From the Daily Beast:
The boycott against All-American Muslim surely marks the first time that right-wingers have objected to a television program for being too bland and wholesome. Since the reality show debuted last month, the putative forces of anti-jihadism, both Jewish and evangelical, have attacked it not for promoting radical Islam but for portraying Muslims who are not remotely radical. “The show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks while excluding many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to the liberties and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish,” said an email that the Florida Family Association urged its supporters to send to the show’s advertisers.
Ach!! What’s wrong with this picture? Since when did right-wingers start clamoring for removal of shows for being too decent? Apparently there is concern this new show is being deceptive and trying to put on a happy face when they are really covering up some nefarious, hidden, terrorist plot.
The complaints haven’t stopped with just grousing. Apparently those two groups applied enough pressure to have Lowes pull its advertising:
What’s shocking, though, is that Lowe’s, the home-improvement chain, decided to bow to a handful of extremists. Responding to conservative complaints, Lowe’s recently pulled its advertising from All-American Muslim.By doing so, it signals that it agrees with the idea that Muslims shouldn’t be depicted as anything other than terrorists.
“Individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lightning rod for many of those views,” the company said in a statement. “As a result we did pull our advertising on this program.”
In pulling its advertising, Lowes sends the message that it feels that Muslims should not be shown in any roles other than as terrorists, whether that’s its intent or not. Lowes is not without its own controversy. Many women have complained how the men employees basically ignore them when they are in the store and need help with supplies. I suppose they will now have to add Islamophobia to their list of why some some people might not want to shop there.
Ironically, the controvery has blown some life into the show that otherwise is fairly lackluster, from all reports. If anyone should be complaining about the show, it probably should be traditional Muslims since it shows the main character bucks the system of the old ways as she becomes more Americanized.
Most Americans don’t like this kind of prejudice. America’s foundation embraces religious freedom. Right now it seems that we are harboring too many people who feel it is ok to bash Islam and other religions openly. Would we feel it was appropriate to do that to Catholics? Mormons? Methodists? Of course not. However, some folks living in PWC feel it’s perfectly appropriate to bash the Unitarians and the Catholics for their treatment of others. I was taught that was just bad manners. Say what you want at home but when you go out, if you can’t say something nice about someone, then just keep quiet.
If Muslims do things against America, I will be the first person to criticize, if done in the name of Islam. However, lets put the broad brushes away and live and let live unless there is reason to do otherwise.
Who the heck is this Florida Family Association!
http://floridafamily.org/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/13/florida-family-association-all-american-muslim-lowes_n_1145760.html
just an FYI, very religious (orthodox jews)live by Talmudic law, or as close as possible, there are 613 commandments. If they live in America, they are also bound by the judicial laws of this country which take precedence over the religious law. There are varying degrees of following these “laws” of Judiasm.
Apparently this Florida group is afraid that too many muslims live by Sharia law and I would say SO WHAT. I don’t care that my bretheren Jews may choose to live by those 613 commandments as long as they don’t expect ME to do it also who cares.
This show is fascinating to me. There are varying degrees to which each person follows the tenents of Islam, just like EVERY other religion! I think this show has been illuminating and threatens me in now way.
Lowes is just in a bad position. Companies may or may not have agreed with Beck (they were just targeting the demographics/ratings that watched his show) but they were targeted for boycott.
They had to make the decision for themselves and many pulled their advertising dollars.
I’ll continue to go to Lowes because I don’t think this at all shows any pattern of discrimination.
Let’s save the “D” card for when it really happens.
@marin,
Why would any company cave in to a group from one state? I might understand it (operative word, might) if people form all over the United States voiced an opinion but one state?
No company should endorse discrimination. I suppose that is the D card?
I watched the documentary Islamophobia, and it was a great example of how information, even video clips, can be presented with a bias to create a desired outcome. In one scene a group of people were demonstrating against a gathering of Muslims who were attending a meeting. The narrator did touch on the fact that two of the speakers at the meeting supported terrorist groups, but only briefly, and then went into great detail about the background of the person who organized the protest as if the group was protesting only because there was a peaceful gathering of Muslim families. None of the protesters were interviewed, but of course a Muslim representative of the meeting gave his tear jerking version of his point of view. Such BS! True, not all Muslims are terrorists, but 99% of the terrorists are Muslim, so you decide who you should be wary of!
SA, I think about those muslims every time I think of the Oklahoma City bombing or abortion clinic workers being killed.
Not long after 9/11 I was doing some contracting work, and collaborating on a project with one of the other contractors, which was a firm owned and operated by a Muslim family. They were immigrants (legal) from Afghanistan (haven’t we been fighting on their behalf for about a decade?) and first-generation Americans. Their mom would bring in homemade Afghan food for lunch for the family and everyone else who might be working out of their office at the time. You could not find a more pro-America, free-market group of people than this family. We did discuss 9/11 a couple of times and their only wish was that people would not consider Muslims in general as terrorists anymore than they consider Christians in general as Klansmen.
great point NTK, thank you for sharing.
yes, NTK, thanks for sharing that wonderful example.
I worked with Muslms in Kuwait. Its not the “Islam”part that’s the problem. Its the IslamIST part that’s the problem…the fanatics.
Not having seen the show, I don’t know why anyone would find it objectionable. If their objection is SHARIA, ……are the Muslims on the show advocating that Sharia should be followed over local law?
If not…no problem.
I don’t think so. I think these are just ordinary people boring the hell out of their audience.
Lowes made a really bad business decision.
I agree with you re Sharia Law. Nothing at all wrong with church laws unless someone is advocating making church law a state law.
I have to agree with the sentiment that Lowes mad a business decision. They looked at their potential losses, based on their market. They knew that regardless of the decision they made, it would anger one group, or the other. I don’t fault them.
What I find a bit (well, maybe more than a bit) hypocritical, is there is an uproar over a television show that tries to portray a religeous, ethnic, or cultural group in a positive light (which few people outside of the subject group would watch), and yet “Jersey Shore”, the Kardashians, and the multiple iterations of “Real Wives” get a pass. Reality TV has come a very long way since Fox Network broadcasted “COPS”. I’m pretty sure we’ve gone in the wrong direction. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great reality TV shows (Home Makeover, Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers, Dual Survival, etc.), but if the Florida Family Association really wants to protest something that threatens families (as is their right), perhaps they might want to protest the stuff their kids might actually watch…Jersey Shore. Yep, some real family values being taught their: Co-ed cohabitation. Excessive drinking, and the ever-present “hooking up”. The lesson? Party all the time. Be superficial. Have casual physical relationships whenever the urge hits you. Afterall, you might get a TV show.
Steve, earth/axis warning. Get ready for the queazy feeling. I am going to agree with you and take it ieven a few steps further. I don’t watch any of that crap you just described except Deadliest Catch. I have watched the truckers before. There is so much junk on TV just for kiids that I could gag. My gkids tell me, don’t watch that because it has words you won’t approve of. Now telling ME that there are words *I* won’t approve of takes some doing, since I am sort of known for salty language. Kids shows that are consumed with bathroom humor and silly adolescent sexual humor ….are just stupid. Why do we have to encourage kids. I thought that was something we wanted them to grow out of.
I don’t even mind Glee. It deals with contemporary social issues and it isn’t for little kids. It has a great deal of redeeming social value.
However, I am tired of seeing bad role models for kids making millions of dollars and that includes sports heroes. I believe entertainers have a responsibility to act decently for their audience if the audience is under age.
Remember how everyone laughed at Tipper Gore for trying to bring a sense of decency to the entertainment industry?
Steve, to add to this:
“Co-ed cohabitation. Excessive drinking, and the ever-present “hooking up”. The lesson? Party all the time. Be superficial. Have casual physical relationships whenever the urge hits you. Afterall, you might get a TV show.”
…you may also get both corporate sponsorship AND government benefits!! 🙂
If Lowes made a bad business decision let’s see what happens to their same store sales this year and their stock price. I just don’t seeing those numbers being that impacted by this.
I agree with Cargo.
I don’t catch COPS as much as I used to but that was some quality TV.
@Steve Thomas
I’m proud to say that I have never once watched “Jersey Shore” or any of the other shows Steve mentioned. One of the times I admired President Obama was when a reporter asked him what he thought of “Snooki” and he had no idea who they were talking about. At the time, I had heard that name but didn’t know who it was. I’ve only seen “Cops” a few times because it never caught my interest. I’ve read and heard a lot about these shows, however. I agree that they are the shows from which companies should pull their sponsorships and advertising. They represent the worst of our society and provide role models that none of our kids should be seeing.
Getting inflamed about a show whose message is only that most Muslim families are ordinary Americans who don’t support terrorism, and ignoring the trash broadcast elsewhere seems ridiculous to me.
I don’t agree about the other “reality” shows. The History Channel was far better when it actually had shows about history rather truck drivers (how many times can anyone watch a person driving a truck on ice or whatever?) and guys digging through piles of trash. Comcast said that last year the “Pickers” show was the highest-rated cable TV show. I suppose they need to target the lowest common denominator to make money.
I hate a lot of the reality shows. I was hoping they would go out of style soon.
I have never watched Jersey Shore either.
I am not being too prissy here. I watch my trash. Don’t get me wrong. I just think my trash is more sophisticated and it also comes on after kids are supposed to be in bed. My idea of desirable trash would be Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos, Big Love. I don’t really feel that its trash. I saw that light-heartedly. I know some people would think it was though.
I’m pretty culturally illiterate when it comes to tv – watch a bit of CNN while eating supper, an occasional House Hunters, some movies, and all Weeds, Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, Nurse Jackie, and Breaking Bad. Surprise! Surprise! I’m a liberal and now we’re supposedly polarized by the tv programs we watch as much as the candidates we support.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2071164/Survey-shows-liberals-conservatives-watch-different-TV-shows–Jon-Stewart-Larry-Cable-Guy-new-faces-American-polarization.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/lowes-stands-by-decision-to-pull-ads-2011-12
Florida Family Association, based in Tampa, Fla., said that more than 60 companies that it emailed, from Amazon to McDonalds, pulled their ads. So far, Lowe’s is the only major company to confirm that it pulled ads from the show.
Amazon, McDonald’s and other advertisers did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.
I would be mighty disappointed in McDonalds and Amazon if they had joined this insanity. I would hate to sell my stock. Please let me know what you find out about this, Marin.
You know, there is a cause/effect here. I heard the group of 5 or whatever they call themselves whining about the war on Christians/Christianity today. Well….When Christians declare war on a group of people, sometimes we call get branded with the same broadbrush. I haven’t declared war on anyone, yet somehow, because I am Christian, some Muslims out there believe all Chrstians hate them.
When people do things like this, and it is well known that this Florida group is predominantly Christian, if not exclusively Christian, then we all get the blame. They need to knock it off.
In reply to your #6 post, Oklahoma City was in the other 1%, and so my statement still makes statistical sense, or are you disputing the ever present headlines of the multitude of world wide terrorist acts over the years. Those are facts that are too hard, and dangerous to ignore.
@Censored bybvbl
Interesting list, but I’m confused. Both Mrs. NTK and I like Jon Stewart and Jay Leno. Those are the two late night programs we watch when we’re still up at that time (including last night because I had a meeting downtown in the evening and needed to unwind before going to sleep). We both like Larry the Cable Guy but hate “Swamp Loggers.” The only series I care about is “Fringe,” which didn’t make either the Republican or Democrat list. I never miss that and am in the process of watching the first and second years (before I started watching it) on Blu-Ray. What does that make me?
Sorry Censored, but I’ve never seen any of the shows on your list.
@Need to Know
My husband must be a closet conservative because he routinely watches “American Pickers”. I’ve never watched the majority of shows on either list. That’s the bad part of having cable – you pay for 200+ channels and never watch 175 of them.
I wonder how Christian “pro life” people would feel if they were all branded as terrorists because of the actions of a small minority of people who have murdered doctors or bombed clinics?
NTK,
I LOVE Fringe!!!!!
@Elena
I started watching “Fringe” last year. Amazon recently had the first and second seasons Blu-Rays on sale for about $20 each and we bought those. I’m catching up now. One of our little ones, very intelligent and scientifically minded, loves it too. She likes the science and identifies with Olivia. It’s a balancing act because the show obviously has content inappropriate for elementary school age kids. However, we like that she’s excited by the science and sees someone like Olivia as a role model. We have to cover her eyes during the scarier and grosser parts.
Mrs. NTK and I used to always watch “24.” At first she would not watch “Fringe” but is really getting into it now. We’ve decided we like “Fringe” better than “24.” Part of it is that I can identify more with Walter than Jack Bauer. I’m more likely to become a mad scientist than a secret agent.
I like to tell Mrs. NTK what’s coming even before Walter does on the show and am usually right. In the recent episode about the time bubbles I figured out about the Fibonacci patterns even before Walter said it in the show. Now, Mrs. NTK wants to read about what Fibonacci patterns are.
So here’s the key question. Is “Fringe” a Republican or Democrat show?
You just really know how to get to a girl, NTK…with all that Fibonacci talk. sigh.
I got disenchanted with Fringe. I don’t know why. It reminds me more of xfiles than 24.
Of course, I am a major Buffy and xfiles fan. I also loved the Roswell show.
I think it is more arrested stage of development rather than political party.
Warehouse 13, Eureka, Alphas…all great…and a shared universe
Mythbusters
How Its Made
Dirty Jobs
Castle
American Guns, Sons of Guns, Triggers, Top Shot
Mail Call
Stuff on Discovery, Military Channel
Walking Dead, Hell on Wheels
Haven
Top Gear (BBC)
All of these, we watch when we get the chance, which isn’t much because darling daughter has to do homework, so the TV stays off.
Hmmmm….not many of those on ANY list about Conservatives and Republicans…
There’s no mention of what libertarians or Classic Liberals watch.
Oh, and Sing Off and Dancing with the Stars.
And anything with Scooby Doo.
@Cargosquid
Not a regular viewer, but I’ve seen some episodes of Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs and How Its Made that I enjoyed. I watch some shows on Discovery, History, National Geographic, etc. We like “60 Minutes” also. “Fringe” is the only fiction show I watch. Our kid who likes “Fringe” also likes “Through the Wormhole” with Morgan Freeman on the Science Channel. I like that show also.
I’m one of those who when asked what sport I played in high school has to respond “chess club.” Maybe the list of shows we’re compiling is neither the Republican nor Democrat list, but the nerd list. Proud to have always been a geek!
@Need to Know
I didn’t even play chess. D&D all the way! And I was in the Science Fiction Club.