This is my first attempt at a diary after lurking for a couple of years and posting a few comments. Please forgive (but feel free to point out) any errors or faux pas that I make.
I read this morning that Lowe's and Bank of America, among others, have bowed to pressure from a right wing extremist group and pulled their advertising from the Discovery/TLC reality show "All-American Muslim." I try to react to corporate bigotry with my limited purchasing power, and although this story is all too familiar, I feel a need to help shine some light in its direction- probably because I have a nephew who converted to Islam and is married to a Muslim woman.
I first read the story at Think Progress. You can find the entire story here.
The TLC reality TV show All-American Muslim chronicles the lives of a group of Muslims in Dearborn, Michigan. The show has been well-received for its fair and realistic portrayal of the Muslim American experience in the United States.
But a reality TV show that lets Americans relate to the lives of Muslims in the United States is an offensive idea to those who want to demonize Islam. The Florida Family Association (FFA) launched a campaign earlier this year to get companies to pull their advertising from the program. FFA claims that 65 of the 67 companies targeted have done this, including home improvement giant Lowe’s and megabank Bank of America.
A few politicians have reacted as well. From the LA Times:
State Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) wrote a letter Saturday to Lowe's Chief Executive Officer Robert A. Niblock in which he called the decision to pull advertising from the show "bigoted, shameful, and un-American" and "profoundly ignorant." He demanded that the company rescind its action and apologize or face boycotts and legislative action.
I am growing weary of the marriage of corporate worship of profit with the morally and ethically bankrupt version of Christianity that groups like the Florida Family Association espouse. These groups are loud and persistent, and the Lowe's corporate reaction to the FFA's bigotry is no surprise. My only immediate power to respond is with how I spend my money, so Lowe's has now joined my rapidly growing list of personal boycotts, which includes the obvious things like Koch brothers' products and Wal-Mart. This is the email I sent to Lowe's this morning:
For many years Lowe's has been my choice of home improvement stores, but because of your decision to pull your advertising from "All-American Muslim," I will no longer shop at Lowe's. Your decision to cave in to pressure from right wing extremists is both short sighted and ethically bankrupt. Our current political debate between a small number of politicians who are bought and paid for by large corporations and a very large number of American citizens upon whom these corporations are stepping would be the perfect forum for Lowe's to make a populist and moral stand by continuing to support (i.e., advertise on) "All-American Muslim." Ethnic bigotry and discrimination should have no place in American commerce, and because Lowe's is engaged in such practices, I will no longer patronize your stores.
I sometimes have the feeling that my attempts to take principled stances against large corporations is like spitting into the wind, and it's easy to succumb to feelings of powerlessness, but I know there are millions who feel the same way, and I hope we can all keep the pressure on in any way that we can. Thanks for reading.