If you’re going to do something, do it right. Words to live by, no?
Moving from one tired cliche to the next, Evangelist Franklin Graham might have done well to consider this advice before his very public, very misguided crusade against businesses that support LGBT equality.
Last week he railed against companies like Tiffany’s and Wells Fargo for advertising gay wedding rings and, well, storing gay people’s money. What would you have us do, Billy? Keep our cash rolled up and tucked away in our BDSM dungeons/devil worshiping altars?
He promised to take decisive action, urging his fellow “Christians” on Facebook, “Let’s just stop doing business with those who promote sin and stand against Almighty God’s laws and His standards.”
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Graham moved all of the Billy Graham Evangelical Association’s (BGEA) business dealings away from those evil homo-sinners at Wells Fargo and into the vaults of North Carolina-based BB&T.
The same BB&T that’s sponsoring this year’s Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade. The same bank that was awarded a ‘high’ rating in the Human Rights Campaign’s 2015 Corporate Equality Index.
Graham later backpedaled, saying it was never about a business being gay-friendly, but rather “corporate advertising to promote lifestyles that are counter to what God’s Word teaches.”
So using profits to sponsor pride parades is OK, but advertising to reach new customers isn’t?
It isn’t surprising that Graham wouldn’t quite grasp the idea of being inclusive to keep up with the times and grow a business — GBEA’s $107.7 million 2014 income proves there’s dependable money in exploiting fear.
Arvo Toolanen
Isn’t Franklin Graham tone of the “Money Changers” that Christ kicked out of the temple? He just proved that Evangelicals are just another Big Business and not about Godliness. It’s hard to believe that this gu came from the sperm of Billy Graham, a good man. Franklin is just another right wing asshole that uses God to promote his own material wealth. Lou B
Dakotahgeo
Franklin is a true blue christian, nothing like his Christian father Billy! Personally, I think Franklin is holding his father hostage. This does Christianity no good at all!
Jennifer Mercury
LOL! This is the best thing I’ve read all week!
DonW
Poor Frankie, having to boycott fabulous Tiffany’s, where he no doubt enjoyed spending a good chunk of the $1.2 million annual income he sucks from his sheep. But I’m sure you can buy your baubles at a more Biblical emporium. May I suggest Hobby Lobby?
BlueDude
This is such a good story! When are all the “christian” nutjobs going to realize “God (DOESN’T) hate fags”? I wonder how much of his own $1M+ income is given to feed the poor and homeless, like Jesus said to do.
Glücklich
Fuckin’ A! I can’t believe there is so little backbone to tax these Churchcorp organizations.
Total digression but I wondered which bank would be “better” for Graham’s business so I looked at HRC’s bottom-ranked FiServ list and was disappointed to see a few clients getting only a “C” or worse. Equally heartened to see other companies I would have thought quite conservative rating fairly well, e.g. BBH and AllianceBernstein.
BlueDude
@Dakotahgeo: Hi, Rev Geo! It seems to me that most/much of the evangelical clergy have dismissed, or forgotten, the four Gospels’ instructions about how to live in Grace. Why is that, I wonder.
Dakotahgeo
@BlueDude: Thanks for your salient question! There are a number of answers: 1) Laziness; 2) Gotta keep that paycheck comin’ in, y’know; 3) I have my ‘own’ theology to spew; 4) This is probably the worst: The word, “evangel” means “good news,” or “evangelist,” bringer of Good News! What the evangelicals/evangelists are bringing today is NOT the love that Jesus Christ had in mind. You do realize that all religions started out with human beings and their own ideas. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote their “rest of the news” 60-90 years AFTER the resurrection of Christ! Not only that, they may have been INFLUENCED by Christ’s TEACHINGS and philosophy (after all, he was a rabbi) but a good share of their own interpretation was interspersed with their own twist on things. Paul was especially ugly towards darn near everyone. I suppose the easy way out is to just excuse the preacher wrongdoers by saying they were “human,” but I’ve had enough of that. Preachers come out of Seminaries with knowledge, but hopefully more than the usual amount of “common sense.” Or at least we pray they do!
Sean Pelton
His reasoning: the new bank was not making tv ads with gay people in it, but his old one was.
Bauhaus
@Glücklich:
From what I understand, banking and the financial industry are mostly GLBT friendly, and have high HRC ratings? Your territory, what say you? Also, I agree; it’s outrageous churches are tax exempt.
DCFarmboi
@Bauhaus: I think it is outrageous that HRC is tax exempt.
Glücklich
@Bauhaus:
Saw this just as I was stepping out earlier tonight so it gave me some time to think of a response.
Consumer finance is very LGBT friendly. My bailiwick is institutional which remains fairly conservative. Big banks and their subsidiaries place high on the HRC list but it’s important to note HRC rates companies on benefits extended to employees’ same-sex partners, an important metric to be sure but one that comprises a small part of a company’s true measure of being gay-friendly.
HRC’s rankings would be more interesting if they worked with Glassdoor to quantify what happens *inside* firms. A company can pay a lot of lip service to what they’re doing for the gays and diversity but what about grooming gay employees for succession? Do gay employees feel “included” in these companies that tell a good story about inclusiveness? All those places touting a “work-life balance”? Yeah. Right.
Institutional clients are other big banks, GIANT investors who don’t care about reaching out to the gays. We’re similar to those companies whose ads you only see on the Sunday political shows: Boeing, ADM, BNSF, Northrup Grumman – not consumer-facing. Institutional doesn’t talk the talk so they don’t have to walk the walk.
My personal experience of finance: no one makes an issue out of my sexuality because I’m not running around with rainbow beads or showing up to meetings in chaps. I’m a strident manager who just wants to do his job and expects the same of everyone else. If anything draws attention, it’s my tattoos or my jewelry when I wear it (diamonds aren’t just a girl’s best friend). Coworkers and a lot of the firm’s clients have met Mr. Glücklich. Bottom line, if someone doesn’t like it, too bad. I’m a director in this firm and didn’t start out as one so I must be doin’ OK here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMKDouP2xeI
John Smith
“Ughh! Why is getting so hard to hate!!!” screamed a bunch of fake-Christians.
jwtraveler
@DCFarmboi: Really? I doubt that you think at all.
Giancarlo85
Evangelist… a different word for “swindler”. Or how about “snake oil salesman”.
http://newinternetorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/snake-oil-salesman.jpg – Evangelism is much the same bullshit.
Bauhaus
@Glücklich:
I’m touched by your thoughtful and personal response. We’ve been reveling in D.C.’s Capitol Pride Parade, so I just noticed your post. You strike me as bright, urbane, debonair, confident, successful. Obviously, your firm places results, and the “best and brightest” over all else, as it should be.
Curious observation about the “not consumer facing” firms. I don’t watch the Sunday political shows, but I do watch PBS and NewsHour, which those firms underwrite. Disappointing, not surprising.
You pose an excellent question about mentoring, rising in the ranks. Very good point, and not something I’ve thought about.
You must be somewhat of an anomaly in your field, or are there other folks like you under those Brooks Brother suits?
Glücklich
@Bauhaus:
Aww…
There are a few gays and lesbians scattered across my firm’s offices, and while they’re not deeply closeted they’re also not as transparent about it as I am. Firms like mine and our clients have a similar dynamic. I don’t go hunting down my fellow gays to hang out (though I’ve slept with a couple); it’s more like an unspoken understanding. I mean, Mr. Glücklich’s been to several of our offices with me, we’ve done dinners with my bosses and a few of the firm’s clients…I don’t think any other gay employees have brought their SO’s around. There are, however, plenty of staid bankers and quants, straight and gay, with hidden depths.
I hope you’re enjoying DC Pride. We’re just off an 8-hour flight back to NY; I am going to have some kooktails at a conference welcome reception and try to get back on EDT. I’m hearing someone was accidentally shot in the head yesterday at the very hotel where I’m gettin’ my drink on.
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gaym50ish
Graham didn’t do so well in bashing gay-friendly businesses, but he sure did reveal what obscene amounts of tax-free money are being made by his ministry.