July 11, 2008

You Can Cross South Carolina Off Your Vacation Destinations — They Don’t Want Us Nasty Homos (Or Our Money) There

Backstory: “Amro Worldwide and Out Now Have an Advertising Lesson for Heinz: So Gay? So What.” June 27, 2008

Buncha bigots are cheap buggers, too:

South Carolina Pulls Plug On Gay Tourism Ads

South Carolina’s tourism agency has slapped the wrist of its ad manager and is refusing to go ahead and pay for a campaign to attract gay tourists from Britain.

The state employee who gave the OK for the ad campaign resigned Friday.

“[He] exercised extremely poor judgment in approving participation in the program,” state Parks, Recreation and Tourism director Chad Prosser told the State newspaper.

Prosser said the department will require more review in the future.

It was too late to stop the ads that proclaim “South Carolina is so gay”. They’ve already gone up in the London subway to take advantage of gay pride in the British capital.

But Prosser said Friday the state will refuse to pay the $5,000 cost of the ads. …

That’s how 365Gay.com’s reading of the story goes. Now let’s take a look at the State article itself, the headline of which positively spits with venom at those nasty, nasty homosexuals they don’t want in their stupid state:

‘S.C. is so gay’? State says no way
Officials pull overseas ad campaign to lure homosexual tourists

South Carolina’s top tourism agency has canceled an overseas advertising campaign targeting gay tourists. …

After learning last week the state had agreed to spend tax money on the campaign — and spurred by a post on The Palmetto Scoop blog — the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism said Thursday it would not pay the tour operator. …

The agency will not pay the roughly $4,942 fee to take part in the campaign.

Employees “exercised extremely poor judgment in approving participation in the program,” Prosser said. PRT, he said, will require more review of future overseas advertising, as it does with domestic advertising. …

Prosser said the employee, who works for an overseas contractor, was not authorized to speak on behalf of the agency. The agency is reviewing how, if at all, to discipline the employees who signed off on the program.

Some lawmakers were shocked to learn about the campaign, with state Sen. David Thomas, R-Greenville, calling for an audit.

Joel Sawyer, spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford, said using tax money to support a social or political agenda is inappropriate.

“Our state tourism dollars should be talking about the beaches and attractions of South Carolina,” Sawyer said. …

“Attractions”? There’s nothing “attractive” about rank bigotry and blatant offense.

Well, don’t worry, boys — as soon as word gets around the queer blogosphere, we won’t be spending any of our juicy, disposable income in S.C.

By the way, Sawyer, being gay isn’t “political,” or even “social,” for that matter, any more than being black is. Would y’all be so horrified and pissed about a tourism campaign targeting the African-American travel market? How about Jewish tourists? Women?

Actually, come to think of it, you probably would — you just wouldn’t be able to say so in public.

I swear, one day your descendants are going to be as ashamed of you as if you’d been high mucky-mucks in the KKK.

Yes, it is the same thing.

Posted by: Sapphocrat

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