Slimfast Boycott!!!: Shutting down a Black Woman's right to free speech

[seventhson]

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/212784p-183225c.html

Slimfast fired Whoopi Goldberg for her political comments and jokes about Bush.

Shouldn't we actively support a boycott of those who try to freeze the rights of Black women to speak out against tyranny in whatever means they find most effective (in this case humour)?

I say we kick this around and support a boycott: women in America are exploited and abused by the Bush neocons and their corporate sponsors. African Americans even more so.

Let's send a message to Slimfast: You can NOT support Bush, use your power to chill the free speech rights of our citizens and expect anyone to support you!

Shame Shame Shame on Slimfast!

[wndycty]

1. Slimfast can kiss my ass. . .

:kick:

[mstrsplinter326]

2. shouldn't eat that shit anyway

[lovedems]

3. Send them an email

http://www.slim-fast.com/contact/comments.asp

There were some who did yesterday.

[gauguin57]

5. Actually, some people are boycotting all of Unilever

... but that includes products from Dove to Ragu to Lipton to Ponds to Suave ... to Slim-Fast.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

6. I did it

told 'em I will encourage everyone I know to boycott their awful products

[lovedems]

9. Somebody had a great idea yesterday

to print out stickers, "I'd rather be fat then facists" and going to the grocery store and sticking them on all of the slim fast products!

I can't remember what poster had that idea but they deserve credit for a great slogan!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

61. If you do the bumper sticker

be sure to do it this way:

I'd rather be FAT than FASCIST!

Correct spelling. But we knew what you meant! ;-) Great sticker!

[Poorwhitetrash]

64. You should be pissed at slimfast

They are the spineless jackoffs.....

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

4. Agreed - BOYCOTT ON!!!!

Black women are on the bottom rung of the social ladder - they don't need this abuse!

[DarkPhenyx]

7. Oh for crying out loud.

Stupidity runs on I see.

[redqueen]

15. It rallies the masses

so count on it going on... and on... and on... esp. because it serves a 'higher' purpose.

[DarkPhenyx]

18. Not everything that serves a "higher purpose" is a good thing.

the ends does not always, in fact rarely, justify the means.

[redqueen]

24. Well, actually, I was referring to TPTB when I put 'higher' in there,

you know... the age-old, tried and true 'divide and conquer' thing. Men from women, races from other races, gay from straight... whatever they can use to keep people bickering.

[DarkPhenyx]

28. Got it.

I'm just slow today, not stupid. :)

[RetroLounge]

67. and for an example...

RL

[iverglas]

73. just for clarification

"Stupidity runs on I see."

Is the "stupidity" you are referring to

(a)stupidity on the of the Slimfast people, or

(b) stupidity on the part of people proposing a boycott of Slimfast?

[Frodo]

8. Why not just boycott them for making a blatantly political decision?

Leave off the malarky about "free speech". Nobody violates anyone's free speech by saying "I disagree with you" or even "I disagree with you and won't pay you to represent me while saying it".

Just as YOU are not violating THEIR free speech by saying "I won't give you my money if this is how you behave".

It's not a bad idea for a company to drop a polarizing spoksperson. Slimfast wants to sell their products to both parties and may not want to appear biased in the election. You take that decision to BE a bias in the election. So be it.


But I think the owner of Slimfast is run by a Democrat.

[redqueen]

14. "I think the owner of Slimfast is run by a Democrat"

Can anyone check on this?

Would like to know if this is in fact as stupid as Republicans boycotting Heinz.

[Frodo]

21. Well, it can't be AS STUPID as Republicans boycotting Heinz...

Because Heinz actually tastes better than the competition.

Slimfast doesn't taste good at all. Boycotting is "no loss" (small pun intended).


I'll see if I can find a link. It was a source quoting OxyBoy. The head of the company (or owner, or something) apperently lives in his neighborhood.

[redqueen]

22. Well good luck finding out

I called customer service and apparently all they're doing now is taking opinions about Whoopi. :eyes:

The rep said they might answer an email...

I don't buy SlimFast anyway so a boycott by me is, well, stupid.

[Frodo]

23. I've found it.

THe head of the company is Danny Abraham. One of our larger contributers. A search brought up $100,000 donations and nights in the Lincoln bedroom.

He's listed as one of only three individual donors to give the DNC convention commitee in excess of a million dollars.

And before the decision was made there's a slew of googled posts from freeperland about boycotting slimfast for even using Whoopi in the first place.


I think, absent contradicting evidence, I'm going to say a boycott on our part is a mistake.


On edit - He's listed as giving $1.42 Million to Democrats in 2000.

[redqueen]

25. Yep, some dems are as kneejerkingly self-defeating as repubs

What a complete surprise. /sarcasm

[69KV]

66. While you're at it

Check Danny's donations to the 527 that ran the Osama ad. As I said, Danny and Slim Fast are about as "Democratic" as Zell Miller. To hell with him.

[69KV]

65. Yeah it's true but

The owner of SlimFast was the "Democrat" who put up most of the money to pay for the Osama ad back in the Iowa/NH primaries.

So yeah, they're about as Democratic as Zell Miller. Boycott 'em.

[TXlib]

40. Exactly.

Slimfast is run by a democrat who gives a great deal of money to the Dems.

He just wants to sell a lot of product. He isn't going to do that with a spokeman who pisses off 50% of the country.

[SoCalDem]

10. CALL THEIR TOLLFREE NUMBER... I DID..

You HAVE to listen to their apology..:puke:.. then keep pressing the buttons and you will talk to a real person who will transcribe what you have to say,,

I told them yesterdaym that because of a group of rightwing spammers www.freerepublic.com who send out astroturf letters, and clear cookies to skew polls, and organize "faux outrage" campaigns, they have lost a good spokesperson...And reminded them that THEY knew who she was and what her politics were BEFORE they hired her..

CALL THEM....

[ClassWarrior]

11. Already emailed them.

We WERE customers, but I told them I can't support a company that engages in anti-American Soviet-style tactics.

[Tim4319]

12. How about having Bill O'Reilly organize this boycott?

At least this one would be accurate!

[in_cog_ni_to]

13. I just read this suggestion on GD campaign 2004 for a boycott...

If you have some Slimfast or need to buy some ON SALE, box it up and on the box write..."I'd rather be fat than a fascist." On the inside of the box include a nice little letter. I don't like the idea of having to BUY any Slimfast, but I think that kind of message could be very powerful if enough people did it. Whaddya think? :shrug:

[CaTeacher]

17. It's a good idea, but unfortunately I have never bought

Slimfast and have never even considered it (even though I could stand to lose 10-15 pounds). So in fact I have always boycotted them (product just does not appeal to me--no matter who sells it).

I would be willing to write them a letter saying that their actions upset me though. (Unfortunately I find their products gross--I wouldn't buy them no matter who hawked them).

[Nevernose]

16. We don't actually have to boycott them

We just need to be vocal about our boycott. Scream and yell and call and write, and keep doing it until they're just afraid of a boycott.

That's what works for the right-wingers; why shouldn't it work for us?

[nini]

19. I heard it was the sexual connatation that pissed them off..

not so much the politics.

either way.. I don't use their stuff.. it gives me gas :evilgrin:

[TXlib]

43. Uh-Oh-- a tall Amazon woman with gas!

:scared:

[nini]

56. LOL be afraid!! be VERY afraid!!

How are you Txlib?????? miss ya! :-)

[LittleApple81]

20. Did you hear TIM ROBBINS CALLED THEM? He said so on AAR

last night. Tim Robbins...mmmmmmmmm

[redqueen]

27. Tim is smart - call and voice support for Whoopi. n/t

[jokerman93]

26. we are chattel

bush=business
business=bush
business owners, rapture-borgs and nascar dads are the only real Americans left. The rest of us are chattel

[pnb]

29. Why should the fact that she's a black woman matter?

If Slimfast had fired a white male for making those comments, would the firing be somehow less egregious?

She wasn't fired for being black or female...she was fired for her commentary.

[GiovanniC]

31. EXACTLY.

Thank you. This would have happened if Michael Moore was the spokesman for Slim Fast, or Rosie O'Donnell, or Randy Jackson.

Race and gender had nothing to do with it -- this was all about partisan hypocricy.

[seventhson]

57. I THINK IF IT WERE A WHITE COMIC SAY DENNIS MILLER FOR THE PUGS

AND A MALE THEN IT MIGHT NOT HAVE HAPPENED LIKE THIS

WHOOPI IS WHOOPI AND THEY HIRED HER FOR HER BITING AND SATIRICAL WIT> BUT TO SHUT HER UP really egregious and is an attempt to use economic blackmail to stifle her right to free speech>

if employers can fire usa with governm<ental approval for our political views then it is a first amendment issue


(sorry for shouting my keyboard is screwy)

[pnb]

71. I think he still would have been let go from an endorsement deal...

...if he was getting as much backlash as Whoopi got.

True, Whoopi was hired for her wit but as a representative of a company, that company has a right to choose what messages are seen as representative of them. If they don't want to be associated with that humor, then they shouldn't have to be.

No one's trying to stifle her free speech...she is in no legal trouble whatsoever because of this nor can she be. And its not a first amendment issue for a representative of a company to be fired for creating an image that the company doesn't want...its not even a related issue.

[OneBlueSky]

30. open mouth, insert foot . . .

if I were SlimFast, I'd probably have canned her ass, too . . . sometimes celebrities should exercise a little discretion, particularly when they're appearing on behalf of someone else . . . and/or when they're spokespersons for companies trying to appeal to middle America . . . I'm all for freedom of speech, but you don't always have to say something just because you can . . . knowing where she was and who she was speaking for, Whoopi should have opted for real wit (which she is fully capable of) over crudeness . . .

[West Coast Democrat]

32. My dad uses Slim Fast regularly....

I'm going to tell him about the boycott.

[noahmijo]

33. I don't think her being black has anything to do with it

It's just the fact that she spoke out against Bush.

Let's not make a non-racial issue a racial issue.

[SoCalDem]

34. Don't you think that the fact that she was black figured into them HIRING

her?? You bet it did.. They were perfectly happy to have her onboard.. Obesity is a real problem for the black community, because a lot of people in that community are poor.. Poor people eat lots of starchy foods, and those things pack on the pounds...cheaper cuts of meat are the ones that are most fatty..

Whoopi was a symbol...a black woman who had "made it"..and then succeeded with HER weight problem as well.. a perfect role model..

When Slimfast hired her, THEY KNEW HER POLITICS AND HER "ACT".. For them to fire her for "misbehaving on her own time" is reprehensible..

Remember Danny Glover's firing?? He was outspoken BEFORE as well..

[noahmijo]

35. That makes more sense

I dunno though Whoopi to me is sort of like that lovable aunt that makes everyone laugh and comes off as very simplistic despite her achieved wealth.

I think when she does ads she comes off as like your mom or a grandma or something and we all know we could trust whatever deal old ma or nana was feeding us.

I'm just not seeing race being paramount here, I mean it's possible, but I think overall it's Whoopi's personality and her status as being a simple woman who became very successful.

The fact that's she's black to me is more the icing on the cake.

[SoCalDem]

36. Exactly.. They could have found any number of spokespeople

but they chose her.. Does anyone think that whoopi sought them out??
She probably made some offhand remark on tv about drinking slimfast, and some young exec's eyes popped out, when he thought about all those people who liked her, and that demographic just happens to contain a lot of people who are overweight..

If they overlooked the fact that she has a smart mouth on her, and does not mince words, then THEY did not do their homework..

and what she does on her own time is HER business.

[SemperEadem]

45. slim fast is lazy juice

it ain't hardly going to do a thing for you.

[iverglas]

74. good one

There ya go; a bunch of reasons why that necessary "all other things being equal" thingy just isn't present in these cavalier dismissals of Goldberg's race and sex as relevant factors in her firing.

If she wouldn't have been hired in the first place but for her race and sex, how can they be dismissed out of hand as irrelevant factors in her firing??

Her race and sex were factors in her hiring because it was in the employer's interests to have those factors in its spokesperson.

Demanding a spokesperson who has those characteristics and acts in public as if she doesn't (i.e. doesn't criticize the Bush administration) amounts to demanding Aunt Jemima.

I say: you want a black woman, you take a black woman. If the specs are actually "rich white guy's imaginary image of the ideal black woman, who never challenges white male power", go buy the parts and build your own. And see how much business it gets you.

Meanwhile, let him honour his contractual engagements to the one he hired (full payment under the contract plus damages for breach: is that happening?). And suffer whatever financial consequences his decision brings down on his head at the hands of people who don't like his decisions.

[bearfartinthewoods]

75. so was limbaugh and he isn't female or black

he still got canned,,,

[TXlib]

39. It's not just that she spoke out about him

I'm sure if she had offered intelligent commentary, or some real humor instead of mere potty jokes, Slimfast would not have canned her.

[TXlib]

37. Imagine you run a company

You hire a celebrity to advertise your product.

That celebrity later says something inflammatory that will likely piss off about 1/2 the population.

Is it a good idea to continue with that celebrity promoting your product?

It's not about censorship; it's about good business.

On Edit:

And why does this have to be about the color of her skin? That is immaterial.

[tom_paine]

38. Already called them and told them I would NEVER be buying

their shitty product.

In a nice way, of course.

[Arianrhod]

41. I will never drink another one. n/t

[Triana]

42. I never used that garbage anyway!

Folks, it's mostly sugar - HARDLY anything good for your diet, your health, or for dieting. May as well eat a snickers and take a multivitamin - same thing.

[DemBones DemBones]

44. The company could have issued a

statement indicating their strong disapproval of her choice of jokes about the resident of the White House and making it clear that she was not expressing the opinions of SlimFast corporate management.

Then, if asked why they didn't fire her, they could have pointed out that she made the comments at a private fundraiser (it wasn't open to just anyone, was it?) and that like any American, she has a right to free speech, whether others object or not. Then they say she's been an effective spokesperson for their product and does not make political statements in the commercials she makes for them.

I think they created a public relations disaster for themselves by caving to the wingnuts on the right. Lots of Americans still believe in free speech at private parties and we have a tradition of mocking our leaders in this country. There were "bush" jokes told when GHW Bush was first a candidate, before anyone had much opinion about the man. It's a name that's bound to be joked about, like Butts or Lipschitz. Or Crapps -- and that is a real name.

[sendero]

46. I agree with you....

.... there were lots better ways of handling this other than just firing her in a kneejerk reaction.

This whole thing will blow over in a matter of days. It wasn't worth firing anyone over.

[enki23]

47. nobody is "shutting down her right to free speech"

they're just trying to use it against the democratic party. they'd be thrilled if she did it again. in other words, don't be silly. this isn't a "free speech" issue, it's a "cynical manipulation of public sentiment" issue.

anyway, i think all republicans who pretend shock it this should kindly go fuck themselves.

[Pallas180]

48. 1 800 SLIMFAST their #,how come Cheney not fired 4 dirty talk ask them?

Whoopi got fired for dirty language, but Cheney didn't-Here's Slim Fast's


phone number.1-800-SLIM-FAST

Guess we know whose campaign they contribute to.

[TXlib]

54. Cheney's not their spokesperson

Are you being ironic or serious?

[pnb]

72. When Slim Fast hires Cheney as their spokesperson, go for it

And you don't want to go there with the campaign contributions...from what I've seen, the have contributed a good deal of money to the Democratic Party.

http://www.opensecrets.org/softmoney/softindiv.asp?txtName=abraham&txtAmount=all&txtSort=Date

[Tight_rope]

49. Shit...Now I know we are living under a dictatorship! No More Democracy!

[markses]

50. Here's a clue

Ms. Goldberg still has her right to free speech.

Slimfast, on the other hand, should not be compelled to use a spokesperson who conflicts with their values or positions. That is an imposition on their right to free speech.

Now, if you want to boycott Slimfast because they conflict with YOUR values and positions, that's fine. But a free speech issue?

Get fucking real.

You make yourself look ignorant when you say such things.

[Tight_rope]

52. "Conflicts with their values or positions!"

"Slimfast, on the other hand, should not be compelled to use a spokesperson who conflicts with their values or positions"....

I guess all people who use Slimfast are all Republicans...I'll have to inform my sister, who is a black democratic woman!

[Baltimoreboy]

53. That's not what he said

Whoopi has a freedom of speech, so do you and so do the gang at Slimfast. She can say what she wants. They can fire her because they don't like it. And you can complain or boycott.

Sounds like freedom to me.

[markses]

55. A more ludicrous interpretation of my statement I cannot imagine

But it seems par for the course.

Ludicrous.

Slimfast's position may be "We stay out of direct political statements" - precisely because your sister is not a Republican, and other users are Republican. Get it? They don't take a position. When Ms. Goldberg not only takes a position, but also takes a position that would strongly offend a good number of Slimfast's users, Slimfast is not compelled to keep her on as a spokesperson. And that is no violation of Ms. Goldberg's rights.

The density here is incredible.

[Mike Daniels]

58. Some people are just knee-jerk reactionaries

For a board that claims to be more intelligent than the dismissable sheeple, it's amazing how many have so little common sense when it comes to some issues like this.

Obviously, Slim-Fast heard from more people who were pissed off than not. Given that the FReeps weren't exactly quiet in their intent to let Slim-Fast have it, I wonder why people here weren't calling Slim-Fast to show their support for Whoopi and encouraging them to keep her on.

A company has every right to watch out for their bottom line and their decision to fire a spokesperson who may cost them business is not a violation of free speech principles.

[Carson]

59. Well said, Mike

:yourock:

[ClassWarrior]

60. Sure.

Let's all give up in the face of the undeniable might of the right wingnuts.

[Mike Daniels]

62. Maybe you missed my point

The FReeps exercised their right of free speech by telling Slim-Fast that as long as WG was their spokesperson they would not buy their product.

Meanwhile where was everyone on the other side calling Slim-Fast and offering their support?

Slim-Fast looked where the responses were coming from and made decided that the trend was definitely against their continuing to employ Whoopi. Totally within their rights.

To the best of my knowledge WG is still free to express her opinions. She just isn't entitled to have a company pay her to express them.

[ClassWarrior]

70. I got your point PRECISELY.

But just because we didn't act BEFORE the fact, is this now a fait accompli? Aren't we allowed get outraged and counter-boycott?? If we had a crystal ball and could anticipate and counter-organize every RW move, we'd be in great shape. But we don't.

[Tight_rope]

51. I called Slimfast and gave them a good tongue lashing!...

Made me feel better!

[John BigBootay]

63. Get real...

Slim fast doesn't give a rat's ass about censorship or denying anybody's rights.

They care about being associated with a spokesperson who alienates HALF THE COUNTRY (i.e. half the marketplace) with a very raunchy and highly politically charged comment.

You'd do the same if it was your company at stake.

[RetroLounge]

68. Now they just alienated the other half

How does this help???

RL

[seventhson]

69. I am real and I would not hire a right wing bigot to begin with

that the government permits people to be fired for their political speeh in a private forum is a first amendment issue imho.