Please cast your vote to support the Luke & Noah storyline! Nuke is not going anywhere, bet let's show the AFA that our voice matters! All it takes is a quick toll free phone call!

I would not be surprised if P&G/CBS/Chris Goutman called the AFA the day of the kiss for much needed publicity from a stone that barely has any blood left. ATWT is in trouble as they finally seemed to have managed to bore/upset enough of its viewers that it's no longer exempt from the massive viewer losses affecting its peers.

If they can give me a show to defend and the AMA can attack something that I actually think can have a detrimental effect to my life, as they did when they jumped on the bandwagon that had MRSA being the second coming of AIDS.

Coming blog attractions: Guillermo's Media Guillotine

http://springintoaction.typepad.com/

Unfortunately, there are literally millions and millions of evangelicals who really do think that gays are part of the destruction of the fabric of society.  And who do care about issues like this very much.  That influence seems to be waning, but I think it's less the other "bread and butter" issues out there than just a normal societal evolution.  And especially the increasing visibility of normal gay people everywhere.  I know that from personal experience.  Both my mother and my sister are conservative evangelicals, and a brother is a Reagan conservative.  However, because of me they are not at all homophobic.  More and more families have discovered they have gay relatives, and gay people then become family, not odd "out there" threats to their way of life.  I think it will take one more generation, and then these people really will be marginalized.

I know I'm in the minority on this site regarding my attitude toward the show, but the sentiment in the paragraph above explains the value I put on the ATWT storyline, deficient as it is.  The value of the show is not what it gives me, or how I can relate to "someone like me".  Rather, it's another example to middle America of "gays among us", or gays in the family, since to these middle Americans their soap characters are part of their families in a weird sort of way. 

I certainly understand the loss of interest in this show, and that there are DEFINITELY much more important issues facing our country than a popularity poll by P&G brought about by a bunch of AFA bigots.

However, just the fact that these bigots are targeting us makes me want to stand up to them.  If not for my sake of watching the show, then maybe for the random kids out there who do secretly watch the storyline on tv or Youtube, growing confident in their own skin as gay individuals.  There are so few gay characterizations out there for us, especially in the teen range...well, I'd hate to see another one disappear.  At least, I'd hate to see it disappear for the wrong reasons.  And pressure by the AFA to me constitutes the wrong reasons.

And I don't discount the AFA, Danny.  I still think they're a powerful lobby that can influence a lot of people around the country.  I know my own mother would back them if she caught wind of this controversy, even though she wouldn't have clue one who they are other than their name.  And if 30+ million people still call in to American Idol each week, then there's definitely still interest by plenty of people in supporting their individual ridiculous causes rather than focus on the big ones.

DO NOT GO TO THE AFA SITE

That is unless, and only unless, you want to register a complaint AGAINST Luke and Noah.

Here's what happens when you use the letter form at their site:

1. You go to the AFA site and fill out their form and push send.
2. The AFA sends an email to P&G for you.
3. P&G receives thousands of emails from AFA because they have a bunch of minions sitting at their keyboards sending the same message over and over again through that same form.
4. The "From:" line at the top of the Email says "From: xxx@afa.com" That's all that P&G are going to read. Nobody is going to read the subject heading or the body of the eMail, they don't have time for that. They will rightfully assume that every single eMail from the AFA is AGAINST Luke and Noah, and your well intended email will go unread, but be chalked up as another protest letter!

Send a message to P&G directly at comments.im@pg.com
E-Mail: Alan Lafley, Procter & Gamble

If you send a message to P&G through your own eMail program then the "From:" line at the top of the message will show that it is from you, and P&G will read your message, and take proper note of what you have to say.

The phone number listed above is for P&G's comment line. Feel free to call, but understand this isn't a survey, it's a distraction. After the AFA announced their "action alert", the comment line was flooded with calls. This is the phone number listed on all of P&G products.

Typically a call they receive on that line might go something like this:
"My 9 month old baby drank from a bottle of Dawn dishwashing liquid and now she won't stop pooping. The bottle said to call this number. Is my baby gunna die?"

Instead the phone lines were jammed with screaming memes and calls like this:
"You people are going to hell. I shouldn't be subjected to the filth you put on T.V.."
"Leviticus 20:13: Says 'The penalty for homosexual acts is death to both parties. They have brought it upon themselves' Leviticus 18:22 says ...."

So, instead of being able to field legitimate concerns, they were forced to listen to crazy bible thumpers. It's obvious that the 'survey' was hastily devised so they could rout callers there, when a screamer calls, the operator can say, "let me direct your call." and they can press "2: do not approve"

If if makes you feel good to call, then by all means call. But P&G aren't going to take this too seriously.