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Salvation Army should lose its bigotry

For the third straight winter, I find myself conflicted when passing the Salvation Army bell ringers by without giving a donation.

After all, I believe everyone who is able (and the large majority of us are able) has a responsibility to charity, whether human charity, the environment, the arts or many other causes, whether volunteering our time or giving monetarily. And while the Salvation Army carries out important work for people in need, I cannot bring myself to donate to a bigoted organization.

The Salvation Army’s slogan reads “Need knows no season.” Maybe it should read “Tolerance and Acceptance Should Know No Season.” Early in George W’s presidency, the Salvation Army attempted to strike an under-the-table deal with our nation’s leader that would have exempted the organization from anti-discrimination/Equal Employment Opportunity laws.



Why? They didn’t want to hire homosexuals. They wanted to legally discriminate. It was a case of a bigoted organization making a back room deal with a bigoted president. In the end, their plan was exposed, and the deal didn’t go down.

No matter, though, the whole situation made me uncomfortable. Should I support a bigoted organization in order to support those in need? My decision has been to withhold support from The Salvation Army in favor of other organizations who seem to show more tolerance and respect for everyone.




Let’s hope The Salvation Army changes their views soon. After all, everyone deserves a second chance.

Allison Miller

Aspen