Some may recall that in the wake of 9/11, the marketing folks seemed to be pushing the message that everyone in America should go out and buy stuff because, otherwise, “the terrorists win.”
We were reminded of this Wednesday evening when we received a press release from a company that provides “full-service destination weddings.” The company, which has offices in Dallas, announced in the press release that it’s expanding its focus to include the LGBT community.
And that’s great, but we were a little turned off by this quote in the press release from one of the company’s executives:
“… We support the idea that marriage creates stable, committed unions. We believe that everyone must be supported in building stable, empowering, and respectful relationships. In light of the recent trends of gay teen suicide and bullying happening in the U.S., where most of our clients reside, it is our obligation to demonstrate that happy, committed relationships do exist and are possible for everyone. By providing a flawless destination wedding experience to our couples, we can do just that. … ”
Yeah, it’s almost as bad as Jo Hudson of Cathedral of Hope pushing tithes in the wake of the suicides. Nothing is sacred, apparently, even for pastors.
I think everyone is overreacting a bit. Poorly worded, sure, but it sounds like an old press release that was updated with the suicide references to make it more “relevant” and “current”.
Um. Did I miss something here? Where does is say if you don’t fly some where and get married, more kids will commit suicide? Sounds like this company is supporting gay rights/marriage, and you guys have taken something out of context. I agree with Trails and Loops, looks like they were using all the recent publicity about gay teens, to support gay marriage because it was relevant and current. I love The Voice, but you really seem to have taken something out of context here.
Seems to me that this company is offering it’s support to gay marriage, not a bad thing if you ask me. Why try to find something wrong with that?? Having a bad day? Your headline seems to have been taken totally out of context and in my opinion reflects badly on you and your view of the world. The more companies that come out publicly in support of gay marriage the better and who better than a wedding company. I imagine in that line of work they see couples in love surrounded by friends and family who love and support them all the time, right? If they can make even one kid feel better about themselves, by bringing to light the happiness that others have found, then power to them!
You guys are so silly. What exactly is the context we’ve missed? That we’re part of a hyper-consumerist community in a shamelessly capitalistic society? I got that, boo. Poor taste is poor taste.
For starters, they support gay marriage because they want our money. There are a lot of things I’d support if it put dinner on the table. This point about supporting gay marriage is meaningless.
The issue here is profiting from suicide. It’s like a family a member of which drowned, and some dude trolls the funeral selling floaties. ‘Here. These would have helped … you should buy two!’ What’s wrong with that – he supports safety, and that’s not so bad! It’s the context here that matters. They are promoting their services in the context of these children’s deaths.
The irony here is that the only way to make this instance of attempting to profit from someone’s death NOT distasteful is to take it completely out of context.
DJ Anderson, are you the one who wrote this story? Sounds like it. If it was you or the bitter person who wrote this, how should an organization come out and show their support for our community? On top of it all, did you know this was a gay-owned company? Your are beating up your own, and The Voice, and you come across as very bitter. You can easily find this press release online, and if you read the press release in its entirety, NO WHERE does is imply they are profiting from anyone’s death – in fact just the opposite.They are promoting inclusion and rights for all of us. Also, they are not promoting gay marriage at anyone’s funeral. Man, you got it wrong. I applaud this company, and their public support of gay marriage. You are beating up your own here, if you are gay, DJ. I suggest a little more inclusion for those companies that support us, versus all the hate and finger pointing.
I just posted something in reply to DJAnderson’s post. Was it taken down? Why? DJAnderson, do you work for the Voice?
Good. Glad to see the post is back up. Thanks, guys.
Jonathan, although DJ Anderson and John Wright are eerily similar names, it was not I who wrote this article. Weird, right?
So let me get this straight: You applaud the owners of a business for supporting their own rights. We should support them, because otherwise the gay community is in real danger of losing the support of this gay-owned business. Yep. OK.
You should know I have a penchant for beating up my own. I like to shit talk the HRC, Log Cabin Republicans, Stonewall Democrats, other assimilationist organizations, and gay business owners who gentrify poor communities. I like to point my fingers, and without hate these organizations would have no reason for being. We are not all family…
Furthermore, it is my understanding that the purpose of marketing is to … well, profit. Using teen suicide for your marketing campaign does in fact mean you are exploiting that situation to grow your business. This was not a public service announcement.
No one here is saying that there is no place for these companies, or that we shouldn’t support them. The argument is that their marketing campaign is ill-timed and in poor taste.
We’ll just have to agree to disagree. I think anyone who likes to shit talk people in general, really isn’t seeing the world in an open, honest, and specifically loving way. Doesn’t support inclusion, or acceptance, except in the way YOU see the world. Again, bitter.
Second, this is no my company, nor do I work for it.
My point is simply this: this interpretation was taken out of context, and I feel my responsibility as a gay man, and any one supporting who I am, needs to be approached with tolerance.