Leave the Salvation Army Out in the Cold This Year
BY: TYRA LEESMAN
Print Editor-In-Chief
This giving season, shoppers will drop loose change and the occasional bill into hanging red buckets, smiling at bell-ringers as they exit Walmarts and Targets across the nation. Naturally, these donations are given out of a sense of kindness and good will toward man, or at least a nagging sense of righteous guilt for those things Americans are fortunate enough to take for granted.
Most people, however, don’t realize they are donating to a church — one which has a sad history of homophobic rhetoric under its belt.
Some years ago, the head of the church declared in an official statement, ‘Scripture opposes homosexual practices by direct comment and also by clearly implied disapproval. The Bible treats such practices as self-evidently abnormal. […] Attempts to establish or promote such relationships as viable alternatives to heterosexually-based family life do not conform to God’s will for society.’
Reports of shelters turning away homeless people for being openly gay, or denying food, jobs and other methods of assistance to people based on their sexual preferences have popped up in the news for decades; it seems no one is discussing the issue loudly enough.
For a charity claiming to do “the most good,” the Salvation Army certainly has a lot of bigotry to answer for. In recent years, the church has attempted to distance itself from its anti-LGBTQIA statements and actions by creating documents that directly attempt to “disprove” their long-time stance on homosexuality. It still, however, refuses to apologize or work to reverse its stances and damaging actions.
Despite their blatant discriminatory practices, the Salvation Army maintains an otherwise favorable track record among charities. They may or may not do “the most good,” but there’s no denying the church means well and attempts to make good on their motto.
The question subsequently arises: is a charity worth supporting if it has intentionally attempted to limit the rights of LGBTQIA citizens across several countries? Should a charity believing people can be left out in the snow because of their sexual orientation be supported in any way, shape or form?
Absolutely not.
There are too many local charities struggling to do the same good, too many organizations that do not intentionally deny humanity and help to individuals in need because of the way they were born. Choose one of them instead.
It might mean doing a little more research. It likely means extra work for the donator, but continuing to give money to an institution that will use it to leave gay couples cold and hungry and jobless for loving one another places the guilt squarely on the shoulders of those who choose to overlook that wrongdoing.
Until Salvation Army publicly apologizes, changes its anti-LGBTQIA stance, and begins repairing the damage it has already done to that community, they are not worthy of support. Shoppers who choose not to donate at the register or in the red bucket may politely refuse, smile, and calmly explain that they cannot support an organization refusing to apologize and make amends for the actions it has taken against the gay community.
Many bell-ringers and supporters of the Salvation Army are unaware of this shameful stance, and perhaps (politely) educating them can help withdraw still more support from the church. This is how an organization learns its lesson. When money and volunteers become sparse, motivation will be kindled to make real change. Until then, pass up the bucket and donate elsewhere.
To view a list of worthy charities, visit stlvolunteer.org and research some organizations that do not promote bigotry and discrimination.
