Monday, November 10, 2008

What's wrong with this picture?

Luminiferous Ether posted this already, but it bears reposting here. Huffington Post had an advertisement for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (a.k.a. The Mormon Church). Since the Mormons were instrumental in the passing of California's Proposition 8 and most, if not all, of the writers for Huffington Post opposed Proposition 8, it seems rather odd that they would post ads for the LDS. If this bothers you, you can let them know here:

james@huffingtonpost.com

I'd like to see them get buried with complaints.

8 comments:

Suzy said...

I agree completely!

poodledoc said...

I actually own the Book of Mormon, given to me by a young Mormon hockey player. Have I opened it and read it? No. Now he's probably a hockey dad. Maybe he is married to several hockey moms. But, he assured me that polygamy is out. I reminded him that homophobia was "in". He trotted out the tired line that "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner". I still have problems, both with the statement, obviously, and the notion that God hates. Although in the Old Testament, the trible god was pretty nasty.....I'll probably get smyted for saying that, but what the heck....

Unknown said...

I read Suzy's post on this and went right to the Huffington Post but I couldn't fine the ad. Maybe they did get a lot of complains and pulled it.
Anyone know?

Ed said...

I think their ads rotate at random, so you might see something one time and another thing the next time. It's been a few days since I saw this one, so maybe they did pull it, but it's hard to know for certain.

Terry said...

Okay I'm not a Mormon and I don't agree with the politics or any of that stuff, but I want more info about where you're coming from on this one. I'm not saying I disagree with you (yet, maybe), just clarify please. Why do you think the ad should be removed? Is it a power thing, are you concerned about the power of the exposure? Or is it because it seems that Huffington condones Mormon politicking, and that's offensive? Is it a money thing.. that this ad will generate income for the Mormon church?

Ed said...

Welcome, Terry,
I guess, for me, it comes down to the fact that the Mormon church spent over $20 million to pass California's Prop. 8, which was a proposition that was opposed by most, if not all, of the writers at the Huffington Post (I, too, was opposed to it, but that isn't the point right now.) I can't imagine a fundamentalist christian news site accepting ads, regardless of the possible revenue, for, say, Planned Parenthood. The question I attempted to raise is, does a site like Huff Po accept ads from anyone who is willing to pay for the space, or do they refuse some ads due to their ethical standards. If it were my site, I would not have been willing to post an ad, at any price, for an organization that was funding what, in my opinion, was an evil enterprise. I hope that answers your question.

Terry said...

Thanks, Ed. So it's more about accepting money from them than about the ad or its content. Got it. Thanks for clarifying.

Ed said...

Actually, Terry, I think you've missed the point; it's all about the ad and its content. I don't believe it is morally acceptable to promote an organization (The Mormon Church) that has worked to curtail the personal freedom of other people. Maybe the Huffington Post is willing to run any ad, regardless of content, as long as they are paid for the space, but I find it objectionable.