The American Family Association's Attack on "Anti-Christmas" GAP Ad

The American Family Association, a conservative "pro-American family" organization, is enraged because of this latest GAP ad, which has been branded "anti-Christmas."



The AFA, like its allies on the Christian Right, are reigniting the culture war flames once again for this Christmas season, like they always do every year. The ad, as absurd and tacky as it is, is anything but anti-Christian. What proof does the AFA have that shows that it's spewing hated for Christmas or any aspect of it that is synonymous with Christianity? None whatsoever!!!

Besides, haven't they been really listening to what the ad says? One can hear the dancers cheer "Go Christmas!" as they are watching it. How is that "anti-Christmas"?

Fortunately, AFA has pulled the plug on its earlier call to boycott GAP and its products, except that the company has agreed to air an ad that has "a very strong Christmas theme." How nice of them!

I'm all for boycotts; after all, that's a market function that a group of individuals or individuals by themselves should take if a company is engaging in a type of practice, selling a message or theme, or offering products or services that they don't like. Having said that, it does not change the point that this boycott is foolhardy because it's done for all the wrong reasons.

Besides, this nonsense that GAP had launched a "War on Christmas" is just preposterous. I don't see a bunch of GAP employees lining up outside fundamentalist Christian churches or GAP customers standing outside the store with signs saying that Christmas is evil and should be abolished. This culture war hysteria has frankly gone too far (this ad is just the latest example of the AFA's lunacy!), and the Christian Right kooks need to fly a kite for once.

Here's another thing: it's okay for the Christian Right, including the AFA and its delusional members, to say that tax-funded municipal events that are not and have never been pro-Christian are only oppressive to Christians. But it's not oppressive to taxpayers (many of whom are not Christians by the way and are of different alternative religions).

[H/T to Ryan W. McMaken of Lew Rockwell's blog.]

[Cross-posted at The Freeman Chronicles.]