This is personal for me. As a business owner I receive several shipments a week from UPS, and I've been badgering them relentlessly by email, giving them a deadline of September 1st before I move to FedEx and make my vendors move with me. It wasn't a hollow threat, either, inconvenient as such a move would have been. I've never been part of a successful boycott before!
And now, not only UPS but a total of 33 companies have joined the boycott, including Clorox, CVS, and Sprint.
While the UPS move is "temporary," UPS is still the first company to remove their advertising from Fox News altogether, instead of just directing that ads be placed in other advertising slots.
I've never watched Glenn Beck myself (shudder) but I understand that the UPS logo is shown introducing his show.
The fallout from advertisers may well spill over into other controversial cable news shows.
The shows present a dilemma for advertisers, who usually like a "safe" environment for their messages. The Olbermanns, Hannitys, O'Reillys, Maddows and Becks of the TV world are more likely to say something that will anger a viewer, who might take it out on sponsors.
They also host the most-watched programs on their networks.
"This is a good illustration of that conundrum," said Rich Hallabran, spokesman for UPS Stores
UPDATE: Here is a copy of the email I sent to UPS after initially receiving a form letter from their representative, Dora. I included several You Tube clips, including the poisoning of Nancy Pelosi:
Dear Dora,
I don't blame you for not consistently monitoring the content of the Glenn Beck show; believe me, I'd rather eat live bees than do so myself. I decided to give you further examples besides the ones I cited below where Glenn Beck calls the President of the United States a racist and a Nazi. Maybe it's just me, but comparing any elected American official to the mass murders committed by the Nazis is simply beyond the pale of rational, civilized discussion.
If nothing else, just watch this one clip I saw on another network that truly shows the workings of a disturbed mind. Regardless of what you personally think of Nancy Pelosi, she is an elected official and third in line to the Presidency. As a woman I think you will be just as sickened by Beck's creepy acting out of poisoning Nancy Pelosi on his August 6th show as I was. It's not enough to read his words on paper; you really have to see this guy in action.
http://www.youtube.com/...
Ok, that was pretty sick. But here's another gem, in which Beck's guest calls for the execution of an American soldier capture by the Taliban on July 19th. Since when is it ok to advocate execution of American soldiers by terrorists? Pathetic.
http://www.youtube.com/...
In another disgusting show on July 1st, Beck agrees with his guest who says ""...the only chance we have as a country right now is for Osama bin Laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States." That's right, he's advocating another terrorist attack in the United States. You can't make this stuff up.
http://www.youtube.com/...
If you would like more examples of "offensive, inappropriate or controversial content " I'll go find them for you, but honestly, this guy makes my eyeballs bleed as it is. Glenn Beck's dangerous rhetoric does, indeed, form "a consistent pattern" of fear mongering. There is no outlandish conspiracy theory this guy won't irresponsibly and loudly get behind.
People, and businesses (such as yours and mine) of good conscience shouldn't turn a blind eye to hateful speech. If the President were George Bush, or any other white male, would Beck be unleashing such racist and divisive invective, and would we be dismissing it as harmless? Yes, he is allowed his free speech, but in a free capitalistic society I can vote with my wallet, and I refuse to support such disgusting speech with my hard-earned money.
In closing, I would like to point out that UPS stopped advertising during Bill O'Reilly's show on Fox news. O'Reilly looks positively diplomatic compared to this maniac. I will leave you with one last Beckian quote that is so patently hateful and absurd that it alone should have UPS turning away in disgust:
"The President has exposed himself as a guy ... over and over and over again ... who has a deep-seated hatred for white people ... or the white culture... This man is a racist."
Enough is Enough! By paying for this slime to be broadcast to the American people, UPS is endorsing this behavior of irrational mob-rule. I will not do business with a company that supports this kind of repulsive ranting. At some point the adults have to take charge. I will not only drop your services for my business but will also contact all of my vendors and actively lobby for them to ship their products via FedEx or the USPS until you have stopped implicitly endorsing this hateful rhetoric.
Thank you for listening to my concerns, and since your corporate leaders do not have any published contact information on your website, please forward this email to both the World Corporate Headquarters and your advertising department.
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