Monday, December 26, 2011

Boycott Lowe's

Dear Gentle Readers,

If you found out that some religious bigots, in the name of their own religion, had objected to a TV show that profiled some other people of a different faith, and that the bigots had succeeded in getting a national company to stop sponsoring that TV show in order to make the bigots stop bugging them, what would you do about it?

What if the religion the bigots objected to was your own religion? (The people being profiled were Muslims, American Muslims who have been living peacefully in the U.S. for generations.)

What if it was another religion? (If you're not a Muslim --- let's say you're a Christian or a Jew or a Hindu or a Buddhist or a Bahai or a Wiccan --- Madame L's understanding is that all these religions teach, as does Islam, love and tolerance for all.)

So, either way, would it matter to you?  (Madame L hopes not.)

The TV show is "All-American Muslim" on TLC.

If you care about religious bigotry prevailing against peaceful religious people exercising their constitutional rights as U.S. citizens to worship freely, here's something you can do about it: 

Boycott Lowe's, the national hardware chain that caved to the bigots.
Why not boycott the bigots? Sure, go ahead and do that, too, if you can figure out how. (Many individuals, celebrities, politicians, and organizations have objected, and the Florida Family Association eventually pulled down its website in response to normal Christians objecting to its bigotry, so responding to that association has helped.) 

But, meanwhile, since Lowe's was intimidated out of sponsoring the TV show for fear of losing a few dollars, Madame L hopes there are enough people in the U.S. who feel the other way, who by boycotting that store could make an even bigger difference in its bottom line. 

If you care about religious freedom and if your Christian (or Jewish, or ethical, or any other) beliefs teach you to care about others, please join Madame L in boycotting Lowe's.
Full disclosure: Madame L refuses to enter Lowe's anyway, so boycotting it will be easy for her. For those who like or need to buy the kinds of products available at Lowe's, though, Madame L suggests that you can find many other hardware stores in any town in America with the same products, better service, and a more pleasant atmosphere.

In addition to avoiding Lowe's, you can join the boycott officially:




And please don't feel sorry for Lowe's. They're a big corporation which shouldn't have caved in the first place, and the religious bigots who attempt this kind of political action should be laughed out of the political arena.

Sincerely,

Madame L

1 comment:

AskTheGeologist said...

I had a best friend in elementary school named Marcus Espitia. His dad was from Mexico and his mom was African-American.

I was stunned one day when someone made fun of him for the color of his skin. To my young mind this (a) made absolutely no sense, and (b) seemed extremely unfair to my friend.

Two days after 9/11 I realized I would not see a plane soon to get me out of Texas and back home to Virginia, so I rented a car (Hertz provided this with no drop-off penalty) and started driving back home. Approximately every 90 minutes my Moslem son-in-law would call: he was worried about me. ME! *I* was worried about HIM - that some bigot would insult him or worse. "Dad," he replied, "my friends are all taking care of me here in Charlotte, don't worry - but I'm very angry that some crazy people have done this and that they call themselves Moslems. But mainly I'm worried about YOU trying to find your way across this big country alone."

These and other experiences cause me to get very, very upset when I see evidence of behavior that I consider irrational and unfair.

I have mixed feelings about Lowes. Someone in their corporate hierarchy had the courage to invest in that show in the first place, and someone was clearly intimidated enough to cave in from fear. I understand fear - that's why I teach self-defense - but my feeling is that you have to go to the source. WHO intimidated them? Identify those people and don't let them hide behind anonymity. Point fingers at them and say you don't appreciate them being stupid and unfair to other people who are not like them.

The reason this country is GREAT is because we have folded in the hard-working immigrants, and combined all the diverse talents the rest of the world rejected or didn't encourage. Hitler's bigotry drove the Jews out of Germany - and this included Einstein.

We cannot remain a great nation if we tolerate bigotry. Even a little bit.
~~~~~