The American Family Association (AFA) is suspending its Christmas-season boycott of Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic.
The suspension of the boycott is in effect until at least Saturday. A Gap official has reported to the pro-family group that it will unveil a new Christmas-themed commercial this weekend. AFA says it is suspending the boycott "in good faith" until it has an opportunity to view the new commercial.
The boycott was initiated after the clothing company refused to use the word "Christmas" in its ads and promotions. Also, some people were upset over a Gap television ad that mentioned a host of other holiday traditions along with Christmas.
Buddy Smith, a spokesman for AFA, believes the boycott has had an impact. "Our supporters here sent emails, made phone calls, wrote letters, and expressed their concern -- and so obviously GAP got the message," he explains.
It's amazing how the article tries to sugarcoat the fact that the AFA originally started the boycott because it felt that GAP wasn't using the word "Christmas" in its promotions.
From ThinkProgress.org, this is what the AFA originally said:
For years, Gap has refused to use the word Christmas in its television commercials, newspaper ads and in-store promotions, despite tens of thousands of consumer requests to recognize Christmas and in spite of repeated requests from AFA to do the same.
Last year, Gap issued this politically-correct statement to Christmas shoppers: “Gap recognizes that many traditions are celebrated throughout this season and we feel it is important to display holiday signage that is inclusive to everyone.”
Christmas is special because of Jesus. It’s not just a “winter holiday.” For millions of Americans the giving and receiving of gifts is in honor of the One who gave Himself. For the Gap to pretend that isn’t the foundation of the Christmas season is political correctness at best and religious bigotry at worst.
The link goes on to expose just how mistaken the AFA was in its assessment of the situation:
AFA’s first shot in the war is a misfire, as Dan Neil of the LA Times points out today. In one of the first lines of Gap’s new holiday ad, the actors yell, “Go Christmas!” (as well as “Go Hanukkah! Go Kwanzaa! Go Solstice!”)
The link even shows the commercial:
Now that the AFA has a little egg on its face, the organization is trying to wipe it away under everyone's noses.
The sentence in the One News Now article - Also, some people were upset over a Gap television ad that mentioned a host of other holiday traditions along with Christmas - seems to be an inaccurate reconstruction of why the boycott was started.
Of course the Christian thing to do would be for the AFA to just admit its mistake.
But as we have seen in so other many cases, while the AFA talks about Christian values, it doesn't know the first thing about upholding them.
However it is nice to note that while everyone else is settling down to eat turkey this Thanksgiving, the AFA will be dining on crow.
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