Most Companies Not Caving To Intolerance, Will Continue To Advertise On ‘All-American Muslim'

[pampango]

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/12/14/389225/fact-check-most-companies-not-caving-to-intolerance-will-continue-to-advertise-on-all-american-muslim/

The backlash against the home improvement giant Lowe’s is intensifying after the company pulled its ads from TLC’s show All-American Muslim at the behest of the right-wing group Florida Family Association. The move sparked fury from lawmakers and prompted calls for a boycott. Today, New Jersey’s The Star-Ledger said that, “for as long as Lowe’s continues to ‘defer’ to discrimination, let’s boycott this chain.”

Crowing over its Islamophobic success, FFA boasted that 65 companies have withdrawn advertising after receiving the group’s complaint. However, at least three companies told the New York Times that FFA boast is “inaccurate” at best. Campbell Soup Company, Sears, and Bank of America didn’t actually pull any of their ads and, unlike FFA, they do in fact support 'diversity and inclusion':

In fact, the American Muslim reports that numerous other companies including Gap, Green mountain Coffee, Home Depot, Art Instruction Schools, Amway, and Cumberland Packing say they’re being misrepresented by FFA as companies that agreed to pull ads. Indeed, ad space for the next episode of All-American Muslim is sold out.

There’s good reason for companies to quickly distance themselves from FFA’s claims, namely because the central argument FFA is making is embarrassingly absurd. As The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart noted last night, FFA says it hates the show because it advances Islamic fundamentalism by failing to portray Muslims as terrorists. Stewart took issue with FFA’s claim that the show “paints an issue that’s harmful, education-wise, to the belief structure” of Americans, wondering “is that not the purpose of education vis-a-vis belief structures, to replace your belief structures with facts?”

[RKP5637]

1. IMO FFA is yet another hate group. Too many people listen to these damn fools. n/t

[AlBratt]

2. FFA Is Typical Of Religious-Right Hate-Mongers

FFA is a typical religious-right hate-mongering organization. These pseudo-Christians will lie when the truth would be a lot more reasonable. This FFA organization is so similar to the AFA which is headquqrtered in my Hometown, Tupelo, MS. I would say the two are using the same play book. Anti-Gay, anti-Muslim, anti-Liberal and on and on. But It could well be that all these Bible Thumping Fundies are on the same frequency. What is alarming is the fact that their ultimate goal is to abolish the Separation Of Church & State and turn America into a theocratic country with the help of the Republican Party!