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By Jack Nichols
Lynchburg, Virginia—Reverend Jerry Falwell, the Baptist fundamentalist preacher
whose long and lucrative career has been based primarily on gay bashing, and whose publication most recently outed Tinky Winky of the Teletubbies, is now denouncing Anheuser-Busch for having placed
a Bud Light ad in a gay magazine.
In his Falwell Confidential, a weekly newsletter, the pious clergyman launched another missile in his ongoing cultural war to demonize homosexuality and capitalize on Americans' personal fears and prejudices, begging for money, as usual, to hold the gay "demons" at bay. He writes:
I will also be encouraging my National Liberty Journal audience of over 300,000 to get involved in this campaign during the next several days. Please join me in opposing this advertisement as we work together to preserve the Judeo-Christian standards on which this nation was founded." Following the publication of Falwell's screed, Anheuser-Busch did set up a number for recording opposition to the ad: 877-227-8783. GayToday's Pen Points ( April 26) ran the following circulating e-mail letter in anticipation of the fundamentalists' penchant for fits and furor : You may or may not be aware that Anheuser-Busch has created an ad depicting two men holding hands with the slogan, 'Be yourself and make it a Bud Light,' It is a very welcome message from a very major advertiser. Hundreds of calls have been received by Bud Light AGAINST this ad. No doubt the fundamental 'Christian' organizations are already organizing phone trees to flood Bud with calls objecting to this ad. Please help! Tell Bud Light you applaud their tribute to diversity. Call Bud Light at 1-800-233-7725 to automatically register your approval of this campaign. . . . It's easy and it takes about five seconds. Anheuser-Busch is not the first beer or liquor company to have placed ads in gay magazines. Others, starting with Stroh, have advertised regularly in the gay press since 1980. A recent issue of The Advocate sported a two-page ad sponsored by IBM which showed a male couple and which read: "We're not your typical Mom & Pop operation…We're not even your typical Pop & Pop operation." Call to Register Your Approval of Bud Light's gay ad: 1-800-233-7725 |
