FREE SPEECH FOR ME, BUT NOT FOR THEE

Someone sent me a link to a blog the other day. Apparently it's author is a law student out of New York and it is entitled "Fundie Watch". It was sent to me because it relates to an incident that occured November of last year which had significance to the town in which I live.

The particular blog post is titled, "Web Site Combats Satanic Agenda of Wal-Mart".
http://fundiewatch.blogspot.com/2006/11/web-site-combats-satanic-agenda-of-wal.html

I can't say that I agree or disagree with the author, as I have long suspected that evil forces are behind the conception of Walmart otherwise known to some as "hellmart", but I will admit that the article raised some interest as it pertains to a letter written by a certain pastor in this town who has had a history of speaking out against issues and businesses which he sees as anti-biblical and "of the devil".

Now, I do not know the man and have never met him personally, but he seems to have great marketing skills in that every time he and his tiny band of do-gooders see a perceived evil about to penetrate Morris, he will gain the attention of the local press to get the word out that satanic agendas are being promoted.

This particular incident revolved around a campaign to "save walmart". Apparently some group of anti-gay Christians discovered that Walmart sells books about gay marriage and contributes money to a gay and lesbian organization. The pastor and his tiny posse of moral saviors latched on to this little tidbit, probably from some mass mailings "warning" the national clergy that Walmart has abandoned their original "family values" policy and has gone to hell in a handbasket...literally.
http://savewalmart.com/

The pastor's letter to the Morris Daily Herald stated the following:
On November 1, Wal-Mart reported a meager 0.5 percent increase in October same-store sales while predicting sales would be flat in November, according to Bloomberg News. This marks Wal-Mart’s worst sales performance in 10 years, while the rest of the retail industry gained nearly 5 percent! Company executives blamed the slump on a failed women’s fashion strategy that went too trendy and on disruptions from a store remodeling program. However, I and many others believe it mostly had to do with those who are staying away from the store as much as possible because of their executives’ decision to aggressively support homosexual groups and their agenda of trying to get the rest of us to accept this lifestyle and so-called “same-sex marriage”.
http://savewalmart.com/newsUpdatesDetail.asp?NewsUpdatesID=22

The author states in the blog post, "Now, I'm not a big fan of Wal-Mart. I don't like their practice of running local shops out of business, I don't like their sweat shop-produced clothing, and I don't like that they sell schlock merchandise masquerading as viable alternatives to good stuff. Sure, there are some name brands there, but if you really need to shop at Wally World (and let me be the first to admit, I sometimes have to), watch what you're buying. The less said about my old Apex brand DVD player (Wal-Mart chic!) the better. But that's not why fundies hate Wal-Mart, oh no. Flushing local economies down the toilet and Vietnamese child slaves are apparently nothing as insidious as the Homosexual Agenda!! Yup, that's right. Wal-Mart supports the queers! Come on, not Wal-Mart too! Isn't there anything still sacred for rednecks?"

The guy has a point. While Pastor "Barnyard", as the author calls him, is out holding up his signs claiming "Walmart Supports Sodomy", Walmart is laughing all the way to the bank while the downtown Morris stores and other businesses here die a slow, painful death.

The way I see it, Walmart saw an opportunity to make a buck and grab a tax write-off. It's what Walmart does best and as a privately owned corporation they have the right to sell whatever they want to whomever they want. The pastor has a right to refuse to shop there if he so chooses. But one can only imagine how the pastor would react if a national and local public media campaign was initiated against his "church" on Jefferson Street. After all, not all agree with his particular bent on Christianity.

We can only thank the pastor for pushing his agenda of trying to get the rest of us to accept his lifestyle by bringing to our attention the fact that Walmart is busy pushing, in his words, "their agenda of trying to get the rest of us to accept this lifestyle".

My only question is this: Will the pastor be offering food and shelter to homeless ex-walmart employees when Walmart goes belly-up because he and his ilk refuse to shop there as long as they promote their "gay agenda"?