Boycott

Who should we boycott?

  • State of Utah – No. Although you may find other places more gay friendly.
  • Mormon businesses - No. Boycotting public companies because there is a Mormon involved is matching their organized bigotry with our simple prejudice. Don’t get sucked in by their hate.
  • Sundance - NO! Good golly no. But Sundance Institute should promote NoH8, and should leave Utah for someplace not dominated by haters.
  • Companies that supported Prop 8 - Yes. Don’t support companies that don’t support you.
  • Macy’s and Nordstrom – Yes! Pressure them to stop plans to anchor the Mormon Church’s new $2 billion mall in the center of Salt Lake City. Full info here.

Want to act? Pressure Macy’s and Nordstrom out of the Mormon center!!.

So we should just forgive and forget?

No, Remember. With no further action, every gay person, and every one of our friends, family, co-workers, and well-wishers, knows where the Mormon Church and the majority of its members stand on our having civil rights equal to other Americans. This will affect how we view all things Mormon for the rest of our lives. This is not hate, this is accountability.

But don’t stoop to their level. They came after us out of bigotry. We must not answer their hate with our hate. We do not fight prejudice with more prejudice. So making it an anti-Mormon people thing is too simple minded and wrong. No Mormon hating. As they say, “Love the sinner but hate the sin.”

Do Fight. The Mormons will be back. They must know we will fight back. Act directly against the church’s wealth through Macy’s and Nordstrom.

Boycott Mormon businesses?

Do not boycott these businesses. Answering Mormon bigotry with our prejudice is wrong.

Do hold them accountable. Good corporate citizens:

  • Do not donate to Prop 8, or other anti-civil rights causes.
  • Have a corporate anti-discrimination policy that includes both sexual orientation and gender identity.
  • Provide same-sex partner benefits.

These business are listed here because they appeared on email and website lists that circulated after Prop 8. I wanted to get accurate information out. For a list of all entries, click here. Frequently mentioned companies to boycott, with details on their LGBT policies – click name for details:

 

What about boycotting Sundance?

Do not boycott Sundance.

The Sundance film festival is one of the great gay-friendly film festivals. Many important gay and gay-friendly movies have launched through Sundance. It is one of the few cultural events in a state desperately in need of exposure to the outside world. And clearly the film industry employees many more LGBT people than it employs Mormons. On top of that, Robert Redford, the founder of Sundance, has stood for progressive issues all of his life, and is deserving of much respect for his efforts. (Thanks, Bob!) Clearly we have no beef to pick with Sundance.

Sundance should leave Utah.

The entire American West is open, while Utah is dominated by haters. (Move to San Francisco! We love Sundance, and you can drive here from LA without the snow! Move Sundance says move it to New Mexico.)

Sundance must support NoH8.

It is too late to move this year’s festival, Sundance should officially take a stand in support of same-sex marriage rights. Among the actions Sundance could take:

  • Publicly state its stand as GLBT friendly.
  • Issue a corporate letter of support for same-sex relationships and marriage in the model of Google and Apple.
  • Place NoH8 or similar logos on all of Sundance literature and promotional material.
  • Make NoH8 buttons or other expressions of solidarity freely available at all Sundance venues.

I really need to attend Sundance…it is crucial to my current/future/possible career! But I don’t want to go to Utah. What can I do?

All Sundance attendees, staff, celebrities, and desperate wannabes can proudly display their stand against H8 to demonstrate that they are not in agreement with the dominant intolerance of Utah culture. Pins, flags, banners, billboards, and rented fleets of dirigibles flying banners displaying NoH8 or similar sentiments are always appropriate.

What about companies that directly supported Prop 8?

There is no reason to support those who do not support you. In this country we vote with our dollars as much as we do with our ballot.

See the Dishonor Roll here.

One Response to “Boycott”

  1. Joe Hullinger Says:
    December 9, 2008 at 4:09 pm

    I must respectfully disagree that we shouldn’t boycott Mormon associated businesses such as Marriott. First of all, the Marroitts simply hid their support by funneling money through sources difficult to trace. I found a $22,000.00 donation to prop. 8 on this site by Sandra M. Bertha of Olivehaim, CA. The M. stands for Marriott. She is the heiress daughter of Dick Marriott, son of Founder Willard Marriott. As the donation was made in her name and not her husband Albert Bertha’ s name, I assume that she used her own inherited money for the donation.

    Sandy’s umcle Bill Marriott, CEO was quick to try to distance the Corp. from Prop 8, but the Marroitt family has long shown that they love money more than their God, and are happy to make it in activities forbidden by the church. Watching pornography could get you kicked out of the Mormon church. Selling porn in every one of your hotel rooms, and making millions for your family… no problem. Drinking a glass of wine means you can’t enter a mormon temple. Sell millions of glasses of wine in your hotels gets your name on the biggest building at BYU… if you pass on 10% of your porn rental and booze profits to the church.

    Bottom line. If you want the mormon church out of politics in California, we need Bill Marriott to call Tom Monson (head mormon nazi) and tell him to keep the church out of these matters. And the only way that will ever happen is if we hurt the bottom line of the Marriott Corp.

    By the way, when Sandy Marriott married Al Bertha in a double wedding with her sister Karen and now ex-husband Drew Blake, the Church flew one of the twelve apostles to Washington DC to perform the ceremonies. I know this because I was an usher in Sandy and Al’s wedding party.

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