| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"RoB WAde" |
| Date: |
15 Nov 2005 10:10:34 PM |
| Object: |
Boycott Allstate before it's too late! |
Boycott Allstate before it's too late!
Michael Gaynor
Allstate claims: "You're in good hands with Allstate."
That depends upon why you are.
If you are a practicing homosexual who wants Christians and Jews who
believe homosexual acts are sinful to be punished for saying so,
Allstate is pandering to you.
If you are one of the many Christians and Jews who believe that
practicing homosexuality is sinful and warning against sin is good, not
bad, then DO NOT PATRONIZE ALLSTATE!
J. Matt Barber is a non-practicing attorney, an undefeated heavyweight
professional boxer (Matt "Bam Bam" Barber), and a jazz drummer. He
received a Law Degree and a Master of Arts in Public Policy. He is a
contributor to www.starrjournal.com, Contributing Editor of
www.TheConservativeVoice.com, and a Contributor to the Washington Times
"Insight Magazine," as well as a number of other conservative
publications.
For five years Barber WAS a manager with Allstate, the insurance giant
and Fortune 500 company, at the company's headquarters in Northbrook,
Illinois in the Corporate Security Division, its investigative arm.
Until Allstate, which financially supports homosexual advocacy groups,
fired him after he wrote a column posted on several websites that was
critical of same-sex marriage and espoused his Christian beliefs.
The column at issue was written and posted in December.
On January 31, 2005, Barber was called into a meeting with two human
resources officials. Barber reports that one of them "slapped down" a
printed copy of the column in front of him and asked if he had written
it. Barber confirmed he had written it and noted that he had done so on
his own time, at his home and on his own computer.
Barber further reports that he was told, "Here at Allstate we have a
very diverse community"; that the human resources assistant vice
president told him the column did not reflect Allstate's view and that
he was suspended with pay; and that he was immediately ushered off
company grounds - "which was humiliating."
As Barber put it: "I explained to Allstate that the article was a
reflection of my personal Christian beliefs, and that I had every right
to both write it and to have it published. I further explained that I
had written the article while at home on my own time, that I never
mentioned Allstate's name and that I neither directly nor indirectly
suggested that Allstate shared my Christian beliefs or my views on
same-sex marriage."
BUT, three days later, Barber, who had worked for Allstate for five
years, was fired "for writing the article."
With the help of the Christian Law Association and David Gibbs III, who
represented Terri Schiavo's family in the final weeks of her life,
Barber is challenging Allstate in federal court.
According to an investigation by the State of Illinois' Department of
Employment Security related to Barber's claim for unemployment
benefits, an organization - likely a "gay"-rights group -
complained to Allstate about the column.
Apparently because one site that posted the column, MensNewsDaily.com,
added to the bio line on the article the undisputed fact that Barber
worked for Allstate.
According to Barber. he did not include that fact in the original
column submission but the site "disclosed that without [his] knowledge
or consent."
Barber emphasized to the unemployment office that he did not intend for
the affiliation to be included in the bio.
Allstate argued that Barber should not be given unemployment.
Upon investigation, the unemployment office found for Barber and ruled
that he was entitled to the money, stating: "The claimant was
discharged from Allstate Insurance Company because an outside
organization had complained about an article he had written while on
his own time."
Allstate's misconduct defense was rejected: "The term misconduct means
the deliberate and willful violation of a reasonable rule or policy of
the employer. ... In this case, the claimant's action which resulted in
his discharge was not deliberate and willful."
Barber dared to oppose what is oxymoronically called "same-sex
marriage" and to opine that homosexuality is "a violation of 'natural
law."
Barber wrote: "Marriage between one man and one woman, and the nuclear
family have forever been cornerstones of civilized society.
Regrettably, there are at present, many within the militant homosexual
lobby who wish to take a sledge hammer to those cornerstones - many
who hope to undermine both the historical and contemporary reality of
marriage and family - many who, through judicial fiat, aim to
circumvent the Constitution, the legislative process, and the
overwhelming will of the people in an effort to redefine marriage.
Accordingly, the unsolicited, oxymoronic and spurious expression
'same-sex marriage' has been forced into popular lexicon."
Pope John Paul the Great and Pope Benedict XVI agree with him.
Fortunately, neither ever wanted to work for Allstate.
Allstate has a decidedly "pro-homosexual" philosophy, requiring
employees to undergo "diversity training" and offering domestic
partnership benefits. That training, Barber says, "is really
indoctrination hostile toward thousands of employees' Christian
beliefs."
Allstate's foundation has donated money to homosexual-advocacy
organizations, including the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation and the LAMBDA Legal Defense and Education Fund. An Allstate
foundation notice states that funds are given to "nonprofit
organizations that are related to tolerance, diversity and inclusion."
Barber says he hopes consumers who hold traditional values will stop
patronizing Allstate.
SO DO I!
Addressing those who hold traditional values, Barber said: "You are
helping to support an organization that brazenly and illegally
discriminates against religious employees who do not blindly and
silently toe the extremist, liberal line on official company policy -
policy that is not just overtly pro-homosexual, but is demonstrably
anti-family."
David Gibbs, Barber's attorney, focused on the broader problem: "To
have Fortune 100 companies like Allstate firing people for expressing
their sincerely held religious beliefs and even their personal
viewpoints on their own time demonstrates just how out of kilter things
have gotten."
As well as Allstate in particular. "Allstate aggressively pushes and
promotes the homosexual agenda in the name of tolerance, but the minute
someone speaks up with what would be considered the traditional
moral-values viewpoint, the tolerance disappears and it results in a
termination."
Gibbs doubts that Allstate would take the same action against someone
who put forth a pro-homosexual viewpoint and declares that such
discriminatory action violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act: "The
law was intended to make sure people of faith didn't have to leave
their religion or viewpoints at the workplace stairs."
Gibbs compared the situation to that of racial discrimination: "Just
like Allstate can't go in and say, 'We've discovered your ethnicity and
we're going to fire you,' I don't believe Allstate should be able to go
in and say, 'We've discovered your anti-homosexuality viewpoint and
we're going to fire you.'"
Barber's complaint claims Barber was "terminated from his employment
and discriminated against by Defendants, with respect to his
compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment because he
expressed during non-work hours his sincerely held religious beliefs."
Allstate may have had a second reason for terminating Barber, but it
hardly would suffice as justification.
On a 2003 business trip to Lisbon, Portugal, that Barber took to attend
the annual Chairman's Conference with hundreds of other Allstate
employees, Barber reportedly witnessed his boss' boss, Ben Tarver,
assistant vice president for corporate security, "engaging in various
public displays of affection with a young female physician who had been
hired by Allstate to serve as the on-call physician for the conference
team." Following Barber's report of the assistant vice president's
alleged behavior to his immediate supervisor, Barber reports that
Tarver began harassing him and treating him in an "abusive manner."
Barber eventually filed a sexual harassment/retaliation complaint
against Tarver with the human resources Department at Allstate. Barber
explained: "It made me very uncomfortable, especially because we
investigate sexual harassment."
Barber believes that his whistleblower action was a motive in his being
fired and that Allstate officials were looking for a reason to
terminate him. He doubts that it was sheer coincidence that the very
people to whom he had reported Tarver's alleged misconduct confronted
him about his online article.
Allstate's sensitivity to homosexual prejudice and pressure was not
matched by any consideration for the needs of a pro-life family.
The eloquent Barber explained it this way:
"To add insult to injury, about two weeks before I was fired, my wife,
Sarah, and I delivered our third child in four years following a highly
stressful at-risk pregnancy. Allstate was fully aware of our new
arrival and that Sarah was still recovering from her C-section surgery
when they callously snatched away both our medical insurance and our
means of providing for our young family."
Barber, a boxer, seems to have been fouled, but not knocked out: "All
of this notwithstanding, my personal faith and optimism remain intact.
I always knew that people were persecuted in the workplace for their
religious beliefs, but I never imagined it would happen to my family
and me. We're losing our home, and we may be forced into bankruptcy;
but I know that somehow, God will provide. I believe it's crucial to
take a stand for truth, even if that stand results in suffering in the
short term."
Thousands of e-mails are pouring into Allstate after the American
Family Association yesterday informed its supporters of Barber's
lawsuit.
Make Allstate repent! Or pay dearly for its sins!
One proposed e-mail to Allstate: "Dear Allstate and Chairman Liddy,
Just a note to let you know I will not be purchasing any insurance from
Allstate. You are free to push the homosexual agenda and punish
Christians, but I am free to not buy insurance from you. When you
reinstate Matt Barber with an apology and back pay, I might reconsider
purchasing insurance from Allstate."
I like it!
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| User: "Robin" |
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| Title: Re: Boycott Allstate before it's too late! |
15 Nov 2005 11:10:51 PM |
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"RoB WAde" <rob_c_wade_1@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1132092634.098790.57380@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Boycott Allstate before it's too late!
Apparently because one site that posted the column, MensNewsDaily.com,
added to the bio line on the article the undisputed fact that Barber
worked for Allstate.
Barber chose to very publicly espouse a position that was contrary to his
employer's policies. Maybe he did not intend for his employer's name to be
connected with the article, but a reasonably intelligent person could
foresee that as a possibility. It's not hard at all to find out just about
anything you want to know about just about anyone. If he wasn't willing to
accept the responsibility for his actions he had other options. He could
have published the article anonymously, or used a pseudonym. I don't
neccessarily agree with an employer who fires someone for expressing their
personal views on their own time, but the fact is that most employers state
right up front in their policies, that they have the right to discontinue
employment at any time. I hate it for his luck.
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| User: "Colin Day" |
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| Title: Re: Boycott Rob Wade before it's too late |
15 Nov 2005 11:07:54 PM |
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Do we really need your homophobic nonsense here?
Colin Day aa #1500
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| User: "kathryn" |
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| Title: Re: Boycott Rob Wade before it's too late |
16 Nov 2005 07:23:58 PM |
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"Colin Day" <cday3@sc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:eTtef.436$xD5.603507@twister.southeast.rr.com...
Do we really need your homophobic nonsense here?
Colin Day aa #1500
Does the world need his homophobic nonsense? The world would be a better
place without him and his ilk
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| User: "Craig Chilton" |
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| Title: Re: Boycott Allstate before it's too late! |
15 Nov 2005 10:48:28 PM |
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On 15 Nov 2005 14:10:34 -0800,
"RoB WAde" <rob_c_wade_1@yahoo.com> as usual,
PARROTING the hate-swill of the RRR Cult, spewed:
= = = Wade's IDIOTIC cross-postings to OFF-topic
newsgroups deleted. (What a MORON!) = = =
"Boycott Allstate before it's too late!"
by Michael Gaynor
Allstate claims: "You're in good hands with Allstate."
Fine. Works for me!!
... DO NOT PATRONIZE ALLSTATE!
Screw you and the horse you rode in on. I only boycott BIGOTS,
and bigoted companies. And I *patronize* egalitarian, sensible, and
fair-minded ones like Allstate.
THANKS, though, for this reminder that Allstate IS one of those
fair-minded companies that deserve everyone's business.
<remaining SWILL flushed>
-- Craig Chilton <xanadu222_@mchsi.com>
--
RRR cult lemmings... dumber than dirt.
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| User: "Brian Henderson" |
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| Title: Re: Boycott Allstate before it's too late! |
16 Nov 2005 04:39:58 PM |
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On 15 Nov 2005 14:10:34 -0800, "RoB WAde" <rob_c_wade_1@yahoo.com>
wrote:
If you are a practicing homosexual who wants Christians and Jews who
believe homosexual acts are sinful to be punished for saying so,
Allstate is pandering to you.
If you are one of the many Christians and Jews who believe that
practicing homosexuality is sinful and warning against sin is good, not
bad, then DO NOT PATRONIZE ALLSTATE!
Thank goodness I'm with Allstate and will remain so. The last thing
we need are more whining anti-homosexual Christians running the show.
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| User: "Colin Day" |
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| Title: Re: Boycott Rob Wade before it's too late! |
16 Nov 2005 06:19:58 AM |
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RoB WAde wrote:
Boycott Allstate before it's too late!
homophobic diatribe snipped.
Colin Day aa #1500
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