talkpolitics | You're a Mean One, Grinch Alert

Robert Jeffress:

Well, you know every year people bemoan the War on Christmas and I thought, “Let’s do something positive about it,” so we created this website, Grinchalert.com, it allows people to go on our website and, uh, if they’ve encountered a business that shuns Christmas they can talk about it and put that business on the naughty list but if they find a business that celebrates Christmas, they can put that business on the nice list. It’s just a fun way to say to businesses and organizations, “You don’t have to bow to political correctness. It’s okay to say, “Merry Christmas…”

John Roberts: What if businesses who are on the naughty list lose customers?... Would it be a good idea to affect people’s business at this season, which can be make or break for some people, and in this economic climate?

Jeffress: John, let me make it clear, we have never even hinted at a boycott…

"Never even hinted at a boycott?" Really? Here’s what Jeffress said on Fox:

Jeffress: One great example in the Dallas area, there was a bank that took down a Christmas tree because they said it would offend customers. Well, there was another bank that got put on our nice list, the Providence Bank, because they put up a nativity scene. The CEO told me yesterday that there were customers changing from the bank that removed the Christmas tree, and they’re flocking to his bank.

Gretchen Carlson: You are not calling for a boycott of any of these businesses….

Jeffress: Oh, not at all, not in any way! You know, there’s a Mexican restaurant you mentioned that was saying Happy Holidays, but our family still goes there every week…

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

So it’s all about reassuring businesses. Honest! It’s all about making them feel nice and safe. He’s not advocating a boycott.

But he’s delighted to share as an example that little story of a bank losing customers because they took down a Christmas tree.

See, here's what mystifies me about this... Jeffress likes the idea of forcing other people and businesses to utter "Merry Christmas" and post signs saying "Merry Christmas" who are uncomfortable doing it. Do the people at "Grinch Alert" really imagine that businesses and retailers intimidated into towing Grinch Alert's line are acting in the spirit of the season?

And here's one more video, especially for the Reverend Mr. Jeffress:

Thanx to Juliebogen

Crossposted at Thoughtcrimes

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

When the boycott is something as penny-ante as "They're not saying MERRY CHRISTMAS" and driven by the majority religion in an effort to get everybody else to conform, yes.

Since you believe an act of aggression is being committed here, what legal prescriptions do you propose for remedy?

None.

Do think every act of aggression calls for a "legal prescription?"

Yes, but then you and I appear to have very different and more restrictive ideas of what aggression incorporates within itself.

If a market chooses to do 'x' instead of 'y' because more people like 'x' instead of 'y', it's because they choose to supply the most people with what they want in exchange for what they want, which is more business.

Do you deny that Grinch Alert is a call for a boycott?

In practical terms, I don't see much of a difference in effect, so no.

Thank you.

jk_fabiani pointed out that the website doesn't specifically call for a boycott of the businesses mentioned. I think that answers your question.

Here's the introduction on the website:
Have you encountered a “Grinch” this Christmas season? Share your experiences here at GrinchAlert.com! Here, you can nominate businesses and organizations that shut-out expressions of Christmas in their interactions with the public via marketing, advertising and public relations. When companies use misplaced political correctness to halt the celebration of Christmas, they belong on the “Naughty List.”

We also want to know which companies are celebrating Christmas with excitement and meaning–especially those who keep Christ in Christmas where He belongs! Those companies and organizations will be placed on our “Nice List.” Help us preserve Christ this Christmas.

Do you see anything there that instructs people to NOT patronize businesses on the 'Naughty' list?

They don't have to instruct people not to patronize those businesses. The purpose of the Nice and Naught list is evident.

They don't have to instruct people not to patronize those businesses. The purpose of the Nice and Naught list is evident. So by this logic, anyone who posts reviews for hotels, restaurants, or businesses is inciting a boycott?

No. But if they post a website saying that hotels, restaurants and businesses shouldn't hire Communists, here's a list of hotels, restaurants and businesses that do (Under a section entitled "Pinko Comsymps") and here's a list of hotels that don't (Under a section entitled "True Americans") then the desire for a boycott of "Pinko Comsymps" can be inferred -- especially if the person spearheading it talks admiringly of a hotel that lost business because they hired communists.

And don't you also think that people who AREN'T Christians would have access to Grinch Alert and use it to the opposite of what you're accusing? This is where your argument is flawed, PAFT.

They are hardly likely to be in the majority, especially in Texas. And that is plainly not the intent. There's nothing neutral about referring to businesses that don't tow the line as "Grinches" and "Naughty."

The website isn't just confined to one state. And there are only three or four banks mentioned on the entire website. I know because I checked. Do you know how many banks there are in Texas? And do you also know if any of these banks on this list were already on the list of stressed banks because of the financial crisis? Seriously, you can't equate the actions of a piddly website to the result of whether a business closes down or not.

We're talking here about the intent of the website -- an intent that was given a bully pulpit by Fox.

Whether or not a business actually closes as a result of Grinch Alert is beside the point. It's obviously intended to intimidate.

PAFT, the mod wants the discussion stopped, so why are you still posting?

You're a Mean One, Grinch Alert

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