The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) announced today a partnership with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to advancing diversity among all of its associate, supplier and customer bases.Of course, Christians are up in arms. “Boycott Walmart!” Me? I’m not getting it. I’m not getting it at all. But not for the reasons you might think. And there are so many things that confuse me about this.
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Wal-Mart will assist the NGLCC in developing, expanding and promoting corporate diversity business development and procurement opportunities by sponsoring some of its programs including two of the organization’s conferences.
There are the little things. Like, why “Gay & Lesbian”? According to the Mirriam Webster Dictionary, the 4th definition of the word “gay” is “a : Homosexual b : of, relating to, or used by homosexuals”. The primary definition of “homosexual” is “of, relating to, or characterized by a tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of the same sex”. So, if “gay” means “homosexual”, and “homosexual” references “sexual desire toward the same gender”, what is the difference between “gay” and “lesbian”? Doesn’t “gay” encompass “lesbian”? So … why “Gay & Lesbian”?
Or like – Why do “LGBT-owned businesses” require a certifying body?
But the big question is “Why is there an NGLCC in the first place?” There seems to be so many things in our society that are cropping up based on sexual preference, yet they seem to have no connection to sexual preference. What is the connection between running a business and sexual preference? How do we relate a “Chamber of Commerce” to who a person prefers to sleep with? Or, perhaps the reverse question would make it clearer. Why is it only one preference that requires this representation?
Many large cities these days have a “gay pride parade”. Why is there no “heterosexual pride parade”? There are “gay rights movements”, but no “heterosexual rights movements”. And if there is a call to, for instance, “protect marriage”, it’s considered bigoted and narrow-minded. Why is that? There is an “NGLCC”. Why is there no “NHCC” – a National Heterosexual Chamber of Commerce? You can find gay rights organizations and you can even find NAMBLA, the North American Man/Boy Love Association, that seeks to “end the oppression of men and boys who have freely chosen, mutually consensual relationships.” Where do you go to find a “heterosexual rights organization”? Does it even make sense to do so?
Wal-Mart has stepped in it now. For the gays (sorry, the LGBT), they’ve managed to bend a corporation to their sexual preference for no discernible reason, scoring a victory where a war never was. For the liberals (and gay organizations tend to have a lot of them), it’s a win-win because they tend to support gay rights organizations, but also tend to want to eliminate Wal-Mart. So when the company gets hit with the certain boycott that Christians and others are likely to use, the liberals will gleefully enjoy the damage to the company they so dislike. So for the sake of a small group (last estimates I heard was 10% of the country) that isn’t being discriminated against at Wal-Mart and whose sexual preference has no bearing on the business of Wal-Mart, the company has decided to align itself with a group sure to bring the wrath of the morality folks (who comprise more than 10% of the country).
I don’t get it. I don’t get why Wal-Mart would make such a blunder. I don’t even get why there is an NGLCC. But I know this won’t be pretty. I know it won't go well for Wal-Mart when the “religous right” starts their boycott. I know it won't go well for Christians when they are perceived as “intolerant” because they take a moral stand. And I doubt that very many people are going to ask what I'm asking ... “Why does sexual preference require its own parades, its own Chamber of Commerce? Or, conversely, why are there not equal organizations for the other views?” And the issues will simply get clouded in controversy, both for Christians to reach homosexuals with the Gospel and for homosexuals to receive the Gospel.
2 comments:
I think this has been a problem in so many areas of our country. Not only in sexaul preference groups, but just like all the different races who get their own history month, etc. Yet once again you don't see "Italian" pride parades or "White History Month." Why the partiality?
And I concur, why are we discussing who you want to sleep with at work? Is this a new question on applications? When I walk into walmart I have never been asked "Excuse me, are you gay or straight?" So for customers it is not relevant either.
How sad! Any suggestions on what we should be doing besides praying?
When I was writing this piece, I was thinking also of those racial things as well. They weren't related, so I left them out, but I agree with you. Imagine a "White Pride March" or a "Protect Caucasian Rights" crusade. Not gonna fly.
A lot of Christians, I suppose, will boycott Wal-Mart for this. (Interesting that Wal-Mart hasn't actually commented on the agreement officially.) It makes us look like the fanatic Muslims who rioted when the cartoons of Mohammed were printed, although not quite as violent.
Imagine a different world, though. Imagine a world where Christians are "stand outs", where the hallmark of a Christian is love (Hey, didn't Jesus say something about that?), where we don't beat the morality drum as much as live it, where Christians are reflections not of a political "religious right", but of Christ. I suspect that would have a bigger impact on our country than our boycotts and banners.
The story is told of a revival that hit Denver in the 19th century. As it turned out, they laid off most of the police force because they had nothing to do. That's "changed lives". To this day, Denver remains one of the "conservative" bastions of the nation. Maybe we need changed lives rather than marches? Prayer, yes! But when only 5% of those who call themselves "born-again Christians" admit that it actually changes how they live, there's a problem, and it's not with the gay agenda.
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