All-American Bigotry

Image via WikipediaSome of you may have noticed a new show on the TLC channel.  It's about families in a Detroit suburb trying to make their way through life as normally as possible, even though their religion and culture is quite different from ours.  It's called "All-American Muslim".

This show would have settled in quite nicely with the rest of TLC's reality lineup, which includes shows on families with multiple kids, children competing in beauty pageants, style-challenged women who get makeovers, and--oh yes--"Sarah Palin's Alaska".

But then came the Florida Family Association, another one of those conservative Christian groups who make names for themselves by attempting to dictate the morals of everyone else.  They have called for a boycott of of "All-American Muslim", because it dares to put a lifestyle on TV that they don't agree with.  (The group has also complained about the ABC sitcom "Modern Family" for similar reasons.)  It's not so much that FFA objects to seeing Muslims in a positive light after years of being portrayed in TV news reports as terrorist thugs.  Instead, it sounds like they don't want Muslims on TV, period.

So far, two companies have pulled their advertising from the show, which is due to resume in January:  home improvement superstore Lowe's and travel website Kayak.com.  Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons has announced that he would buy whatever ad time the two companies gave up.

North Carolina-based Lowe's, the second-largest hardware chain in America behind The Home Depot, has more than 1700 stores nationwide, and has put its name on a speedway outside Charlotte that hosts two major NASCAR races a year.

Civil liberties groups have called for a boycott of Lowe's.  But is that really a good idea in this economy?  With so many people struggling to hang onto their jobs along with a terrible housing market, why should Lowe's employees pay for the stupidity of their corporate bosses?  Oh wait.  That's already happening every single day, which is the reason why we have Occupy Wall Street.

What the Florida Family Association has succeeded in doing (besides calling attention to themselves) is to turn "All-American Muslim", a show that some critics believe is mediocre, into a cultural phenomenon.  TLC couldn't have asked for better publicity than this, as they anticipate a big audience for the show's return in January.  Meanwhile, there are thousands of people of the Muslim faith who just want to go about their business and not be lumped in with the ones who gave them a bad name.  Good luck with that.