Dear BTL,
I have been following the Ford story since the boycott first started back in May. My take on this is two-fold. 1. I am 53 and have been out for the last 30 years. Ford has been my car/truck of choice since childhood. Ford Motor Company has been a strong and loyal supporter of the GLBT community for some time due in part to their former CFO. So in a way I feel badly for not only us, but for Ford. How often due we in the gay community support those businesses that support us? When you go to a local gay event or bar, how many Fords do you see? How many Toyotas, Nissans, Hondas and other cars do you see? I would say that we have to look at ourselves to a large extent in this mess. To my knowledge none of the manufacturers other than Ford have done anything for us, yet we buy their products. We are not going to boycott Toyota or even talk about it.
2. Ford Motor Company is truly a national symbol that not only the GLBT community should take pride in, but the country as a whole. The national publicity this story is getting drives home this point. Ford is presently under great financial stress and it would be very foolish of them to antagonize a group of people they have worked so hard to gain as customers. I hope they make the right decision on this.
If we want the support of the business community it is our responsibility to support those who support us. If we don't we can only look for more problems in the future.
Dan Flatten,
Phoenix
Support those that support us
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