Buy Pepsi, Piss Off The Fundies

As seen at Pam’s House Blend:: The American Family Association has nothing better to do than harrass Pepsico:

Here’s four good reasons I’m going to buy more Pepsi products… no, make that five good reasons.

1. Pepsi gave a total of $1,000,000 to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) to promote the homosexual lifestyle in the workplace.
2. Both HRC and PFLAG supported efforts in California to defeat Proposition 8 which defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. HRC, which received $500,000 from Pepsi, gave $2.3 million to defeat Proposition 8.
3. Pepsi requires employees to attend sexual orientation and gender diversity training where the employees are taught to accept homosexuality.
4. Pepsi is a member of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

5. Buying PepsiCo brands will not only show support for their inclusive and enlightened policies, it will really piss off Donald Wildmon’s American Family Association if their boycott backfires.

The sex-obsessed, reality-rejecting fundamentalists led by Wildmon are issuing a clarion call for a ginormous boycott of all things Pepsi, because the soft-drink conglomerate refused to be blackmailed bullied into cancelling their financial support of P-FLAG, a well known national support group for families and friends of gay people, and for failing to be bigots and asshats and get all discriminatory towards employees and their loved ones who happen to be gay.

Whew.

Check out this extremely bland, factual and polite “FOAD” letter that a PepsiCo spokesman wrote to the Wildmon people after they complained about Pepsi’s social activisim and financial support for gay civil rights initiatives, in addition to their enlightened workplace policies. Note that the quote sticks to the company employee diversity initiative – way to stay on message AND tell your whirly-eyed cherry-picking God-botherer where to go!

Response from Paul Boykas, director, public policy to Donald E. Wildmon (November 18, 2008):
I’m responding to your letter to our Chairman. In 2008, the PepsiCo Foundation awarded a grant to Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays to support a national program specifically designed for workplace environments.

The initiative seeks to promote further understanding and equality in the places where people spend much of their time at work.

Among the values promoted by the PepsiCo Foundation is ensuring a work environment that is respectful and where associates are valued for their contributions. I hope this helps clarify this grant by the PepsiCo Foundation.

Typically, we have Sprite around the house, but Pepsi’s only lemon-lime drink is (gag) Sierra Mist: sorry, but the Sprite stays. We both prefer Pepsi to Coke but haven’t had stocked the fridge with it lately. Maybe I’ll try some of the no-caffeine stuff.

I can get on board with the rest of my personal anti-boycott, fortunately. Although David will enjoy the occasional Mountain Dew, I’ll have to settle for a frosty Mug root beer or a full-on Pepsi, or maybe a Frappuccino when the weather warms up. I do like the SoBe ready-to-drink “teas” and “juices” (especially that Wisdom one that supposedly chills you out: let’s hear it for the placebo effect). Also in the Pepsico portfolio: various Quaker Oats products and Frito-Lay snacks (such as the Tostitos we have to have on hand, and the Sun Chips I occasionally have at lunch during the week).

Yeah, not a lot of healthy stuff aside from maybe the Quaker Oats and the Sun Chips. Oh, well. It’s for a good and joyful cause!