Ford Gives in to Bigots

The American Family Association is one of those big rightwing organizations that hate gay people and everything about them. Recently, they threatened to boycott Ford Motor Company for the crime of placing ads in gay magazines and newspapers. This Christian group deems it sinful to sell cars to gay people, please don't ask me to explain their reasoning.

Here, I'll let The Advocate tell you about it:

The antigay American Family Association claimed a cultural victory on Thursday and called off its threatened boycott of Ford Motor Co. On Friday, Ford spokesman Mike Moran confirmed to Advocate.com that the company will stop advertising its Jaguar and Land Rover brands in gay publications but insisted it was strictly a business decision.

The Dearborn, Mich., automaker came under fire from the AFA in May for its longtime efforts to increase LGBT workplace diversity and support gay rights causes. Ford has long been a regular advertiser within gay media, including The Advocate, and has donated significant sums to LGBT causes and nonprofit groups such as the Human Rights Campaign.

Threatened with a boycott by the Mississippi-based AFA, Ford and some of its dealers agreed to negotiate, and the AFA announced in June that it would hold off on its planned action. On Thursday, AFA announced the boycott would be canceled altogether.

"They've heard our concerns; they are acting on our concerns. We are pleased with where we are," said Donald Wildmon, AFA’s chairman, in a statement. Jaguar, Land Rover ads halted in gay media, Ford confirms.

Sometimes I hear this stuff and I just can't fathom it. Like, how in the world does this Family Blah-Blah group decide this is the one, they're going after Ford? Why Ford?

I was interviewed The Advocate this year, of course they're interested in this controversy in Montgomery County where the nuts want to squelch any discussion in the classroom about sexual orientation. They sent me the issue where I'm quoted, it's the "Summer Sex Issue" with some guy with his shirt unbuttoned sitting on a motorcycle on the cover. My kids were funny when this came in the mail and was sitting on the kitchen table. Kind of like, what is that? Yeah, daddy's in there somewhere... I'm looking through it now, and there are ads from all kinds of big companies. I'm afraid to say their names on the Internet, don't want to jinx any of them. Hotel chains, travel agencies, liquor companies, cigarettes, medicines, yeah, there's the Land Rover ad. It's just like any other magazine, with a particular readership.

So for some reason these nuts decided Ford was their baby, they were going to boycott Ford.

And for some reason, Ford decided to give in to them.

Specific terms of any formal agreement between the AFA and Ford—and whether any such agreement has in fact been reached—remain unclear.

When first contacted, Ford spokesman Moran referred Advocate.com to the AFA statement, suggesting that the company had no disagreement with Wildmon's assertions. In a second conversation he confirmed that the company would no longer advertise Jaguar and Land Rover products in the gay media, saying that the decision was strictly "business."

I don't think this is going to end so easily.

For one thing, the Washintgon Post had a front page story today about the car manufacturers wanting government money. Well that's what the government is for, isn't it? To collect money from people and give it to gigantic corporations?

Troubled U.S. automakers and their allies on Capitol Hill are seeking billions of dollars in aid from the federal government ranging from health coverage for their workers to extra tax write-offs for themselves.

They're also asking for one rhetorical favor: Please don't call the requests a bailout.

"I don't view it as a bailout," Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) said.

"We're not looking for a bailout," agreed William C. Ford Jr., chairman of Ford Motor Co. Automakers Are Lining Up Aid, But Just Don't Call It a Bailout

They want to be bigots and go on welfare. But don't call it a "bailout." --Wouldn't you think they'd want to reach a larger, rather than smaller, market? Does it make sense, when you're saying you can't pay your bills, to suddenly announce that you don't want to sell your product to millions of consumers?

I think AmericaBlog (motto: "A great nation deserves the truth") is going to set the tone here. At least some of the bloggers there are gay, the top guy "John in DC" is, and they plan to fight back.

AmericaBlog has ordered a copy of Henry Ford's book, entitled The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem, and will start posting excerpts of it online as soon as the book arrives.

Henry Ford was a supporter of Adolph Hitler, back in the day. It is not known how much money he contributed to the Nazis, but the Ford Motor Company built plants in Germany to support the Nazi build-up to World War II, using forced labor to produce military vehicles. Ford was given the Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle (Großkreuz des Deutschen Adlerordens) for his support, and his newspapers published extensive pro-Nazi features.

In announcing their plans and bringing up the Ford/Nazi connection, AmericaBlog's main blogger, John Aravosis, said this:

(Note from John: You'd think Ford would recognize it's unique historical burden to remember the wrongs of the past and not cave yet again to the prejudiced whims of jack-booted bigots. You'd think that. But you'd be wrong.)