an online voter guide (ballot.org) that urged defeat of state constitutional amendments banning same-sex “marriage.” The company also sponsored an episode of the Cold Case TV program on CBS, which depicted two homosexuals passionately kissing each other.
A series of articles in the Denver Post newspaper shone a spotlight on “Pornopolis,” the rock-star status pornography has achieved and its influence on modern culture. The revenue generated by the “industry” is now said to surpass that of all professional sports leagues combined, as well as that of the three major U.S. television networks.
The American Family Association cited Sears – which is owned by K-Mart Corporation – in the U.S. for supporting the homosexual television network LOGO with advertising. Its two-minute infomercials there are helping the fledgling network air programs such as “Sex 2K Drag Kings” and “Transgeneration.”
The American Decency Association is developing a “shopping list” of businesses that are Christian-based or family friendly in their practices. The association says Christians need to investigate the companies they are doing business with and support those that have values consistent with their own. It slammed corporations such as Yum Brands (Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC), which it says sponsor “trash.”
Life Decision International has produced the latest edition of its Boycott List of U.S. Planned Parenthood-supporting companies, adding Lowe Enterprises and Pizza Pizza to a list of targets that already include Adobe, Nike, Time Warner, Unilever, the Dallas Cowboys,Walt Disney, Johnson & Johnson and Wells Fargo. “Dishonourable mentions” for charitable organizations went to the Dr. Phil Foundation, Girl Scouts, Kiwanis Clubs, theMarch of Dimes, Rotary Clubs and the YWCA.
A Houston, Tx.-based landscaping company has gained business after sending out an e-mail stating it chooses not to work for homosexual clients. Garden Guy Inc. received threats (including to sodomize the owners’ children) and hate mail in the wake of the message, but picked up $40,000 in new business in two weeks, while losing only two clients worth $500 each a year. The husband-and-wife owners said despite the frenzy they experienced, they would not have handled the situation differently.