by guest blogger Rob Boston

I admit to having a weakness for McDonald’s french fries. There’s just something about those thin slivers of golden-fried potatoes, seasoned with just the right amount of salt. I know too much of them isn’t good for me but figure it’s OK to indulge every now and then.

McDonald’s fries might not help my cholesterol count, but eating them does have one benefit: It annoys the Religious Right.

McDonald’s is officially under boycott from Donald Wildmon’s American Family Association (AFA). The AFA, a Mississippi-based Religious Right outfit best known for obsessing over sexual content on cable and network television and its vociferous opposition to the “homosexual agenda,” has been going crazy lately because McDonald’s has made it clear that its family-friendly policy includes gay families.

Like a lot of corporations these days, McDonald’s is aware that American society is increasingly diverse. In recent years, the company has launched outreach efforts targeted toward African-Americans and Latinos. Now it’s aiming one at gays. Part of this includes allowing a McDonald’s executive to join and work with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

So it boils down to this: McDonald’s is interested in getting as many people as possible to eat in its restaurants, and as part of this effort, is reaching out to targeted audiences. Most people would not see this as a big deal.

To the homophobes of the Religious Right, it’s the end of the world. Wildmon and his crew have been carping about this for months, and the right-wing media is all atwitter. (I did get a kick out of this rather lurid headline from WorldNetDaily: “McDonald’s profits help fund naked homosex-fest.” It sounds like a tagline for porn spam.)

To its credit, McDonald’s has told Wildmon to go stick his head in a deep fryer. In a May 29 letter, Pat Harris, global chief diversity officer for McDonald’s, wrote to Wildmon, “We treat our employees and our customers with respect and dignity, regardless of their ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other factors. We support our employees’ personal involvement in organizations of their choice.”

Continued Harris, “McDonald’s is associated with countless local and national affinity groups here in the United States. We have a well-established and proud heritage of associating with individuals and organizations that share in the belief that every person has the right to live and work in their community free of discrimination.”

Of course, any organization has the right to call for a boycott — it’s a tried and true form of social protest. But if the past is any indicator, this new AFA boycott is more about getting Wildmon’s name in the media and raising money than actually achieving anything. Previous AFA boycotts against Target stores, IKEA and Disney didn’t exactly bring those firms to their knees.

McDonald’s is an international conglomerate with rather large profits. In fact, just last week Reuters reported that the company “posted a higher-than-expected second-quarter profit on Wednesday, boosted by strong overseas sales.” Love it or hate it, McDonald’s is a fixture on the American scene. I doubt an intolerant zealot from Tupelo can put much of a dent in that.

Now would someone please pass the ketchup?

Rob Boston is Assistant Director of Communications at Americans United for Separation of Church and State.