Comments

1
Pretty foolish, if there's no difference really in the products (its noodles ferchrissakes), then your brand is all you got.
2
I've got a great idea: Barilla pasta with your Chik-fil-A.
3
Stupid, stupid Barilla...
4
@ 1, there are differences, all right. Italian pasta is popular because their semolina wheat simply develops differently. Even when you grow the same variety in America, it's not the same. (It's also why Indian basmati rice is much better than American.)

Of course, the way wheat is ground into flour makes subtle differences, as does the actual pasta recipe, as well as the final cut of the pasta. Try a few different brands of the same pasta (anything you like, as long as it's the same noodle and prepared the same way - e.g., boil it for the same time regardless of how long the label instructs you) and you'll note some very real differences.

Anyway, Barilla is far from the only good Italian brand that's readily available in America. I go for De Cecco myself, although the last time I needed lasagne noodles, Barilla was the only decent brand I could find. I'll have to cast a wider grocery net the next time, or hope my preferred store wises up and carries more brands. I won't settle for American Beauty. I just won't.
5
Because there is something goofy about the way my eyes are connected to my brain, whenever I see the word "Barilla," I read it as "Gorilla." Seeing the word "Guido" in front of it made it that much harder to read it correctly. In the context of this story, I find that really, really funny.
6
Literally a Guido. That's terrific.
7
Regrettable, but actually the question by the radio interviewer far more obnoxious. We really don't need to keep tallies on the the gender identity and expression depicted in advertising campaigns. That's the art and prerogative of the business.
8
@ 7, um, no. There was nothing obnoxious about asking a businessman, who is being interviewed about his business, a question about how he conducts his business. If Guido Barilla agreed with you, he would not have answered the question.
9
Kirk: You're letting me go?!
Boss: Kirk, crackers are a family food. Happy families. Maybe single people eat crackers, we don't know. Frankly, we don't want to know. It's a market we can do without.
Kirk: So that's it, after twenty years: "So long, good luck"?
Boss: I don't recall saying "good luck."
-- Rim shot, "A Milhouse Divided"
10
His comments are stupid, but how many mainstream brands feature gay families in their ads? I can't think of any.
11
@ 10, remember JC Penny's gay dads in one of their Father's Day ads? And how the so-called One Million Moms were upset about it?

It's not everyday yet, but it's happening.
12
@8 right on. I am sad though for two reasons; it is a good brand as 4 noted, and while the plant opened after I left Ames, IA I always enjoyed supporting a "local" brand
13
Glad I stuck to my childhood favorite, Ronzoni. Bought like a year's supply when on sale at Freddies.
14
@10 It's the simple fact that he said anything on the subject to entertain the dialogue. What an idiot, he saw the pile in the grass, then stepped right in it. But, now that he's outed himself as a homophobic bigot who wants to keep women in the kitchen and gays from adopting children, then I think it's fair to unleash the wrath of social media and persecution on the company and their mediocre product offerings.
15
@Matt from Denver

A lot of the best Durum for pasta is actually grown here and imported to Italy to make pasta. What usually makes the Italian brands better is the drying temperature/method and the extruder. The old bronze extruders make better pasta. De Cecco is the one brand that's a little better than Barilla for a similar cost, but Barilla is usually cheaper (you can usually get it for $1 and sometimes less). But if you go all out Rustichella D’Abruzzo, is the best I've seen. I also like the Lagana Pasta that Ethan Stowell makes, but it's more expensive and not really dry in the same way.
16
It is baffling why someone would make these comments in today's world. Did you think this would help the business? is there a huge demand for homophobe-endorsed products? Were right wing nutjobs searching endlessly for a brand of pasta that best represented their world view?
17
I don't think it was malicious. I think he was blindsided. And shit, Italian pasta is better. Way better.
18
Fresh pasta is so much better than dried anyway. It's the next best thing to home made in my experience.
19
AFAIK most of the Barilla pasta sold in the US is actually made here and not in Italy.
20
Making pasta is a lot easier than you think, and you can make big batches. Also, it's extra delicious. Try it out!
21
I prefer Ronzoni anyway. But now I'm going to make sure Mr. Liga Nord doesn't get my money. Barilla was my fall-back when the store was out of Ronzoni. Easy to switch to DeCecco.
22
I'm just curious what makes you think that the chairmen of all the other brands of pasta (who haven't been asked the same question in a public forum) don't have the same opinion as Guido. Before you jump ship to brand pasta, don't you think it would be worthwhile to get their opinion as well?

Or is it okay to have anti-gay sentiments (and no gay families in your ads) as long as you keep your mouth shut? Other than JC Penney and Cheerios, how many food brands are really progressive in their advertising?
23
How'd a dumbass like that get to be chairman?

All he had to do was say, "I hadn't thought of it but it's an interesting/good point, I'll have my advertising team look into it."
And then he could have just forgot about it.

I mean, he'd still be backwards, but at least he wouldn't have harmed his company's reputation.
24
@18: One would think, but I think a dried pasta holds up better with a sauce. Fresh pasta tends to get mushy even if you don't overcook it. Or am I doing something wrong?
25
Fresh pasta and dry pasta are for two different things. You'd never make Carbonara or Puttanesca with fresh pasta for instance. And the different shapes you can make with dried pasta are useful for different dishes.
26
Fortunately, I'm about to go on a diet that will completely eliminate pasta, so great timing there, Guido; I was going to quit for health reasons, but you've just given me an added motivation to no longer use your products.
27
@22 It's not about whether it's "okay" or not to have those sentiments and keep your mouth shut. People are entitled to their own beliefs, as hateful or crazy or ignorant as they may be. When you are the public face of a company, you are absolutely responsible for the words you say about your business, and you should be held accountable when the public doesn't react well to it. So, yeah, sure - I suppose if another pasta CEO had similarly homophobic feelings, and wanted his business to do well among large audiences, YES - HE SHOULD KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT. That's not somehow wrong or hypocritical for us as the consumer public to advocate, that's our right and responsibility. They should feel ashamed to say such things, and we should let them know it, with our words and dollars, every single time.
29
As a business matter, his mistake is assuming that when he says something bigoted about gays, it will only impact the product's 'gay' sales.
30
Come on, you guys, Barilla is a Latvian pasta, as everyone knows. What's the big deal?
31
#5, 6

thanks for making it worse by throwing in some racism.
32
Honestly, it is odd the question came up. Rarely, very rarely is a gay family shown on an ad anyway. Hell, there are hardly even any interracial families on ads. Has Barilla done something specific to invite that kind of inquiry?

But still, what a fucking idiot.

I do hold though that I really do not care what a CEO thinks of gays or gay families. They are entitled to their own opinions, and it has no effect on their product. I don't buy pasta based on the personal opinions of CEOs. However, once that company starts giving to anti-gay groups (like Chik-fil-a), then there is a problem and their opinions begin affecting my shopping decisions.

I would like to point out though that all the hoopla around Chik-fil-a did cause the company to stop donating to gay hate groups, so you should not feel too bad if you want to go back there and eat. They did fix the real problem they had.
33
Would the head of Barilla Pasta's gadar go off on some retro ads?
As everyone was buzzing about the Mad Men moment when Bob Benson brushed his knee against Petes, setting tongues wagging about Bob's possible homosexuality, the real Mad Men of mid-century Madison Avenue produced some real ads with homoerotic subtext of their own. For a look at some unintentionally gay vintage ads take a peek http://wp.me/p2qifI-1rc

34
Is it just me, or is anyone else getting exhausted with trying to keep up with which corporations are ok to patronize and which aren't based on their CEO's attitudes about sexual orientation?

Can I just say that so long as the government treats me like everyone else, and as long as the company isn't doing anything really egregiously horrible, like firing employees or refusing to serve people on the basis of sexual orientation, that I really only care if I'm getting decent value for my money?

Have things really reached the point where were now boycotting because we're not involved in a marketing campaign? It seems kinda petty and childish to me.
35
Well, that's upsetting. But I guess I do have to be glad that they've 'outed' themselves... All this time I've been choosing their product, and - they're a buncha bigotted assholes.

Okay then! Barilla goes right onto The Short List of Shame. Along with WalMart, Home Depot, Starbucks, Domino's, Papa John's, Coors, and Albertson's. Losers.
36
Although the two are obviously related, it seems his comments have less to do with being anti-gay and more to do with some weird fascination with a woman's role:

"I think we want to talk to traditional families. The women are crucial in this ... In the interview I just wanted to underline the centrality of the woman's role in the family."

Would he have a problem with an ad with two lesbians? Would he have problem with an ad featuring just a single guy?

I'd like to hear more from him on what he thinks a woman's role exactly is.
37
I only ever chose Barilla for its snappy logo. Happy to avoid from here on.
38
@34 'If the gays don’t like it they can go an eat another brand'.. is what he said.. so i'm taking his advice and doing just that
39
Good pasta, and now I know the guy responsible for the brand is a good guy. Need to stock up on the stuff now.
40
@32 Hey appeaser: Um, no, Chik-fil-a did not stop donating to "gay hate groups." Just not the most virulently hateful ones--as if that matters. And the CEO is still a filthy fucking antigay bigot. March 13, 2013 Boston Globe: "Although a few reports came out last year stating that Chick-Fil-A would cease its policy of donating to anti-gay groups, those reports have proven to be erroneous. When asked about the company’s policy in an interview with the Baptist Press, Cathy said that Chick-fil-A was “guilty as charged” regarding its millions of dollars in contributions to established anti-gay organizations."
41
Also, very telling that words like family are so threatening to freaks like you.
42
Seems like an over-reaction to the CEO's personal view. Is he required to spend money on ads featuring same-sex couples? Chik-Fil-A funds Christian groups who politically oppose same-sex marriage. There's plenty of reason not to enter that chain in addition to the fact that meat is murder
43
@ 41 - So, if the head of Folger's came out and said that only same race families would ever be featured in their ads, because he just doesn't believe that mixed race marriages are families at all, you'd be cool with that, right? You'd still go on blithely buying the product, right??
44
It should be added that Guido's now offered the standard non-apology apology "I'm sorry if anyone was offended" bullshit. Which is even more reason to dump this creep and his crummy pasta. Yeah, Guido, I'm sorry if it offends you that lots of people will never buy any of your products ever again under any circumstances. See, two can play the non-apology apology game.
46
@45, but a boycott without Corydon is like a day without sunshine!
47
@ 15, thanks.

@ 41, you see only what you want to see.
48
@45: Actually, Constant is. He says anyone who eats their pasta is a homophobe:

"And now I won't be buying it again, because I found out that the chairman of the Barilla Group makes his pasta for homophobes"
49
@41 - SB, are you going to address this?

I suspect not, you distracted, roving little hate machine. You seem to be having a bad couple of weeks--maybe you want to talk to someone about your feelings, etc.?
50
Seattleblues, George H.W.Bush was an official witness in a gay marriage ceremony. Enjoy your pasta, and your fleeting, very insubstantial victories while you can. It's only a matter of time before same sex marriage is the law of the land, and just accepted as no big deal. You're losing.
51
Boycotting any/all Russia Vodka is stupid because vodka makers arnt saying bigoted things about gays, nor are they pushing for bigoted laws. But boycotting Barilla makes sense, because the bigotry comes straight from the chairmans mouth.

This is actually a brand I buy, but not after today.
52
@41 you are so full of shit your eyes are brown.

Gay families are families.
53
Everyone's ignoring the real gem. "For us, the 'sacral family' remains one of the company’s core values." As a bio major, I can't quite get over that.
Oh and also he says that "women are crucial" in the image of the traditional family but hasn't even thought of the possibility of a lesbian couple heading up a family.

@39: Hitler hated the gays for the imaginary threat they pose to family and society too. Not everyone who hates queers is a good guy, you know.
54
Venomlash, all the blood is going to rush into your head if you stay like that.
55
bad translation, venomlash. i'm sure he said 'sacred'.
57
@31 That's not racism, it's Jersey Shoreism.
58
Most Barilla pasta is made in the US from Wisconsin-grown wheat.
59
Did I say "'Go eat a shit sandwich?' No! Of course not! What I said was, "We encourage those who disagree w/ me to kindly partake in a delicious meal consisting of bread and fertilizer fresh from a horse!'"
60
A random Out magazine has ads for Macy's, Buick, Progressive, Rogaine, and of course Fleet. In the Seattle Pride parade we saw AT&T, Microsoft, Starbucks, Alaskan Airlines, Walgreens, and others. GLAAD has highlighted gay friendly ads from Panasonic, America Airlines, UPS, Bank of America, Ernst and Young, Dell, Raytheon, Comcast, Deutsche Bank, Wyndham Hotels, etc. Not a lot of food companies admittedly.
61
@39 - You still here?

Your opinion has been noted. As usual, it is unaccompanied by any cogent argument or well articulated rationale. It is a declaration of what we already know--that on no demonstrated basis but the axioms to which you willingly bow, you hold that your subjective definitions of good ought to be philosophically (and, in some cases, legally) relevant to the rest of us, and we ought to be obedient to them because ... well, as noted, you offer no because.

It's the rhetorical equivalent of shitting on the floor of a public space. One would think that an individual even fractionally as moral (or at least morally preoccupied) as you claim to be would see that as unacceptable behavior. Perhaps you and your ilk should consider that the reason you are losing the civic battle is that you have no apologists of intellectual merit, while lay apologists like yourself, lacking courage, civility, or even an interesting voice, have already deemed discussion with your rivals beneath you (despite your having demonstrated no reason for such high self-regard).
62
OH NO!!!! Barilla pasta isn't gay friendly!!!!!!!!!!

Better call an emergency meeting of the leaders of the free world. Because, BARILLA PASTA IS NOT GAY FRIENDLY!!!!!
63
Of course a noodle that gets limp when it gets hot is intended for boring, traditional marriage.
64
I always get a kick by the ignorant remarks comparing gay people to minorities.

There is one huge difference between Gays and Minorities. Gays, - while they shouldn't have to- can hide their sexual orientation. Minorities are stuck with their skin. It's permanent.

An example of how this is pertinent: Two guys wander into bar. Gay guy and black guy. Bar turns out to be a White Pride bar. The customers see black guy and don't like it so they fuck with him. Gay guy goes unnoticed.

Another example: Two people go to rent an apartment. Mexican and Gay person. Landlord is a racist and homophobic. Landlords hates Mexicans and Gays. Mexican gets rejected. Gay person gets apartment.

I could go on and on all day. I haven't even begun to talk about what minorities have had to endure throughout history. Slavery, Genocide, Rape, muder...

Hell just a few years ago in this fine liberal city of Seattle a Native American artist (John T Williams) got murdered by a cop. Cop got away with it too. Murdered a minority, shot him in the back, downtown Seattle, broad daylight. The Cop goes scot free. Indians still getting murdered for being Indian in their own homeland.

Being Gay is not the same thing as being a Minority. Not at all. Not even close. It's an ignorant comparison.

65
@64 as an african american gay person let me assure you that my 'gay' is as permanent as my skin color as your straightness
your examples , and i'm being very polite here, don't hold water.. a white pride bar will detect and kill a white gay as fast as they'd kill a black patron..but neither happens because neither person would mistakenly enter one.. the mexican vs gay 'example' is a fiction you mind is making up.. but if you don't think gays are being harrassed , beaten or killed well here...
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Sus…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/1…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20…
http://austinfront.blogspot.com/2013/07/…...
and those are just murders.. but here's a good old fashioned bashing that happened right here
http://unfinishedlivesblog.com/2013/08/0…
.. so whatevs..
66
@64 What world do you live in where gay guys go "unnoticed" and don't get discriminated against in bars or by landlords? Have you read the local news, in the past, say, ever?
67
Time for this asshole company run by an asshole to go bankrupt.

Bye, douchecanoes.
68
@64 Gays are a minority? Do you understand that minority does not just mean not white?
69
@64: If minority can be used as noun it follows that it can be used as an adjective; hence, you're not making sense.
70
@ 64, ever hear of "passing for white"? Hair straightening? Skin bleaching?

Sucks to be as ignorant as you.
71
@24 - "Or am I doing something wrong?"

Yes. In your pasta cooking, and sooooo many other things, too.

(you really shouldn't leave yourself wide open like that) xoxo
73
What he was probably thinking, but didn't want to say, is that women make most of the purchasing decisions in straight households, so it wouldn't make much sense to run ads that had no women.

Unfortunately he spewed some homophobic bullshit instead.
74
and don't you just love how he tops his homophobia with some nice ol fashioned misogyny? A family has to have a woman to do the cooking. He is so missing out on the lesbian market there, two women must mean twice the cooking!
75
@64 passing has nothing to do with being in a minority. I am disabled, and depending on what devices I use, I can pass or not pass. If I'm in a wheelchair, I am not passing. If I'm temporarily without mobility devices and just using disability aids most people don't recognize as aids, such as a hat (I have serious photophobia problems with my eyes), then I can pass. This gives me a lot of experience both with passing and not passing. It turns out - both suck. Both suck a lot, but they do suck differently.

Being gay or trans or bi may or may not mean you can pass. But one of the biggest differences between those minorities and a racial minority is that your family is less likely to share your minority status. It is very rare for a child to be rejected by his or her parents for his or her racial status, but one may be for one's sexual orientation or gender identification. But yes, people in sexual minorities can sometimes pass. This means they face different issues and it's worth keeping that in mind when talking about bigotry. But it does not mean that they aren't a minority. In fact, feeling forced to pass is an innate hardship. And a hardship they face because they are a minority.
76
@75 *hat tip*
77
A thing which has gone less commented on is his comments on gay abortion, which are truly horrifying.
78
@65 I also don't like it when people compare gay people to minorities for the simple reason that gay and minority are not mutually exclusive labels, and that the majority of violence against gay, lesbian and trans* people victimizes people of color. It grates me to hear white GLBTQ* people compare their plight to that of minorities and then quote statistics that pertain mostly to minorities and not to white people. If that makes sense. It's late here.
79
@41: Watch yourself. You're starting to sound un-Christian.

80
@42 I object. Find another comparison, this one is offensive to brown-eyed people.

Brown eyes are default in humanity. For all we know now, blue eyes are a pretty recent gene, not older than 10 000 years. That's why they're limited to light-skinned people, the ethnic subset where the mutation appeared.
81
@75 You should register !
82
64, So because gay people can fake being something they're not, they're not a minority? They should go through life pretending so as not to be discriminated against, harassed, fired, beaten, or killed?
83
Some Barilla brands which don't have "Barilla" in the name:

Alixir --- alcoholic beverages,
Crisp'N Light --- biscuits, cookies,
Cucina Mediterranea --- Frozen main dishes,
Fantasie Del Sole --- many food products,
First Fast --- coffee, other food products
Italy's #1 Pasta --- pasta,
Macine --- baking powder, salt,
Mulino Bianco --- baked goods,
Natura Al Dente --- many food products,
NutriPlus --- pasta,
Orizzonti --- coffee, other food products
Pan Di Stelle --- biscuits, cookies,
Pavesi --- Coffee,
Pavesini --- baked goods,
Plus --- sauces,
Restaurant Creations --- pasta sauces,
Ringo --- baking powder, biscuits, cookies,
Ritornelli --- biscuits, cookies,
Share The Table --- baking pans,
The Choice of Italy --- pasta,
Voiello --- coffee, other food products
Volare --- semolina-based snack foods
84
Remember Isaiah Washington from Grey's Anatomy? Remember that it wasn't so much that he called T.R. Knight a faggot that got him fired as that he needlessly repeated it on live television after everyone had moved on? This is somewhat similar. All Barilla had to do was continue to not include gay families in their advertising and there almost certainly would not have been a scandal/potential boycott- they had a claim to neutrality. Instead, the chairman took a pointed stance against including gay people in their advertising, coupled with a dare for consumers to buy competitive product if they didn't like it. I'm a black man (and a gay man, for the record) and I have never held any expectation to see a black family or even just a black person used in an advertisement for an Italian pasta company (the same applies for gay families or just a gay person)- not simply because I have low expectations of inclusion (well, I do, but that's just me being a realist), but because I believe that not everything marketed on Earth need engage my demographic. However, if someone asked the chairman of the aforementioned Italian pasta company why they hadn't included black people in their advertising as of yet, and s/he answered that not only did they did not want black people representing their product, they were willing to lose customers who objected to their objection, then I would certainly have a start-a-national-boycott size problem with them (as I do with what's happening outside this hypothetical right now).

Bottom line: no one can credibly dismiss the outrage here with charges of 'oversensitivity' and 'hair-trigger protest'- Barilla literally asked for this.

85
@64: Do you think a person is less essentially something because they can hide it? Do you think feeling the impetus to hide something essential about yourself is somehow less damaging than another person's bigotry towards you? Do you think that person's need to hide their essential self somehow doesn't speak to their social status? Compare feeling the need to not be (or at least not to be perceived as) what you are with the feeling of being discriminated against directly- they're both dehumanizing and they're both exhausting. And don't discount the very real physical and spiritual danger from outside sources that both being gay and being of color carries. Coming from a gay black man, you don't know what the fuck you're talking about (reverend dr dj riz @65, you are far too polite).
86
@78 Congrats, you have half of intersectionality down, but you missed some key points about it. Yes, belonging to multiple minoriities is harder than just belonging to one. So, if you are gay and also Black that is harder than being gay and White. Or if you are gay and disabled. Or if you are Black and disabled... and so forth. Different minority groups will combine in very different ways to affect how you are treated. The problem you are missing is that while a White gay man is going to generally be treated better than a Black gay man a Black gay man still has a lot more potential obstacles to face than a Black straight man. And a White gay man still has more to generally face than a White straight man. And so forth. That is because having a less common sexual orientation is one of the many things that humans tend to get discriminated against for. There are other factors as well, such as where you live and how much money you have and how old you are. It turns out that a lot of factors will affect individual lived experiences of minority status. But the fact stands that being gay or bi or trans is both statistically a minority trait and also creates a statistical likelihood of increased risk of bigotry, often severe. Which means it is a factor that cannot be overlooked when considering that someone may be a target for regular bigotry or even violence. The fact that it might be even worse if they also belong to other minorities doesn't make that better or in any way okay. But it is true that sometimes it is useful to break down the demographic statistics about bigotry to look at who is and is not most vulnerable. Of course, in this case, it is irrelevant, since the company attacked all gay people, so the general stats are most relevant. Which means the company attacked Black gay people too, so even if you were to falsely think that being gay is only a problem when you are also Black, then you should still have an issue with the statements by Barilla.

P.S. Minority status is, in general, not mutually exclusive. For example, most people agree being Jewish is a minority. But you can be Black and Jewish, which creates a very different life experience than being White and Jewish. Unless you want to either claim that Jewish isn't a minority or that Black isn't a minority. Similarly for being disabled, which can go with any cluster of minorities. And so forth. Unless you have an incredibly rigid definition of minority that is neither statistically accurate nor based on who has to deal with bigotry and social hardships purely for being what they are, then minorities are not generally mutually exclusive categories. This is part of why women's rights and feminism should also embody racial equality and so forth, because good feminism includes all women, not just middle class straight, cis, White ones.
87
78,Because Jews can pretend to be Christians, does that mean they're not a minority?
88
Should not be surprising considering the racist and misogynist remarks Italians make about their own prime minister (and soccer players).
89
@86 and @87:

I didn't talk about being Jewish, so I am confused about why you think I'm saying they aren't a minority.

To use an example, transwomen are far likelier to be victims of assault and rape. That is absolutely wrong and reprehensible. But the majority of crime against transwomen occurs against black transwomen. They are the sub-group within the trans community that bears the brunt of sexual violence, assault, and even murder. So when a white transwoman says something like, "if blacks were targeted the way trans* individuals are, there would be great outcry" I think it's overly simplistic and flattens the issue. You don't choose to be your race OR gender identity. You are always living as both.

As another example, I once heard a white lesbian talk about using "gay" as a pejorative. Yes, that is 100% wrong. But she framed it as, "you wouldn't say, oh those pants look so n-word because that's not acceptable." But then there's this huge cultural surge to protect famous people who DO use that word to describe people who are considered 'lesser'. See: Paula Deen and Rush Limbaugh.

TL;DR: I think that when oppressed groups try to compare one label to another (comparing sexism to racism to homophobia to ableism etc. etc.) they just shut out people who live in intersections and only benefit the bigots who don't consider any of us to be one of them. I suspect you agree with that basic sentiment but want to pick an argument for some reason.
90
@46;

So Corydon is Florida orange Juice? That was my first boycott and I still will not buy it.
91
@89 It's true that it is difficult to make direct comparisons between different types of bigotry. And lived experience is going to also vary a lot based on where you live and what the people immediately around you are like. However, why are you discussing that? People weren't arguing against that. People were pointing out that gays are a minority and that they are often oppressed. This is true, and you seem to agree with it. Then when someone said they didn't like to call them a minority for really stupid reasons, responses were made to explain why those reasons are stupid. Then the comment was made about how it's not a minority if it's possible to belong to it and another minority, which makes no sense and is why Judaism is brought up. You agree that being Jewish is a minority, as do I. There are Black Jews. I think you also agree that being Black is a minority. Thus we can agree that the word "minority" in no way means the only minority you can belong to. That is actually the whole point of intersectionality, you can belong to multiple minorities and the effects of belonging to more than one minority are not always obvious and aren't as simple as the effects of belong to each minority separately. For example, I had a friend with multiple very different health problems and minority status who kept having to leave support groups, because she found that a group for one thing always treated her badly for another aspect or just acted so cluelessly (and unwilling to learn) that support groups became a source of frustration for her. Intersectionality can be very tough. But nobody argued it doesn't, and I didn't notice anybody in comments inappropriately citing statistics. So, it looks to me like you either misunderstood some comments or are arguing against a strawman.
92
@41 - Not only am I not threatened by the word "family," but I daresay I care more about families in the abstract, and perhaps even your own particular family, at least much as, and possibly more than, you do.
93
However, Guido Barilla (the chairman) excused himself through a video-message on the main page of Barilla's site. The message is in italian language and in Berlusconi's style!!
94
Is it worth noting the ginormous Festa Italiana at Seattle Center this weekend - replete with Italian cars, Italians dogs, Italian celeb chefs, cooking demo's, and "the Italian Martha Stewart"?
95
I always bought Barilla, it was my favorite pasta, but this publicly thrown gauntlet to gays - to "eat another brand" - is just too nasty to ignore. I am not gay but I plan to buy a different brand because that sort of comment deserves consequences.
96
@91: If you're dumb enough to think we live in a post racial society, then go right the fuck ahead and try to convince bigots by comparing homophobia to racism. But it's not going to fucking work because bigots don't think either is wrong.
97
Uncreative - please register ;)

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