Thank Pepsico and Counteract the Right Wing

from The Armchair Activist (Join this great activist community!)

The American Family Association, a right-wing political group that seeks to shame US companies into treating their GLBT customers badly to promote its "traditional values" (read anti-GLBT, anti-diversity) agenda, has its sights set on Pepsico. The AFA is angry that the company reportedly donated half a million dollars to Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays. As many of you know, PFLAG is an organization of GLBT allies that promotes a message of love, tolerance and equality for all people. Apparently, this is bad news for the AFA: The right-wing group wants Pepsico to remain neutral on the issue of GLBT equality. Note that in the AFA's worldview, a neutral position is consistent with theirs -- even giving partner benefits to employees is seen as a non-neutral move.

On its web site, the Religious Wrong organization presents an action alert telling its Christian faithful followers to bombard the company with emails criticizing their support of PFLAG. It even provides a handy email form allowing you to reach a company executive to castigate her.

TAKE ACTION! Let's use their nasty move for good: Go to the alert and send Pepsico Chair Indra K. Nooyi an email, but delete the given text and instead thank her and Pepsico for their positive efforts that respect diversity, align with true American values of justice, and show that they value their GLBT employees.

Here is the letter we sent via the AFA interface:

Dear Ms. Nooyi:

Thank you for Pepsico's support of PFLAG. You have my deepest gratitude for not giving in to the hate-filled, divisive maneuvers of the American Family Association. Your company realizes that all Americans deserve support and respect, and I, a second-class citizen of the US, will continue to be and encourage my associates to be loyal users of Pepsico products like Quaker Oats and Gatorade.

Thank you SO much!

Truly, the neutral position is one that doesn't discriminate against anyone. However, given the system under which we live, GLBT people need special protections that we can't get under law, thanks to the work of AFA and the right wing. So the neutral position is to level the playing field -- Pepsico does this by giving its GLBT employees parity with heterosexual workers and by supporting the equality efforts by groups like PFLAG, which promote the real values that decent Americans embrace -- an appreciation of diversity and respect and equality for all.

Come on, counteract the right wing while having the fun of using their own tools.

A warning: By using their tools, you will receive AFA alert emails. You can cancel that as soon as the first one arrives if you wish (or accept them and use them for opposition research, an important component of activism). If you would prefer not to receive anything from AFA, instead contact Ms. Nooyi by snail mail or phone to say thanks:

Ms. Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman
Pepsico, Inc.
700 Anderson Hill Rd.
Purchase, NY 10577-1444
Phone: 1-800-433-2652
or: (914) 253-2000