This morning, I reported that Porno Pete is crying over the milk spilled from his General Mills cereal bowl, due to the fact that that company has come out against Minnesota’s anti-gay marriage discrimination ban. It seems that NOM is all upset as well:
The National Organization for Marriage, the group leading what it has acknowledged is an uphill fight to stop same sex marriage, charged giant cereal maker General Mills, a mainstay of many a family breakfast table, with trying to destroy heterosexual marriage.
The group this week accused the top General Mills executive of declaring a “war on marriage” with its own customers because General Mills CEO Ken Powell spoke at an LGBT pride event saying the company opposes an amendment to ban same sex marriage in Minnesota, where it is headquartered.
Oh, so melodramatic.
John Aravosis gets the last word, though, and explains why groups like General Mills simply don’t care about the bigotry of an ever-shrinking cohort of the American population:
Bigotry is an ugly business. It’s also bad for business. And American companies know that. They also know that the type of consumer that chooses its breakfast cereal based on hate isn’t the type of consumer that has much market power, or money, in the first place. Religious right adherents aren’t exactly known for their education or income level. Corporations know that, and act accordingly.
ZING!
Some might think we’re being big meanies when we point out, as I also did this morning, that the people complaining about these things aren’t really, on balance, valuable customers in the first place. Their market power is shrinking, and they don’t tend to be people who contribute much to society. On the other hand, the number of people who are LGBT-supportive grows every year, and they grow less and less likely to support corporations and organizations that perpetuate bigotry. It’s that simple.
Well, there’s always generics. I happen to prefer the taste of ‘Crunchy Cinnamon Quadrilaterals’ over the leading brand.
But seriously, while it saves me money, if I have to boycott more stuff, I’m gonna learn how to farm…
You don’t actually HAVE to boycott a company just for treating all of its employees and customers equally.
Actually, I’m pretty sure that companies who FAIL to do that should be thwarted.
Not harming your customers is honestly not that hard to figure out…
Thank you, General Mills, for doing the right and moral thing. I’m a consumer of your products and will continue to be for as long as you believe in the American value of equality.
They really need to get lives.
“War on marriage!” “Declaring war on hetero marriage!” Just throw out the garbage ’cause your believers just need to taste it. Thinking? NOT in their resumes. How pathetic they are sounding. The stridency of their words bespeaks a faltering message.
Well, as Evan smartly pointed out, Brian Brown and Maggie G and their cohorts are not contributing much that is GOOD to the world.
They’ll complain when they don’t get the deference they want and think they deserve. But the truth is, what DOES Brian Brown do all day?
Let’s see.
He’s married with seven very young children and yet another on the way. Meaning, he’s stuck his wife with the heavy lifting (literally) of dealing with so many active little children while pregnant. HE goes around to broadcast studios, asks for donations to support such a large brood, all on the political action of keeping gay adults from being self reliant and THEIR children secured through marriage.
And he’s NEVER, EVER served in uniform, nor adopted a child.
Yet, he vilifies the gay men and women who have done so and want to.
Same is true for Peter LaB.
They are two of a kind.
Brian Brown IS melodramatic and I’m sick of him. He’s a coward, but is content to benefit from the labors of gay people.
Meaning, he specifically isn’t so morally courageous, generous or charitable as to do any of these things to protect his OWN rights, freedoms and family.
Nor open his heart and home to a child without one.
So Evan is right, these people aren’t doing anything but spreading a special brand of nasty cowardice.
And hooray for GM for knowing it.