Networks Shun Tolerance Ads from UCC

Each of the Big Three networks, plus Fox's broadcast network, have rejected a paid advertisement from the United Church of Christ that bears the tagline, "God doesn't reject people. Neither do we." Viacom's gay-targeted cable channel, LOGO, has also rejected the ad, which conveys a message of inclusiveness, even depicting a gay couple.

The UCC's "ejector-seat" ad speaks to the rejection of various categories of people by unnamed Christian churches -- a touchy subject for a nation that deems itself to be among the most God-fearing on Earth. It shows people who represent frequent targets of discrimination being ejected -- into the air -- from a church pew via a mechanism involving springboards hidden in the pews, controlled by an unseen party represented by an apparently white, male hand pressing a button.

Click here to view the ad

First to be ejected is an African-American woman trying to quiet her crying baby. Next are two men who appear to be a gay couple, a man who looks to be of Middle Eastern descent and an elderly woman whose walker is tossed up with her. The spot ends with the contrasting message that the UCC church, a descendent of the early Puritan churches, rejects no one.

In rejecting the ad, the major broadcast outlets have been met with only murmurs of protest for what should be a boycotting offense. Sure, on the surface, ending the war in Iraq may be a larger priority for liberals, but the media's treatment of the Congregationalists (as UCC members are often called) speaks to how the war won support at its outset -- through a media fearful of the taunts of right-wingers.