Southern Baptists’ Boycott Criticized

In an era of massive layoffs and declining benefits, it’s depressing to see Walt Disney Co. receiving boycott threats for providing health insurance to partners of gay employees (“Baptists Urge Disney Boycott Over Values,” June 13).

If the Southern Baptists were truly interested in promoting family values, they would be taking on companies that slash jobs or offer few or no benefits to their employees. To try to bully a company into removing people’s health insurance is spiteful, malicious and remarkably unchristian.

As for criticism that Disney releases “objectionable” movies, what could possibly be more objectionable than working to eliminate someone’s health insurance? Southern Baptists who voted for the boycott should pray that they never find themselves ill and uninsured.

GRAHAM WITHERALL

Pasadena

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Illegal drugs and gangs are an ominous daily presence to children everywhere. Homelessness and hunger are a sad fact of life for more and more children each day. Our schools can barely find the support they need to survive, let alone to educate. And whom do Southern Baptist leaders see as the biggest threat to young people and “family values”? Mickey Mouse!

I think these geniuses are a few E tickets short of a book.

ART VERITY

Van Nuys

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I know many Southern Baptists and other conservative Christians who will be extremely hurt by the call to boycott Miramax, because that studio produces exactly the kind of films that most of them love to see. It will be also interesting to see how many parents will now throw out all their kids’ Disney merchandise and explain why Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck are now, all of a sudden, bad cartoon characters.

ERIC COOPER

Mission Viejo