Nicklas Johnson · morons.org - Unapologetic NC Company Badgered for Not Discriminating

Random: Unapologetic NC Company Badgered for Not Discriminating

Please Support our Featured Partners!

Overheard in SF: Heard inbetween the rabbit squeezing and the carrot munching
YouHaveBO.com: The Internet's Premier Anonymous BO Notification Service
Want Your Link Here?: Find out how to get free advertising with our partnership program!

A tiny island of non-discrimination in North Carolina finds itself harassed by locals who demand that it discriminate based on sexual orientation...
Posted by spatula on Dec. 16, 2003 08:25 UTC
8 comments from readers. Join the discussion!

Replacements, a Greensboro, North Carolina company specializing in discontinued dinnerware scores 100% on the Human Rights Campaign's equality index for its efforts to ensure that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered employees can work in an environment free of hostility with equal benefits. And of course, for creating such an environment and supporting equal rights, openly-gay CEO Robert Page receives hate mail from neocon robots which says things like, "You should support family values, not the homosexual agenda."

To which he responds that his "company believes all people are deserving of dignity, respect, and equal treatment. If that is also what you consider to be the homosexual agenda, I proudly support it."

Local churches have demanded boycotts of Replacements and anti-gay slurs have been spray-painted on their warehouses. But business is strong in spite of bitter locals and Replacements remains one of the town's larger employers.

Our hats are off to Page!

---Nick

Find similar articles

You must wait 7 minutes, 30 seconds before posting is permitted (4 minutes, 56 seconds remain).

Posted by Lois Carmen De Nominator from Milwaukee, WI on Dec. 16, 2003 08:58

Kind of makes me want to move to Greensboro. Kind of.

natax: I live just southeast of there, and NO, it should not make you feel that way....

Posted by h_ank from Portland, Oregon, USA on Dec. 16, 2003 10:01

Show approval with your dollars. I haven't seen anything on the site which I would want, but if I were in need of such merchandise I now know where I would go.

Also, I don't know about other communities, but here in the Portland Oregon area there is a GLBT phonebook for area businesses which support equality. When I can, I try and find an ethical company to do business with.

http://www.replacements.com/

Posted by kemosabe on Dec. 16, 2003 18:43

Site bookmarked (thanks, h_ank.) And thanks to Nick for the article. Now I can hopefully find replacements for missing/broken dinnerware. Or I might buy some odd pieces just to increase their sales and help drive their profits up (hopefully helping to counter the fundie "We don't like what you and your company stand for, so we won't buy your products and we'll urge other people to join us" strategy.) If nothing else, it'll piss 'em off when the companys' profits don't go down.

kemosabe

Posted by Pansy Bedwetter on Dec. 17, 2003 24:36

My reply would be "Oh, so you don't like me providing jobs and doing my part for local prosperity, I guess I'll have to take these jobs somewhere more appreciative."

gr00vey: I would have a hard time being as nice to these people as he sounds too, but...

Posted by gr00vey on Dec. 17, 2003 04:30

Although he is doin a great thing, I don't like the fact that he uses the term "zero tolerance". In fact, it is really impossible to have "zero tolerance" for discrimination, because you are in fact, dicriminating aginst those who are intolerant or discriminatory! ;) Aside from that, great job! ;)

Posted by Chickenhead on Dec. 17, 2003 09:24

Ah, the "gay agenda". Sometimes I laugh out loud when some fundy robot spouts that catch phrase, but more often I just get mad. These "people" really get tiresome after a while. And none of these fundamentalist christoholics ever think for themselves...the phrase "gay agenda" has been handed to them from their right-wing masters, and the best they can do is repeat it like good little brownshirts.

*sigh*