This is not a blog post about travel. There are no pictures here. But this is a topic I feel very strongly about, and this is my avenue for speaking up.
Hobby Lobby is a "family owned" company that sells crafty stuff that people use to create things like Mason Jar candles that they saw on Pinterest. If by "family owned" you mean a company that has 578 stores, employs 23,000 people, and generates $3.3 BILLION in revenues. They are as much of a family owned business is Wal Mart, Comcast, and Ford Motor are. Don't believe that this is just some cute little mom and pop business. It's a mega corporation. A powerful one. They are also a corporation run by a family of devout Christians. Christians with a very defined agenda. In fact they are so rich, and so Christian, that they are building an $800 million Bible Museum in Washington.
But because Hobby Lobby identifies themselves as a family business they were able to effectively sue for the right to deny women that work for them insurance coverage for 4 out of 20 forms of birth control provided under the Affordable Care Act. Their reasoning? They are a "family business" owned by Christians who believe abortion is a sin, so they shouldn't have to provide coverage for things they deem to be "abortifactants". It would be against their "Christian values". There are a few problems with that, however.
- The forms of birth control they don't want to cover DO NOT, scientifically or medically speaking, cause abortions.
- Allowing the uber rich heads of a $3.3 billion company to decide what medical coverage to provide employees based on their personal religious beliefs is damn scary.
- It's hugely hypocritical.
In short this means that a cashier working at Hobby Lobby who goes to the ER after being raped won't have the Plan B (Emergency contraceptive pill) that the Dr will order for her to prevent her from getting pregnant covered by her insurance, but a CEO will be able to have a nice retirement with money made from investing in Teva, the company that makes Plan B.
Also hypocritical? Most of the products you can buy at Hobby Lobby are made in China. Generally in Chinese sweat shops where people work in terrible conditions. And China has more abortions yearly than any other country in the world. But somehow the Green family thinks that it can overlook that fact, so they can provide you with cheaply made ribbon for your Mason Jar Candle.
Still want to shop there?
Here's where it hits home for me. Literally.
Hobby Lobby spends a huge amount of money funding ultra conservative Christian foundations that promote and work directly to create anti gay and lesbian legislation. in 2012, Forbes Magazine sited David Green (the co-head of Hobby Lobby) as the single largest individual donor to evangelical causes in America.
Remember that little piece of legislation that came up in Arizona earlier this year? SB 1062? That's the bill that would have essentially made it legal for companies and businesses to deny rights and service to others based on their personal religious beliefs. Basically it would have made it legal for a restaurant to refuse to serve Lindsay and I because we are a couple, if that restaurants owner believed that being gay is a sin. Guess who helped fund that legislation. If you guessed Hobby Lobby, you are correct.
Hobby Lobby donates MILLIONS to a foundation called the National Christian Charitable Foundation that provides grants to causes including climate science denial, charter schools, free market and pro-life advocacy. And anti gay legislation.
Hobby Lobby CEOs have an agenda. A Ultra Conservative Right Wing Evangelical Christian agenda that doesn't involve allowing people like Lindsay and I to marry. To walk into a business freely as a couple. To live our lives just like everyone else. Every time someone spends money in Hobby Lobby they are helping to further that agenda.
Still want to shop there? I understand. Pinterest is addicting and Hobby Lobby sells cheap stuff to make those Mason Jar candles. I won't berate you. I won't unfriend you on Facebook. But please know that when you chose to shop at Hobby Lobby instead of driving to AC Moore or Michaels, that this is the company you are supporting.
10 comments:
Hey Jess (it's Megan) -- love your blog and post! Good to keep up with you. Hate that store for all the reasons you mentioned and more! :-) I also hate Pintrest and all things crafty, so it's a win-win. LOL! Hope you are well!
Hi Megan! I'm really well! Thanks for the comment! I hope you all are good, too!
Good info to know. I think I'm glad we don't have a Hobby Lobby close by where I live
I had no idea. Thanks for this post. Very informative. Sad that this day and age a company control such a part of someone's life.
It is a shame we are all sort of slaves to low cost Chinese goods. I am guilty of renting and selling very good quality (but inexpensive for what it is) Chinese instruments. I also sell accessories for those instruments that were made in China. Why? Because otherwise very few could afford to play a musical instruments. Would it be better if I only sold instruments made in Germany (a country which once attempted to exterminate an entire group of people)? Or Romanina? Or even the USA? None of these countries are free from the specter of past and present atrocities. I have no desire to spend money at companies who so openly practice bigotry. I have no wish to patronize businesses which are run by people who are closed minded and ignorant. However, we all have to get over the Chinese goods thing, or make the enormous sacrifices it would require to change it. The facts are that no one can be free from Chinese goods without being a hermit.
Jesus Christ, if you don't like the place then don't shop there. If you don't like their healthcare options then don't work there. Nobody is forcing you to do either. Do I defend their choices? No, but they don't owe their employees medical coverage; it's a benefit. Employees work for pay. That is all.
Well Caleb, that is the whole entire point. I don't like the place, or their policies, or the things the fund so I won't be shopping there.
As far as owing their employees medical coverage, I never said they did. What I said was that letting a corporation that has almost 600 stores, generates $3.3 BILLION in revenue, and has 23,000 employees define itself as a family business is ridiculous. It's ridiculous that a corporation is allowed to deny coverage to it's employees that a non-family corporation is required to provide it's employees simply because they are able to define themselves as a Christian based family business. And it is God damn scary that any company in this country is allowed to deny employees a federal right (which is what insurance coverage is now, under the Affordable Care Act) based on the owners religion.
When someone starts trying to limit your rights, maybe you will be able to see the bigger picture.
I suppose we should know what to expect when you begin your comment with "Jesus Christ". Unfortunately, there will always always be those who live their lives in fear and hatred. All we have to do is watch the news to see the results of religious points of view...no matter how peaceful they profess themselves to be.
Well other companies deny many forms of birth control even state insurance doesn't cover 10 out of 20so what's ur thought on that. If u don't like hobby lobby that's on you. Don't shop there.
I refuse to shop there as well. Haven't done so for years and ever since Hobby Lobby won their case that denied their employees full health care. They are indeed intolerant, bigoted hypocrites and we have new Supreme Court Justice Neal Gorsuch who can take a lot of the responsibility for their legal victory.
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