Walgreens: Let the (gay) games begin
By Michael M. Bates (10/25/05)
The Walgreen Company has given $100,000 to help sponsor the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago. Or, more officially, the Gay Games VII Sports and Cultural Festival, which is scheduled for next July.
Organizations unhappy with the company’s contribution include the Illinois Family Institute and the American Family Association. Both groups have urged members to contact the country’s biggest drugstore chain and voice their disapproval.
According to Walgreens spokesman Michael Polzin, with whom I spoke earlier this week, the groups’ constituents have done just that. He said that reaction from the general public, however, has been minimal.
Mr. Polzin also indicated that the health care company made its donation to “have a presence at the games.” He said they will have pharmacists available to provide information on HIV/AIDS. This is, he asserted, a continuation of the company’s efforts to educate the public on various medical concerns such as cancer and heart disease.
Walgreens gives millions of dollars a year to various charitable entities, he noted. And the company will not reconsider its Platinum-level sponsorship of the gay games.
I asked him about one of the funding limitations listed on the company’s Web site. It states that Walgreens charitable funds will not be used to support “sports teams or any sports-related activity or competition.”
That seems pretty straightforward, but Mr. Polzin claimed that restriction isn’t in conflict with the gay games money. It pertains to professional sports teams. A moment’s hesitation later, the spokesman said he’d refer the question elsewhere for clarification.
He called later to say that the contribution does not violate Walgreens established policy since the funding is for HIV/AIDS outreach and education, not for any specific sporting event. He cited a volleyball competition as an example of what the company couldn’t sustain.
The American Family Association charges that Walgreens is just using AIDS education as a cover: “If any group should be aware of the dangers of AIDS and how to prevent it, it should be homosexual activists. Billions of tax dollars have been spent to educate the public about AIDS.”
For its part, the Illinois Family Institute maintains the gay games are about much more than Olympic-style competition. The institute’s executive director has written to Walgreens’ CEO:
“Make no mistake: the ‘Gay Games’ was conceived as a way to build acceptance for homosexuality, in the name of sport. . . ”
Ironically, the chairperson of the fundraising committee for Chicago’s gay games seems to make a similar point:
“Beyond sports, culture and social events, at its heart the Gay Games are an
effort at social change.”
If people want to participate in the gay games, that’s their business. I don’t think, though, that organizing events based on sexual preference, or sexual orientation if you prefer, will increase acceptance. Can you persuade people that you’re in the mainstream of society, just a regular person, when you accentuate your differences by voluntarily separating yourself?
Sexual preference, or sexual orientation if you prefer, is a principal consideration at Chicago’s gay games. There’s an online form to complete if you wish to register as a general volunteer, official, referee or judge, media representative, performer; vendor, or hosted hosting (sic) provider.
After indicating whether you’re signing up for yourself or someone else, the very first question – even before your name – is about gender. Are you male, female, transgender female to male, transgender male to female, or other? If other, there’s a space to provide details.
The sort of HIV/AIDS education Walgreens hopes to provide at the gay games is worth considering. Based on statistics from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, most AIDS cases are the result of male-to-male sexual contact. Will Walgreens warn game participants and observers on the dangers of this practice and encourage abstention?
I doubt it. Even mentioning the subject exposes one to vituperative charges of homophobia, bigotry and all the rest.
The Walgreen Company didn’t become hugely successful by accident. Over the years it’s made a series of shrewd business moves. This is yet another one.
Many folks won’t know or care about Walgreens’ funding of the gay games. But members of what’s called the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual community are paying attention.
Lots of them are above average in terms of household income. Obviously, some have higher than average health care costs. Like most of us, they are apt to patronize a company that they view as sympathetic.
So Walgreens will endure criticism from the Illinois Family Institute, the American Family Association and others of what’s called the religious right. There simply aren’t that many customers complaining. Their protests give the company little more than a minor headache.
And Walgreens has plenty of aspirin.
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