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Posted on August 25th, 2009 by Mark.
Categories: Editorials, Get active!, News.
Here is an open letter to Walmart. Feel free to post this all over the place… much appreciated. Free speech matters in America, whether right or wrong. If Beck is so off base, let the viewers, the individuals out there, exercise their right to turn him off.
To Whom It May Concern,
I have been a consistent shopper in your stores for years now. I cannot think of a time where I was not it one of your stores at least once a week. I cringe considering the amounts of money that I have sunk into purchases made in your stores. The first place I think to go when I need something is the local Walmart… sadly, your actions as of late have forced me to reconsider. Your stance on healthcare given this political and economic climate was perplexing but you had a right to consider your best interests and to speak your mind on the matter. I’m sure there is a financial offset that is beneficial to your corporation in laying costs such as insurance on the backs of the taxpayers while at the same time diminishing your own responsibility to your employees. I am a capitalist, a conservative and a realist. I do not begrudge you the right to maximize your profits; in fact I expect you to do just that, it’s good business. So while I oppose the healthcare reforms being proposed, I respected Walmart’s right to disagree and to pursue what was best for them. It was not a stance that would make me consider shopping elsewhere.
This week however, you have elected to back a boycott of the Glenn Beck Program. I cannot express to you just how irksome it is to have supported a corporation’s right to free speech, while that corporation, has decided to aid in the squashing of an individual’s speech rights. This boycott is not about right and wrong, it is about destroying an opposition viewpoint. You are a party to an action I find vile, and that I abhor. How dare you join an effort to shut somebody up. I think I am going to have to reconsider whether or not corporations should have the same kind of free speech rights as individuals. I think perhaps it is reckless to give rights granted the individual to nebulous entities who cannot be held singularly accountable for what they say and the positions that they take. Perhaps we should all be considering whether or not corporations should be allowed an opinion in public debate at all. Your choice to pull ads was cowardly. Avoidance of controversy is one thing, bailing out on a program you didn’t find offensive until threatened, is another. Beck has a right to consider the president a racist if he believes it… and further he has a right to say it. People are free to stand up and say, “You’re wrong,” but that’s where it should end. There should not be a concerted effort to destroy a man because he has an opinion. That you have joined in this action is galling to me.
So, I want you to know that you have lost a loyal customer. My family of four will shop elsewhere and I will likewise tell my extended family and friends to also boycott your stores. The Sam’s Club membership will not be renewed. We’ll purchase clothing at Kohl’s, incidentals at Target or K-mart, and return to the local grocery store. Sure, in the short term it will cost us a few bucks to make this change, but in the long term the costs associated with stances like the one made by your spineless corporation, are all the greater. We as a nation cannot afford to have our free speech rights threatened in any way. I urge you to reconsider your position, but if you will not, so be it. Let my voice be the first to say, enough… and hopefully others will follow suit. I will be posting this to my blog and will encourage others to do the same. You may find the loss of one customer laughable, but we’ll see how funny it is when others join in.
Respectfully,
Posted on April 26th, 2007 by Mark.
Categories: Get active!.
Well, I know this story is getting a little long in the tooth and you are likely all sick of my ranting about the media in the Virginia Tech shootings, but I think that it is important that something be done about this. Even if it is nothing more than a wasted effort I think that we must at least try to do something to make media realize that the way it behaved when it released Cho’s rant is inexcusable. When you couple that with the fact that it was NBC News and their President Steve Capus that ultimately made the decision to air that nutcase’s manifesto it becomes even less forgivable. Wasn’t he the sanctimonious preacher taking to the air to let the world know that HE was doing the right thing by firing Imus for his “hate” speech? He should be fired, and I might suggest that they have Donald Trump do it so that they can milk it for all it’s worth. Capus should appreciate that, he’s managed to whore multiple stories in a matter of weeks. Why not make the sacrifice for the team?
Join me and others in supporting newsboycott.com and sign their petition. It might not be much but it’s something.