- Barilla does radio interview to promote his products
- Interviewer asks if he would put a gay couple in his commercials
- Barilla says no, he believes in the traditional family
- Equality Italia, a civil rights group, calls for a boycott of Barilla products, and notoriously liberal news outlets, such as Huffington Post and The Guardian among many others, label Guido Barilla anti-gay and a bigot.
"Herr Smits, surely you won't use this news story to shove your political opinions down our throats on such a reputable website. You yourself have been known to despise such debates on account of people only becoming more entrenched and unwavering in their original beliefs."
Why, thank you, most trusting of hypothetical KeyPAP readers - you are correct.
The fact that there is backlash over Barilla's comments at all is what I find most disturbing. What this story boils down to is human rights focus groups and liberal media outlets who strive to spread the message of tolerance and equality for all people, are attempting to eliminate Guido Barilla's source of income because, ironically, they do not tolerate his worldview concerning gay families. The viewpoint is question is utterly irrelevant. Equality Italia has not called for a discussion or that he step away from his position as chairman. No, they are coming after his bread, his ability to provide for himself and his family. If you don't agree with our agenda then you must be destroyed.
What's most dangerous about stories like this is that they're covered up under the noble guise of human rights. But make no mistake, this kind of mentality allowed to permeate a democracy is unmistakeably poisonous. A minority focus group which has the power to crush anyone who doesn't agree with their views is called an oligarchy. I don't think that's what the Founding Fathers had in mind.
Sadly, rather than defending his opinion and his right to have one, he issued an apology a few days after the interview in the wake of the international backlash. Rather than holding true to his core beliefs, he caved and made a desperate, pathetic apology.
This story has also been an extremely convenient distraction for the United States government. While the sheep wail away on social networks and lesser blogs than the KeyPAP's about whether or not Barilla's comments were anti-gay and an expression of outrageous bigotry, the politicians in the U.S. federal government breathe a collective sigh of relief as less attention is being paid to the shutdown. They love it when we bicker over inconsequential shit like Barilla's comments. Real issues such as your premium potentially quadrupling under the new health care law, a declining stock market, and the broken world economy are swept under the rug while they literally collect their paychecks without working.
Do not stand for focus groups who try to stand on moral high ground while simultaneously attempting to destroy an innocent man because his worldview does not conform to their agenda. As a KeyPAP man, I sincerely value the freedom Americans should have to form their own opinions based on how they see the world. May shame be brought all oppressors.
Passionately,
Smits
