Tit for Tat between Ford and AFA
The American Family Association's (AFA) boycott against Ford continues with fresh new arguments being hurled by both sides. The boycott, which went into effect last year, began when the conservative Christian organization felt Ford backtracked on its promise to discontinue advertising in gay publications and events. The AFA states that the Blue Oval's falling sales are caused by its efforts (modest, aren't they?). Ford replied that high gas prices, interest rates, and competition are the mostly likely culprits, not the boycott. While CNW analyst Art Spinella believes the boycott may have had an effect, it is minor, writing that Ford's sales were "miserable" even without the AFA's efforts.
Ford notes that rivals General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp., which the AFA is not boycotting, market more heavily in gay media than the Blue Oval. The AFA states it is aware of the other automakers contributions but singled Ford for past contributions which, collectively, are larger than other automakers. It also feels that boycotts work best against a single organization versus an entire industry.
Interestingly, Ford is one of the largest contributors to Christian radio. States Ford and Lincoln/Mercury president Al Giombetti, "Marketing to specific communities is nothing new to Ford or to the industry. We don't do this to make a political or social statement; we do it because we respect them and hope they will become customers."
Also of note is the fact that not one Ford branded vehicle ended up on the Gaywheels.com Top 10 Most Researched Vehicles list. Instead, the "macho" Dodge Caliber placed third on the list.
Comments are, of course, open. Just keep it friendly and focused on the topic.
Related:
Ford instructs dealers how to deal with anti-gay boycott
Ford shareholders reject proposals to drop protections for LGBT workers
Efforts continue in boycott against Ford for its support of gay market
[Source: Detroit Free Press]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Elliott 7:47AM (7/17/2006)
"Interestingly, Ford is one of the largest contributors to Christian radio."
And a hush falls over the crowd...
At this point the AFA is way past being hypocritical, now they're just being mean.
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Dave 7:51AM (7/17/2006)
You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time....
I think Ford would do well to build better and more relavant cars and trucks and let the vehicles sell themselves.
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Pierre 7:57AM (7/17/2006)
That's crazy how, in the USA, people are making a mix with things that have nothing in common. Ford, is a car maker not a Priest nor a Pastor neither a Rabbin... Its job is not to judge the way of life of people! (Anyway only God can do that, not you!) The company is trying to go out of the mess and to save thousands of jobs by advertising in all categories of people. That's its duty to make the best cars and the best business it can do. That's its responsability in front of the thousands of families which rely on Ford's jobs and in front of the thousands of stock holders who owns it. That's it!!! and nothing else! For sure not to speak about Gays or anything else touching about way of life. OK?
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Koba 8:03AM (7/17/2006)
I thnk the best thing for Ford to do is just ignore these people. Like most "activists" they exist only because they are noticed. Stop paying attention to them, and they will pile back into their vans, and return to their usual spots like abortion clinics. Ford is in a make or break period right now, and they have no time to waste with these people.
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Howard Kerr 9:21AM (7/17/2006)
For starters...why isn't this "group" called the AFF for short? American Family Federation?
Number 2, the AFA(?) keeping this poor excuse of a boycott going...isn't it somehow anti-American?
Number 3, perhaps Ford should suspend advertizing on Christian radio/TV for a period...to show AFA they aren't at all cowed by their dictatorial/hypocritical stand.
Unfortunately, we can't ALL boycot this group of narrow-minded bigots.
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Clarence 9:59AM (7/17/2006)
Ford is working on a radical new engine: the straight eight.
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James Sonne 10:27AM (7/17/2006)
So Ford advertises less than GM and Toyota in the gay market, but the AFA is not boycotting those because 'Ford's past contributions to gay media are larger than the other two manufacturers'? So, this group is judging Ford based on what it DID do in the past and not what it's doing now, which is doing what this group wants. Man, these people are a bunch of idiots. If I was a member of the AFA, I wouldn't be any longer.
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Peter 10:30AM (7/17/2006)
Tit for tat ... EXCELLENT choice of title!
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CL2 10:32AM (7/17/2006)
Narrow minded bigots. That's the best discription of this group. Extremists at both ends ruin this country. It's time for the normals to take over. Keep going Ford.
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emulous1974 10:46AM (7/17/2006)
IMO what the AFA is doing is purely American. We have a right to be idiots and voice our opinion to show the rest of the world just how big of an idiot a group of people can be. But seriously, even though I disagree whith the reason they are boycotting and what they want (which is the piece I do see as unamerican) boycotting is the way in which Americans should go about voting with their dollars.
What is un-american is trying to go about and destroy peoples lives when their lives have no effect on yours. Live and let live. Ironically, the way in which they go about and the things they fight for will come back and bite them in the ass. They are hurting "Freedom of Religion" in the U.S. because they forget that you can't have freedom of religion if you are not free to not believe in a god and religion. A lot of our founding fathers expressed this and I believe they knew that when religions try to take over politics, then no one has freedom, including those that try to take it over.
I don't see how anyone thinks it's moral to take away someone's health benefits when they are working at a job, it's unbelievable to me. They have done it in other companies, including the one I work for, and with Ford, they tried to change the non-discrimination policy and I'm willing to bet same-sex benefits will be next.
I totally agree if you don't like a companies policy you should tell them so and not buy their products, but there is so much more in life that one can do to promote why you believe in, than waste time on things that don't effect you in one way.
Your rights end, when mine begin.
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Oolon Coluphid 10:51AM (7/17/2006)
Why does Ford even respond to these dumbasses? Don't even give them the AFA the satisfaction of a reply, I say.
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Ryan 10:52AM (7/17/2006)
I'm sometimes torn on weather or not I hope Ford does go out of business, and the AFA takes credit.
I really want these AFAChristians to gloat about how "now they have suffered" and take credit for it, I really do in a way so people can see how they really are.
*One thing is for sure*
GAY ISSUES are like "old faithful" for generating comments on AUTOBLOG.COM
There is part of me that wishes AUTOBLOG.COM would stay out of the social issues and focus *truly* on the cars, but what can ya do.
"Comments are, of course, open. Just keep it friendly and focused on the topic."
*After* all of the gay posts and topics I think we are a little late for this. But hey, better late then never.
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TK 1:33PM (7/17/2006)
No, the extremes at each end of the spectrum are not equal in impact or morals. On one end, you have clowns like the AFA who don't even realize the joke is on them... their efforts are clearly a misdirected waste of time, and in conflict with their own beliefs. On the other end you have folks, like it or not, who are taking a principled stand based on less-selfish reasons, usually based on science and in existance for a common good (enviros, etc). You can't possibly lump them together...
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Joshi 1:52PM (7/17/2006)
"The boycott, which went into effect last year, began when the conservative Christian organization felt Ford backtracked on its promise to discontinue advertising in gay publications and events."
So this is about advertising, then?
Honestly, why is the AFA so concerned about Ford advertising in gay publications? That's called business. Do the AFA expect Ford to refuse sales to gay people, too? It's ridiculous.
And I second emulous1974's comment about religous people and their freedom. Many religous people I know complain if they feel their religious freedom is getting the the slightest bit infringed, but they'd gladly force everyone in America to go to their church if they could. Their religous freedom is very precious to them, but they don't understand that it means they can't force their own religous rules on others. I don't think they understand that religous freedom has to apply to everyone.
(I'd mention some current political issues as examples, but I don't want to make this discussion any more heated than it needs to be.)
I honestly think that groups like the AFA do their cause more harm than good. They make all Christians look like bigots. Most Christians I know are more reasonable than the AFA, but it's the AFA that's always making the news.
As for AFA claiming responsibility for Ford's falling sales: LOLWTFBBQ. The only thing that could be funnier would be if Ford's sales went up since the boycott began.
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buckeyeguy 2:04PM (7/17/2006)
--> #3. "That's crazy how, in the USA, people are making a mix with things that have nothing in common."
Oh, you mean like religion and politics (and cars)?
:-)
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Tim 2:27PM (7/17/2006)
Thank goodness this thread seems to have attracted more of the humane and sane rather than frothing monomaniacs. Hasn't Autoblog covered this issue to death now though? We all know our own feelings on social issues and we probably all know each other's by now.
At the risk of attracting moronic abuse this obsession with other people's private lives and fundamentalist religion does seem a little odd to the casual British observer. (cue ranting).
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That One Person 3:17PM (7/17/2006)
I am all for freedom of speech and people doing and saying what they want but the AFA is just downright stupid. They take credit for the dumbest things out there and on top of it all, think they are all "high and mighty".
I remember when I was in middle school (it was a Christian school) and there were a couple parents who were members of the AFA. They talked about how the world was going to end because gays were messing things up...it was closed minded BS. I wish these people left their basements every once and a while and learn that they arent always correct...
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PJ 6:53PM (7/17/2006)
I, too, am baffled as to why Ford is dignifying this boycott with any response at all.
If they really wanted to make a "Bold Move," they'd have responded to all of this with a single, withering press release stating that their business is building the best possible vehicles for the widest possible audience, not overseeing the enforcement of religious dogma.
It's especially interesting to note that the AFA acknowledges that GM and Toyota currently advertise more in gay-targeted media, but that they prefer to continue boycotting Ford anyway. Hmm... Consciously ignoring facts to continue the irrational condemnation of a specific group.
I'll give the AFA this: they're consistent.
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Lauren 5:28PM (7/18/2006)
Where to start? So many things that have been said are completely false. Ford is mainly being boycotted because of it's attempts to change the social fabric of our society. Read the article, as biased as it is. Ford is contributing to radical homosexual activist groups that want to force 70% of the American public to approve of them. If you want to talk about bigotry, I think they have Christians beat. We don't go around saying that all of you that spew such hatred about us have a "phobia."
The AFA is not a radical organization, the majority of the work they do has very little to do with homosexuals. They alert their base of legislation that is important and advocate less harmful material on the public air-waves. They have only had two campaigns involving this subject that I know of, one against Proctor and Gamble, and Ford. That is not excessive. Once again this has nothing at all to do with what people do in their bedrooms. It has to do with standing up for the long held standards, particularly regarding marriage. It was not the Conservatives that started this battle, it began when liberal activist judges made up a right. Marriage is an institution, not a right.
Christianity is not about going around and forcing people to believe, that is a very mistaken idea. If you do not believe that there is a serious effort to restrict the freedom of one group to practice its faith in the secular world, go to your nearest school. That is the battleground and that is where the most atrocious restrictions are being enforced.
Oh, and the tree huggers. They are not out for the benefit of society. They love to cripple economies and destroy entire towns to save a owl (that will nest in buildings). Once again, I think that our boycott is minimal compared to the damage that the EPA and the militaristic environmentalist cause. What about the people that loose money when an entire hummer carlot is destroyed. Aren’t those jobs lost too?
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PJ 2:13AM (7/19/2006)
Lauren, based on our respective posts, we clearly don't agree on this issue, but I'm not picking on you.
I just want to encourage you to research this issue from a wider variety of sources than you've read thus far--specifically, regarding the reasons for the AFA's boycott, and what exactly it is Ford that has done or refuses to do. Rhetoric makes a poor reporter, and this issue is complex enough that it really deserves some critical thought.
Also, I'd encourage you not to believe everything you hear about environmentalists. They're not comic-book villains. There are degrees of fanaticism for every cause, and people take up causes because they believe they're doing what's right for the world. I certainly know that's true of Christians, even though I disagree with many of their current political preferences.
No need to reply, as I'm not interested in sparking an argument. Just food for thought.
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