Innuendo and Hysteria over McDonald's Joining the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce

On March 12, The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce announced that Richard Ellis, vice president of communications for McDonald’s USA, has been elected to its board of directors.

Those opposed to homosexual rights were immediately up in arms and have proposed a boycott of McDonald's.

Below the fold, more details, and the post that won Ed Brayton's Ridiculously Hyperbolic Rhetoric of the Week award.

But before you read the rest, do these things:

• Call  (or better yet, buy a meal) at your local McDonald's and tell the manager that you are proud of McDonald's commitment to diversity.
• Write or email McDonald's President, congratulating McDonald's on their commitment to all Americans:
• Andrew J. McKenna, President McDonald's
  McDonald's Plaza
  Oak Brook, IL  60523
  Phone: 1-800-244-6227
  or: 630-623-3000
  Fax: 630-623-5004
  E-Mail: Use the form at McDonald's Website (see below for the text of my message)

According to this email from the American Family Association:

McDonald’s has signed on to a nationwide effort to promote “gay” and “lesbian” business ventures.  According to McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner, McDonald’s will aggressively promote the homosexual agenda. In remarks on McDonald’s Web site concerning the company becoming a member of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), Skinner wrote: “Being a socially responsible organization is a fundamental part of who we are. We have an obligation to use our size and resources to make a difference in the world…and we do.” The company gave an undisclosed amount of money to the NGLCC in return for being recognized as a major promoter of the homosexual agenda. In return, NGLCC placed Richard Ellis, vice president of communications of McDonalds USA, on the NGLCC Board of Directors.

I couldn't find those remarks on the McDonald's website, or any record that McDonald's had "given money" to the NGLCC, or that "in return" Ellis was made a director of NGLCC.  It is a smear by innuendo.

A more factual version: McDonald's became a corporate member of  NGLCC in 200X (I couldn't find a date), joining such firms as IBM, Wells Fargo, and Wal-Mart.  The corporate membership brochure indicates that the annual membership fee for a corporation of McDonald's size is $25,000.  Ellis is indeed a member of NGLCC board of directors.  I can see why the NGLCC was pleased to recruit Ellis, as he has extensive experience with national non-profit organizations.

While I didn't find out when McDonald's joined NGLCC, I assume it wasn't yesterday. The company's membership  came to the attention of the anti-gay lobby when Ellis was elected to NGLCC's  board of directors in March 2008.

For those of you who are interested, here's a history of the NGLCC (founded in 2002).

Now, on to Ed Brayton's Ridiculously Hyperbolic Rhetoric of the Week award.

Rick and Nancy Pearcey are a power couple in the Intelligent Design, God Loves America™,  America Is Too a Christian Nation™ circles in and around Washington, D.C.   

On Friday, April 4, Rick wrote the following post.  The set-up is that Rick used to take his kid to McDonald's for a snack fairly frequently, but he is refusing to do so henceforth: 

Not today, in light of reports that McDonald's has decided, apparently, to declare war on my family. And to declare war on the civilization of liberty, independence, creativity, and humanity under God that my Dad fought for in World War II.

For human beings, this is a matter of liberty under God -- Why help finance groups that turn their backs on the Declaration of Independence, the Founding vision, and the living Creator who holds it all together?

Maybe we'll stop by Chick-Fil-A instead. It's a little out of the way, but I hear they like families.

Real families -- not ones made up by the ACLU last Tuesday.

One of Rick's commenters went even further into hyperbole:

Parents, keep an eye on those Happy Meals: The homosexual agenda targets the youngest, most impressionable ones first...

Ed Brayton on  Rick Pearcey's squealings:

Ah yes, that infamous "liberty under God", which really means "no liberty based on my belief in a barbaric God who thinks gays should be put to death." Because, you see, in order to have "liberty under God" we must destroy the liberty of homosexuals and punish them for being gay, throw them in prison. That's the only way to have True Liberty™. And up is down. And black is white. And war is peace.

Real Families™ are a lot like Real Liberty™. Because families headed by gays can't possibly be Real Families. Oh sure, they do all the same things other families do. They take their kids to school, they teach them how they should behave toward others, they put on the bandaids when the knee gets skinned, they comfort them when they have bad dreams, they celebrate their triumphs. But none of that matters. They're not a Real Family™
because...well, because Rick Pearcey doesn't like them. They're Bad People.

Here's the text of the letter I sent to McDonald's (link to contact  form at McDonald's website )

I learned today that (a) McDonald's has joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Congress (NGLCC) (b)that Richard Ellis, McDonald's (USA) vice president of communications has joined the NGLCC board of directors, and (c) that the American Family Association is urging its members to remonstrate with local and national McDonald's' for its "support of the homosexual agenda".

I am a heterosexual woman who fully supports homosexual rights. I am writing to express my admiration and support for McDonald's.  Thank you for supporting all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation.

Since my children have grown and left home, I don't patronize McDonald's much--two or three meals per year.  I plan to change that, and eat a meal a week there.  And I'll let the  manager know why I am patronizing McDonald's.

Update: email response from McDonald's
Thanks again for your support of all Americans.

Hello Elizabeth:

Thank you for contacting McDonald's. We appreciate this opportunity to share information regarding our commitment to our employees as well as the communities that we serve.

First, it's important to note that McDonald's respects and values people. Diversity and inclusion are business imperatives and integral components of McDonald's culture. We believe that by embracing our differences we are better enabled to value and respect other people as well as understand differing points of view.

We have a long and proud history of leadership in these areas. We continually strive to maintain an environment in which everyone feels valued and accepted. We encourage employees to recognize and appreciate the contributions that all diverse groups and individuals bring to the McDonald's system.

Thank you for sharing your personal point of view on this topic with us.

Angela McDonald's Customer Response Center

ref#:5039341

Comments

[Ken P.]

Dear Sir ,I don't see a need for any company to join with any group that agrees
with sin,according to the word of God ,homosexual's are an abomanation to God
and he has asked us to come out from amoung the world and be a seperate people so by this we have no other choice but refuse to go back to McDonald's ,We will encourage everyone to refuse to take their families to this resturant .Bad Bad move McDonald.

[Anon]

The real issue here is not McDonald's Corporation, or even Mr. Ellis (although if you have known him personally, you probably think he is a real scumbag of a person - liar, deceptive, dishonest.).

And the issue really isnt about your beliefs about gays or lesbians.

The key issue here is if we want corporations to be funding special interest groups using shareholder's money. But what if a corporation you have invested in spends your profits on causes and activities you do not support? What real opportunity as a owner/shareholder of the business do you have to weigh-in?

And how do we know that, in this particular case; the only agenda here is being driven by Mr. Ellis - should your corporate profits be used to support his personal agenda.

In this case, would McDonald's be better off investing its resources in areas that it has significant and substantial expertise - there are lots of issues in the world today surrounding availability of food, food safety, etc - it seems like these resources would earn a greater return in these areas vs. donating the money to NGLCC.

McDonald's does a good job hiding under their corporate diversity statment, but this doesn't really apply in this scenario. Sure, McDonald's hires gays, hispanics, african americans and others; it also serves these groups in its restaurants, strives to maintain an enviroment that supports diversity, recognized contributions from all members of its organization - all good stuff.

But do we really want our corporations funding special interest groups with shareholder profits? McDonald's board should immediately investigate and produce a comprehensive report outlining the groups and organizations where it has contributed financial and other resources to determine if these resources are truly being used in the best interest of the company owners/shareholders. Otherwise they have breached their fudiciary responbility.

[Don]

I so appreciate your desire to care about all people and defending their interest. You should be commended. Jesus commands us to love our neighbor unconditionally and it's a shame to see the hate from both sides of the issue. However, I love my children to the point that I won't be passive about their moral direction. It's not appropriate to fill a cartoon with adult inuendo (Shrek) and market it toward children. It's not appropriate to gather the kid's around one of the best family shows ever (Extreme Makeover Home Edition) and endure the barage of Desperate Houswives commercials. It's not appropriate to take your kids to a Disney hotel this past 4th of July and cringe while 2 lesbians fondle each other in a large swimming pool full of young children the whole time we were there. What used to be common decency has been replaced with diversity and it shows no signs of slowing down. I don't hate McDonald's and I have gay friends and neighbors, but I will not give money to an organization that promotes their love for children and political groups based on their sexual preference. That's just my perspective. And I do not want to eat where defending morality is viewed as hatred. God bless you.