There are better organizations to donate to
THE GUERRILLA ANGEL REPORT — The Salvation Army’s legendary anti-trans/LGBT stance is particularly belittling to transgender people from a basic human need standpoint. As class of people, trans people are among the most in dire need of economic, housing, food and other basic necessities, yet they must deny their own identities if they are to stay alive when it comes to assistance from the Salvation Army.
One could argue the one with the money makes the rules. But it’s not as simple as that. The Salvation Army has become one of the world’s largest charities in collecting contributions from the public. They succeed at this by using marketing campaigns pretending to do good, especially around the holidays — but what many don’t know, is after taking the money, they attach their own moral views and political agendas to the funds and dispense it accordingly.
Before you toss some coins into a red kettle, consider this little incident that happened last summer in Australia — two LGBT journalists were interviewing one of the organization’s Australian media relations directors, Major Andrew Craibe on a radio program:
[Journalist]: According to the Salvation Army, [gay people] deserve death. How do you respond to that, as part of your doctrine?
Craibe: Well, that’s a part of our belief system.
[Journalist]: So we should die.
Craibe: You know, we have an alignment to the Scriptures, but that’s our belief.
The Salvation Army, of course, later backtracked, including the pulling out of the oft-used excuse of meaning ‘spiritual death, not an actual death.’
Don’t be fooled. There are better organizations to donate your money to.
An earlier report I wrote about the Salvation Army: http://lexiecannes.wordpress.com/2011/11/25/lets-not-forget-the-salvation-army-discriminates-against-us/
There are better organizations to donate your money to
More about the Australian incident: Salvation Army Official: Gays Deserve Death – Global – The Atlantic Wire.
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Filed under: Discrimination, Equality, Civil Rights, Transgender, Transsexual, Trans, Violence, Hate, australia, charity, kettle, Major Andrew Craibe, political agenda, Salvation Army
Thanks for the reminder. No way in H*** would I donate to a group that wants me dead!!
I should have used part of that line in the headline . . .
Thanks Lexie. Put it on Tumblr – it should go viral
Thanks for the heads up about this Lexie.
It is always such a horrible thing when one organization’s
belief system affects our population in such a negative way.
I hope that many more people can see this story and help
stop this type of discrimination.
Thanks for the comments all! All my articles also go up on tumblr!
Don’t blame a whole organisation for what one person said.
That “one person” was a Media Director. The Salvation Army is no friend of trans/Lgbt people.
Reblogged this on Defying Leviticus..
Several years ago I was heading up a bisexual resource organization and I mentioned the fact that the SA blatently discriminates against the GLBT community on a routine basis. The people in that meeting were stunned. I was hoping that the SA would change their stance on the gay community, but I guess they’re stuck on stupid. Now every time I pass a bell ringer at a grocery store or mall, I tell them I refuse to support such a bigoted and discriminatory organization. SA – when you decide to pull your head out of your arse, let the world know, would you?!
And people wonder why I say the world would be a better place without xtianity…
As an atheist, I have no stake in the Salvation Army. I have always admired them for the simple reason that they actually practice what they preach; their CEO makes almost nothing compared to other large charity CEO’s, and almost 95% of every dollar donated winds up as a benefit to someone poor or indigent. Yep, like the rest of Christian organizations, they are pretty intolerant regarding GLBT people. CharityNavigator.org has data on some GLBT charities, though. When I consider CEO compensation from GLBT organizations like the National GL Task force (budget, $6M, CEO pay $232K) or the GL Leadership Institute’s CEO taking more than 6.5% of the budget just for salary, I think the ration of “benefit to humanity per dollar raised and spent” is much higher at the SA than at some of the GLBT organizations.
There is no rule that says you have to give to the SA; I’ve rung a bell for them in the past, and I would do it again. If we are going to become so hateful that we need to spit in the faces of people ringing a bell for those in need because the organization chooses to follow their religious beliefs, then we’re in a pretty sad place. There are shelters in every city, and the SA runs theirs the way they want to. For the screeching liberals condemning the SA for turning Jennifer Gale away, please feel free to buy the land, build the shelter, heat it, fumigate it as needed, stock it with food and beds and hot water and soap and the thousand details needed to be an effective charity, and take in the Gale’s of this world.
You can write hateful things about the SA, but where is your shelter for the next Jennifer Gale?
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This a generalization of The Salvation Army and it angers me. The only reason I was able to move out of home is because of a local program that helps abused young people move out. The place doesn’t have any correlations to religion and even the higher ups headquarters nearby aren’t associated with such.
Ps. I AM trans. This article is an insult.
It’s not a generalization. It’s a statement of fact. You’re free to disagree.
Thanks for commenting.
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