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01/10/09-01/12/09

Pepsi Targeted for AFA Boycott

The American Family Association has identified yet another target in its waging of the culture war -- PepsiCo. The right-wing organization has asked members to boycott PepsiCo after the company donated a combined $1 million to the Human Rights Campaign and Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

The AFA says it sent two letters to PepsiCo after the donations were made public in October.

"We were indeed surprised by PepsiCo's support of the homosexual group," the AFA's Donald E. Wildmon wrote in October about the $500,000 donation to PFLAG. "It would appear to us that PepsiCo would not involve itself in a political and culture war, especially supporting an organization seeking to redefine marriage and family."

The letter went on to ask PepsiCo chair Indra K. Nooyi to "remain neutral in this culture war, neither supporting nor opposing the homosexual agenda."

PepsiCo responded in November that the donation made to PFLAG focuses on designing supportive workplace environments. "The initiative seeks to promote further understanding and equality in the places where people spend much of their time at work," PepsiCo spokesman Paul Boykas wrote in a letter the AFA deemed "condescending."

"Among the values promoted by the PepsiCo Foundation is ensuring a work environment that is respectful where associates are valued for their contributions," the letter went on to say. "I hope this clarifies this grant by the PepsiCo Foundation."

AFA wrote in a letter to its members that PepsiCo "refuses to give money to any pro-family organization that opposes the homosexual agenda."

Further adding fuel to the fire, the AFA adds that "most every homosexual organization we know of is overwhelmingly pro-abortion." (Michelle Garcia, Advocate.com)

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Name: Joe
Date posted: 2009-03-26 3:17 PM
Hometown: Cedar Grove

Comment:

what is wrong with people? Who says that gay men and women can and can not do the things they do? Are they armerican? Of course they are.... but so are the indinas that were massacared for not converting to the ways of the white man. When will all of this end? Im fairly sure that gay couples can raise kids... why would kids get confused? Single parents raise kids all the time. Are we going to start banning single parents? We all need to remember that the human race is not perfect and that we judge everything. We also need to remember that this country was founded on a group of men and women that did not want to conform to the ways of the church of england..... yet look at what happened once again to the native american indians.Why do these groups think that they are the right ones? Who is anyone to say that anything is right?

Name: Rebecca
Date posted: 2009-03-11 8:32 PM
Hometown: Tulsa

Comment:

There are so many more things worth fighting for. Gay people are adults, they can think for themselves, they need to decide what is right or wrong on their own. Boycotting a company is not going to help. All this is doing is making more people hate christians. How is that going to spread the word that God is love? When all that people from the church are doing is hating that is what God looks like to an outsider. We need to welcome people of all kinds to church and let them know that they are loved no matter who they are. As I said earlier there are so many more things worth fighting for. such as abortion or people who are being abused. There are people who need help, kids or babies that cant help themselves. I personaly do not think that the gay community needs help deciding what is right or wrong.

Name: Allie W.
Date posted: 2009-01-19 9:16 AM
Hometown: New ORleans

Comment:

It's all in the taste... you like Pepsi OR Coke OR Lemonade.... It's all in the taste...you like Cats OR Dogs OR Fish... It's all in the taste...you like Football OR Golf OR Basketball... It's all in the taste...you like Catholic Or Baptist OR (God forbid -Jehovahs')... Sooooo..everyone should quit taking sides....stop the fighting.....just LISTEN to OPINIONS...and LOVE EVERYONE....NO matter their RACE, RELIGION, HOBBIES, their LIKES or DIS-LIKES.... Remember...that very person you HATE today..could possibly be the very person that GOD has planned to save your life someday... The world would be a MUCH BETTER PLACE......!!!!!

Name: Larissajo
Date posted: 2009-01-15 11:13 PM
Hometown: Evanston

Comment:

The AFA is another name for Don Wildmon's ego. He is making one more attempt to subjugate and dominate portions of our society. As with Jim Jones, people drink the koolade of Wildmon's fantasies. It is not a culture war he is waging, it is an attempt at power. On of the comments talked about the Bible as though it was the answer. The Old Testament is a record of the Jewish leaders exercising control over their followers. Paul high jacked the Apostles' church. The only part of the Bible that is not to gain power and control are the Gospels. History repeats itself ad infinitum. Church leaders have always thirsted for power and control and Wildmon is just one of the latest. Boycotting to force someone to your will is not love, it is control. Loving God above all else and your neighbor as yourself means treating all people as no better and no worse than yourself. People who follow the gospel do not try to control others, they show love. Don’t drink the koolade, drink Pepsi.

Name: Tammy
Date posted: 2009-01-15 7:21 PM
Hometown: Orlando

Comment:

God is love. Not love like you & I know, but perfect, selfless, love. He loved us so much that he gave us his son Jesus to pay the price for our sin, by his death. He literally died for our sins. To make us clean again to God almighty. He took ALL of the sins of the world upon him, and died with them. He who had never sinned, became a sinner through death, so you & I can could be made clean from sin. Anyone who dies a sinner must go to hell. There are no exceptions. There is NO SIN to big to be forgiven, and there is no one who has not sinned. If you believe that Jesus is the son of God, who died for you and you want to be forgiven, just ask Jesus to forgive you and come into your heart, and change you forever. This will make you a new creature, clean from sin. Then you need to get a bible and read it. This is God's word, and it is a way that he will talk to you. He is alive, and he will speak to you. He loves you so much! I am praying for you.

Name: Jason
Date posted: 2009-01-13 10:10 PM
Hometown: Indiana

Comment:

I didn't want to do this again, but I feel compelled. Steven, I used to be a part of a church that saw women wearing make-up as sin. How many churches agree with that? The Bible has been mistranslated over time by so many people that it is ridiculous. Don't you ever wonder why there are so many religions out there that believe in the same ONE book? Why isn't there just one church? Don't you find it incredible that they don't agree on other things in the Bible, but they all agree on homosexuality being a sin? Jesus didn't even bother to say anything about it, but most Christians believe that is a sin. I hate to tell you this, but you probably believe it is wrong because of heterosexuals own sexuality. You don't feel attracted to the same gender so it becomes so easy to believe the miniscule passages that you believe condemns homosexuality. Believe what you want and I will too. I don't think loving someone of the same gender is wrong, period.

Name: Scott
Date posted: 2009-01-13 5:11 PM
Hometown: Dallas, TX

Comment:

Please let Pepsi know that you appreciate their support for our families and will support the company when you are shopping. Please call PepsiCo's customer relations line at 1-800-433-2652 today. When you call, please be brief in your comments. Politely tell the operator that: You are a PFLAG and / or HRC member and want to thank Pepsi for its support of your family; You plan to purchase Pepsi products whenever possible to show your support for the company’s welcoming policies; and You support Pepsi and your area bottlers and will refuse to participate in the boycott. Remember when you shop to buy Pepsi products, like Tropicana, Frito Lay, Quaker and Gatorade.

Name: Scott
Date posted: 2009-01-13 5:05 PM
Hometown: Dallas, TX

Comment:

Last week, the American Family Association launched a boycott of PepsiCo. The AFA boycott is based, in part, on the PepsiCo Foundation's support of PFLAG’s Straight for Equality in the Workplace project. Please let Pepsi know that you appreciate their support for our families and will support the company when you are shopping. Please call PepsiCo's customer relations line at 1-800-433-2652 today. When you call, please be brief in your comments. Politely tell the operator that: You are a PFLAG member and want to thank Pepsi for its support of your family; You plan to purchase Pepsi products whenever possible to show your support for the company’s welcoming policies; and You support Pepsi and your area bottlers and will refuse to participate in the boycott. Remember when you shop to buy Pepsi products, like Tropicana, Frito Lay, Quaker and Gatorade.

Name: Steven
Date posted: 2009-01-13 11:30 AM
Hometown: Tupelo

Comment:

Boycott away, homophobes! Your boycotts never work anyway. Actually AFA promoted a boycott to McDonalds and Ford and that worked, but companies went Neutral on the subject. However I believe now McDonalds may be supporting it again. All I can say as a Christian I love all gay people, God created every man, woman, boy and girl. We do not have the right to hate another person. With that said, I do however, think that homosexuality is wrong because I believe in Gods word and this is clearly wrong in His eyes. I urge you not to see this as a hate thing, it is just one group standing up for what they believe in just as you guys are standing up for what you believe in. I will pray for all of you that posted here as well as the proposed boycott that Gods will be done.

Name: Jason
Date posted: 2009-01-12 9:41 PM
Hometown: Indiana

Comment:

It really is sad how we go from supporting Pepsi to the Bible. I for one believe in God , but it is the hateful bile that some Christians spew that made me leave the church. Really? You come here to a gay supportive site to tell us we are ANIMALS? That is what is really sick right there! Like you hets don't get down and dirty in the bedroom? Give me a break! I see your filth all the time and you stand in judgement of us?! Don't get me started on procreating because that just makes you look even more stupid. As far as Adam and Steve is concerned, my name is JASON and God made me with my own individuality. I have always been attracted to men. If you want to call God on that, then go right ahead, but you leave me and people like me alone! Now, to get back on track. Thank you Pepsi for your support! Ignore the bigots and do what feels right.

Name: Betty
Date posted: 2009-01-12 3:23 PM
Hometown: Phoenix

Comment:

It's not because of religious affiliation and not because I hate homosexuals, It's because I am so SICK of the over the top, in your face, millitant, childish actions of "mostly men" that desire to have sex with each other men to act as though they are moral people and that deserve special treatment because they act like depraved ANIMALS! Homosexuality used to be considered a mental disorder..I think it still is. These people should be pitied, not elevated. I, for one will NEVER purchase another Pepsi product, even if they change their stance....they are unhealthy junk foods anyway....Let the Homosexuals have it, I'm sure they can support the industry by themselves!

Name: Jackson
Date posted: 2009-01-12 10:19 AM
Hometown: Providence

Comment:

People who believe in placing their beliefs above the rest of us are sick, stupid and out of touch with reality. Please go pray to your pretend God to smite us...oh you have been doing that and those pesky gays and lesbians continue to see progress in being accepted? Well, I guess that I'm right that your "Holy Word of God" and "The Word", blah, blah, blah is all just a bunch of crap. There is no God, you look like an idiot believing in one and I'm married to another man, we live openly and proudly, we have sex a number of times a week and THERE IS NOTHING YOU OR YOUR PRETEND GOD CAN DO ABOUT IT!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Pretend God, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. You lunctic, you loser, your idiot...your pretend God, Pretend Son and Pretend Holy Ghost cannot stop progress. ...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH

Name: Jesus Child
Date posted: 2009-01-12 8:20 AM
Hometown: Righthand with Jesus

Comment:

There was a time when this nation used to believe in what is on the dollar bill, "In God We Trust." Well, in John 1, it states "in the beginning was the Word,and the word was with God and THE WORD WAS GOD." So if in God we trust than the Word is God, so we should trust it! Starting with the molesting priests, down to the gays and lesbians, all need to get into the word of God(The Holy Bible). God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. One of the main points of this creation was to reproduce. How does eveyone think they got here? Through a man and a woman!! Can a man and a man or a woman and a woman reproduce? No! Please! Stop the madness! We are not only promoting same sex union, but also fornication! Wake up people, Sin is what takes you to hell and being gay is a sin. I will support this boycott because I don't want to leave this earth knowing that I supported SIN!

Name: Randall
Date posted: 2009-01-10 4:18 PM
Hometown: West Hollywood

Comment:

The gay and lesbian community needs to play the public opinion, political position game better. We create the propaganda for most everyone, yet we struggle to be affective for our own cause. We often act from hurt and repression which weakens our defense and we often work from an offensive rather than defensive position. Proponents of Prop 8 are creating a media war. We’re being berated for standing up for ourselves, while they claim they are above it all and never do the same. They do much worse, but we have yet to use their actions against them and make them accountable. We are portrayed as villains for suggesting a boycott of Utah, when boycotts for the AFA are standard business. We must get smarter about the media and opinion war. We must show people who we really are. That is still emerging. We need to temper sex and bring forward quality and respect for life. We need to show the millions of positive stories. Stop “shock sexuality”, and play the game to get what we want?

Name: Morgan
Date posted: 2009-01-09 7:37 PM
Hometown: Silver Spring, Maryland

Comment:

I consume only organic food and beverage. I will buy Pepsi only to show my gay support for this company. I will donate the Pepsi to our county gay men's group's potluck. But I will not it drink myself. Pepsi is not on my personal diet. I used to buy McDonald's once in a while, but since McDonald's gutlessly caved into AFA, I have not entered a McDonald's for a over a year now and have no desire to. A diet of McDonald's and Pepsi is not conducive to maintaining good physical or dental health (too much Coke or Pepsi erodes the enamel on teeth and causes cavities) or a good figure so I would minimize consumption of these junk foods. Maybe you can also show your support of Pepsi by buying Pepsi and then giving it away rather than consuming too much of it. I don't want to damage my health in the course of supporting a gay-friendly junk beverage company that is doing nothing to promote good physical or dental health.

Name: Laurent
Date posted: 2009-01-09 1:09 AM
Hometown: Ottawa, Canada

Comment:

PepsiCo has long supported the diversity within its organization. My husband works for Pepsi, he started in a bottling plant during summer vacations and now is a regional director of operations for the company. He has been out and proud and always had full support from the company. I attend company functions as his spouse and have never been made to feel inferior or different. I doubt Pepsi will back down from any threat by the AFA because they do not support bigotry in the work place, why would they support it from outside. They do not donate money to organizations that mean harm to their employees, and that's as it should be from all companies. Let us all stand up and buy Pepsi products where we can, they do make more than just Pepsi the drink.

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