Its that time of year again! The Salvation Army has their bell-ringers out... And I start seeing posts on Facebook and elsewhere, mostly by queer folks, suggesting that we all go out and harass the people with bell and red bucket (slip this paper inside that looks like its money, but has a note about how horrible the organization is! Go preach to the person with the bell about how what theyre doing hurts gay people!) that we all boycott Salvation Army (They support homophobia, they dont deserve our support!) and encourage others to do the same. Sure, the Salvation Army, and other organizations like them (Goodwill, for example) may have policies that are actively harmful to queer people. They may pour the money given to them into some programs or other organizations that are clearly anti-gay, or demonstrably racist, or which discriminate based on dozens of other factors that are bigoted and harmful... But you know what? These organizations are also the ones out there ACTUALLY DOING GOOD for ACTUAL PEOPLE. I cant tell you where the free meal for the homeless put on by the HRC was yesterday, or where GLSEN was giving whole turkeys and assorted groceries to low-income families earlier this week. I know that Salvation Army was across the street in the parking lot of the high school doing that, though, with lines down the block on one side and back up the block again on the other on Tuesday, people who could cook a feast thanks to them. I can give you half a dozen names -- off the top of my head -- of churches and other religious-affiliated groups in Oakland and Berkeley who were feeding the hungry all day yesterday, turning no one away who wanted to eat. So... fine. Criticize Salvation Army for the harm they do. Acknowledge it. If you know of other places to give your money, and would rather donate there, feel free. But keep in mind that these are groups who do a whole lot of good, too -- acknowledge that. And if the best solution you can offer is to go be obnoxious to a bell-ringer, to scold them for the views of the people theyre working for, and to withhold money completely -- I think you might want to reconsider what youre really doing.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 09:54:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015