2009-10-16
The AFA Blasts Capitalism While It Shelters Pornographers
I got another SPAM e-mail from the American Family Association this evening with the following subject:
7 Eleven to sell Marge Simpson issue of PB magazine
My initial reaction was, "What the heck is Peanut Butter Magazine?" Obviously, PB doesn't stand for Peanut Butter - it stands for Playboy. So, in other words, Marge Simpson is being featured in Playboy magazine in a "jump the shark" effort to improve fledgling ratings for the Simpsons and save Playboy magazine by increasing sales, which have plummeted with the rise of online pornography and a worsening economy.
So of course, If I didn't lose all my old content, I would have linked back to that article I wrote about their boycott of the advertisers of Family Guy (over the "Gay Episode" from last season) instead of Fox, too. Thanks for helping keep them honest. is up in arms.
No, they're not upset that Playboy is targeting under 18 children with its pornography by featuring a popular cartoon character.
No, they're not upset at Fox, who sold that character into pornography.
They're upset with the 7 Eleven chain for offering to sell this edition of Playboy from behind the counter. I suppose I understand how their extremist Taliban-like ideology can bring them to call for a doomed-to-fail boycott of an iconic American convenience store. What really irritates me, however, is that they've COMPLETELY let Fox off the hook.
Fox owns the rights to Marge Simpson and signed off on this deal with a pornographic magazine in what they should be calling a "shameless promotional bid." In fact, I would argue that's what this is. But the AFA is silent about their criticism of Fox. Why?
Fox News. This is the company that's given Mike Huckabee an hour long cable television talk show and has the only news organization that conservatives are allowed to watch and listen to (seriously, people get upset when I tell them I watch CNN). In other words, the AFA is pulling its punches so as not to taint the conservative integrity that the Fox organization has built with evangelical conservatives... even if that integrity is not deserved for the entire Fox Family.
Regardless, it is horrifyingly hypocritical of the AFA to completely let Fox off the hook for selling their cartoon character to pornographers. What's more, they're attacking one specific business out of thousands for selling these magazines instead of the people responsible for the content.
Honestly, the AFA makes liberal progressive and atheist claims about the Christian Right look like radical understatements. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Archived Comments
Wickle
Yeah, we've talked about this before ... I'll take AFA boycotts a bit more seriously when they call for a boycott of the Fox Corporation rather than its advertisers or periphery things like this.
Kevin Tracy
If I didn't lose all my old content, I would have linked back to that article I wrote about their boycott of the advertisers of Family Guy (over the "Gay Episode" from last season) instead of Fox, too.
Thanks for helping keep the American Family Association honest.
