Powerful ad from Faith In America (must see!)

[BR_Parkway]

Faith In America is "dedicated to the emancipation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from bigotry disguised as religious truth." And that's a tall order, given the hijacking of religion by the extremists. It's run by Rev. Jimmy Creech, who has been bucking the anti-gay system for some time now, here in NC.

http://www.pamspaulding.com/weblog/2006/06/powerful-ad-from-faith-in-america.html

One of the most powerful ads I've ever seen, this should be viewed by every single American. I just emailed it to my entire list and wanted everyone on DU to see it as well.

If every progressive blog had this front and center on their page today, imagine the buzz we'd generate. We would absolutely force the M$M to pay attention and talk about it. Once CNN's "Blog Reporter" picked it up that every blog was talking about this ad, the rest of the national 'news' would start talking about it. The Repugs learned to pick one issue and all talk about it at the same moment in order to keep their message drowning out ours - we progressives need to do the same.

[Mnemosyne]

1. Powerful indeed! K and R! n/t

[Totally Committed]

2. K & R

That belongs on the "Greatest Page".

TC

[ms liberty]

3. They've had ads here in my local paper too...

I'm in a very small, rural, and RED county in the foothills. Our weekly paper has had full page ads on (I think) three different weeks, and a half page ad another week. It's generated quite a bit of controversy here in my little town; all the fundies think that the gays are trying to tell them what to do, and (gasp) trying to force them to go against their religion (hypocrites!), and of course, force the (nonexistent) "gay agenda" down their throats.
Our county has lost a LOT of our manufacturing jobs (furniture) to outsourcing and to corporate mergers/downsizing. One major company has not; they've grown and added jobs, plus they have good pay and benefits, on-site child care and a full cafeteria - both unheard of around here! Most of the county wants to work there because they are known to be good to their employees. This company is owned by a man who is gay. It's been common knowledge around here that he's gay, and no-one seemed to pay it much attention.
Last week, this man upped the ante in a BIG way. He had a full page letter in our paper, supporting Faith in America, and publicly acknowledging his participation in the group. I'm looking forward to our paper coming out this afternoon - I wonder how many nasty letters will be in it now?

K&R - I think this group is doing important work, and we need to support them. They're facing the fundies down here in rural America where the fight really is - and they're doing by taking the moral and religious high ground. I like it!

[ms liberty]

4. Here's more:

This is the man I spoke of in my previous post; this is from the Faith in America website:

http://www.faithinamerica.info/

Mitchell Gold, the founder of Faith In America, delivered an inspiring message. Gold, who is Jewish, traced the roots of religion-based bigotry, in part by retracing his own life experiences. His first experience with religion-based bigotry came as a 5th grader living in Trenton, New Jersey in a predominantly Christian neighborhood. When he rode his bicycle over to the person he considered his best friend one day and discovered a birthday party taking place in his honor, he asked of his friend why he had not been invited. His friend explained to him that he couldn't invite him because he was Jewish. He recounted his second childhood experience when a neighborhood kid he considered a friend ordered him off his property. When he asked why, the boy told him that the nuns at the Catholic Church he had attended told him bad things about Jews that day in school.

If facing bigotry because of his religion wasn't bad enough, Gold would discover as teen-ager that he was gay. He promised himself that he would kill himself by the time he reached 21 if he hadn't figured out how to change his sexual orientation. Fortunately, he moved to New York City, where a whole different perspective on life emerged for him in the comfort of meeting others just like him. Gold and his partner later moved to North Carolina of all places where he worked in the furniture industry. Eventually, Gold acquired his own furniture company in Hickory, North Carolina, which has grown into a successful company employing more than 800 workers.

Through his interaction with the workers at his factory, he learned that people's prejudices were often based upon a lack of understanding and exposure to people of a different religion and sexual orientation. He learned that people could be taught in a way that would disabuse them of wrong-headed notions they learned growing up in fundamentalist Christian families and communities. Gold pointed to the civil rights struggles of the 1960s and his recollection of George Wallace standing with a Bible in his hand, citing chapter and verse why black people were not entitled to equality with white people, and how 36 states at one point had laws banning interracial marriages. Would true Christian believers today argue that the Bible condones the enslavement of black people or the treatment of women as second-class citizens as was once argued in the not-so-distant past Gold asks? So too will it pass and people will come to accept equality for gays and lesbians just like they did blacks and women Gold believes.

[BR_Parkway]

5. Wow, I'm less than an hour from Hickory, I had no clue this was going

on right in my backyard. So glad to see him using what he has to make a difference like this

[ms liberty]

6. It's listed as Hickory but...

that's just their "official" location. The manufacturing plants are in Alexander county, as is the newspaper I referenced. That's probably why you haven't heard about it; Alexander county's population is only about 40,000! When people ask me where I live, my reply is "have you ever heard of the back of beyond? Well, we're just on the other side of that!"

[BR_Parkway]

7. Actually, I'm not sure where Alexander county is myself - I'm in

Watauga, which only has 45,000

But it has a few of the biggest tourist draws in the state plus a major university, so we really don't feel like the backwoods at all.

[BR_Parkway]

8. Which company is it? I'm building a place and will be needing

some new furniture - I'd like to spend it with someone who is doing this.

[ms liberty]

9. The name of the company...

is Mitchell Gold; actually it's Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams - he changed the name a couple of years ago to include his partner's name because his (long-time) partner is also his business partner. Anyone would know it by Mitchell Gold, though. His furniture is supposed to be quite good and stylish, too.

Alexander county is north of Catawba county, east of Caldwell county, south of Wilkes county, and west of Iredell county. Looking at a map, triangulate Hickory, Statesville, and Wilkesboro, looking in the middle of your triangle you'll see Taylorsville. That's the county seat of Alexander county. Like I said, nowheresville! At least in Watauga you've got Boone and Blowing Rock!