Now here's something to make your gay blood boil. Boston Herald reported:
Macy's removes gay pride display
BOSTON --Macy's department store has removed a window display marking Boston's gay pride week after a group that opposes gay marriage complained it was offensive.
The display at the downtown Boston store featured two male mannequins, with one wearing a gay pride rainbow flag around his waist, next to a list of several planned Boston Pride Week events.
MassResistance, formerly the Article 8 Alliance, which has campaigned against gay marriage and gay-themed textbooks in public schools, objected to the display and said the mannequin wearing the flag had a "skirt" on, the Boston Herald reported.
The group posted pictures on its Web site and scores of its supporters complained to Macy's by phone and e-mail.
Elina Kazan, a Macy's spokeswoman, said the store decided to remove the mannequins but leave the list of events in order to strike a balance. Displays in previous years did not use mannequins.
"We believe in diversity, and our customers are very important to us," Kazan said. "But (the display) did offend a few of our customers, and we had to re-examine it.
ACLU of Massachusetts spokeswoman Sarah Wunsch criticized Macy's for "succumbing to the bigotry" of what she said was a fringe anti-gay group.
Kazan said that the display offended "a few" of Macy's customers. Why would Macy's yield to the demands of just a few narrow-minded customers when it should be spending more of its energy in attracting a larger open-minded customers? A few years ago, I had written to Macy's customer relations department protesting the sale of real fur coat at its downtown Boston store, and the only reply I got was a generic "thank-you-for-writing-but-we-do-believe-that-it-is-appropriate-that-we-offer-all-of-our-customers-a-wide-array-of-merchandise-choices."
Every winter, there isn't a day when you don't see fur-wearing mannequins at Macy's display windows, and as an animal welfare activist, I am offended everytime I see them. I am offended by the horrendous cruelty and violence involved in the manufacture of fur, yet Macy's and other stores continue to deny such abominable practice even when it is well-documented. Now the religious freaks at MassResistance claim that they are offended by the sight of "two male mannequins, with one wearing a gay pride rainbow flag around his waist." How could anyone, seriously, be offended by a pair of plastic mannequins especially when no living creature was purposely killed or hurt in the making of the mannequins? How often do you see male mannequins together ("celebrating" Gay Pride) in a Macy's display window, compared to female/male mannequins wearing real fur coat and/or skimpy swimwear (I am surprised the religious nuts have not made a big deal about the latter!)
Just based on the arguments above, I don't see the logic behind Macy's decision to remove the mannequins whatsoever. By caving in to the demands of a religious few - which, by the way - may not necessarily affect Macy's profits - Macy's has now officially become a "slave" to religious fundamentalists, in the same way that European host countries have submitted themselves to the demands of their Islamofascist residents. Yes, Macy's has allowed a fringe minority group of ignorant, miseducated, misguided and obnoxious individuals to affect the way the store handles its business and its relationship with the gay community which, by the way, is a far greater consumer than the MassResistance barfbags.
The Controversial Mannequins: Before & After
Mannequin police on patrol to nip it in the bud
Salve Regina,
The biggest loser eventually is Macy's - really! They just lost gay customers as well as the gay-bashers! I'm now doing my business with Filene's Basement!
Rafa, I'm still puzzled that you ever linked to me because you know I don't care about gay rights or fur rights.
However, like you, I do care about the growing hubris of the religious right.
Patrick -
I link to diverse opinions - conservative, liberal, libertarian, centrist, moderate, extreme right, extreme left, and the undecided. This shows that I don't particularly subscribe to one ideology. You are right when you said that we share a common disgust towards the religious right, as Salve Regina herself said that "each group of loonies believing that God's on our side" is "dangerous."
When you said that you don't care about gay rights, are you saying that you don't care about women's rights either? What about children's rights? These groups are all marginalized and still heavily discriminated against.
I only care about the individual rights embodied in the Declaration. Women and children have those same rights as well and we have the duty to take care of the latter lovingly and responsibly.
Rafa, my love,
You are trying to find logic in a situation driven by religious zealotry. STOP. There is none. The self-proclaimed "christians" will demand that everything they oppose is hidden, silenced, stopped--and the Big Business agenda is to please that base. End of explanation.
I say "self-proclaimed christians" because there is NOTHING inheirantly Christian in their lives of intolerance. They are as dangerous as their Muslim counterparts who distort their religion to justify murder. Each group of loonies believing that "God's on our side". Dangerous bunch....All of them.