Posted on 06/12/2003 1:24:08 PM PDT by schaketo
This article is about Jon Alvarez and the website that he developed to boycott media figures that he deemed anti-American.
Two years ago, Jon Alvarez was a fairly typical apolitical middle-class computer salesman living in a Syracuse suburb. Like so much else, that changed after Sept. 11, 2001. Now Alvarez, 37, of Baldwinsville, is directing a nationwide effort to boycott media figures he deems ''anti-American.'' He's talked to management at Disney's corporate offices. He's been discussed by national columnists. Alvarez is ticked off at celebrities like Sheryl Crow and Robin Williams, and he's not going to take it any more.
'The 9-11 tragedy changed things for me,'' said Alvarez, who worked for five years teaching U.S. history to eighth-graders in Austin, Texas. ''I felt like I was sucker-punched.'' His feelings of outrage increased last year as he watched opposition grow to the war President George W. Bush proposed to wage against Iraq. ''It bothered me, hearing these people talking against the president,'' he stressed. ''There was really some vicious anti-American rhetoric. I wanted to stand up to represent the silent majority in this country.''
Some of those vocally opposed to Bush's plans were Hollywood stars, and that was especially annoying to Alvarez. ''I'm a big movie buff, but I realized that I couldn't support these people anymore if they were going to be stepping out of their roles as entertainers,'' he said.
Last winter, when the ''Not In Our Name'' petition against the war in Iraq with celebrity signatures began to circulate over the Internet, Alvarez took action. If those celebrities opposed his president's war, Alvarez wouldn't support their movies, he vowed. And he'd get other people to join him.
So Alvarez formed PABAAH, the Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood, a network of about 100 people around the country, and began pushing more actively to boycott celebrities who are considered ''anti-American.'' The T-shirt sold by the organization prominently features some of the most egregious offenders and their ''anti-American'' quotes.
PABAAH is a loose, informal group, Alvarez noted, tied together by his Web site, www.pabaah.com. The site includes links to other boycott campaigns, pictures, "rants and raves," and a list of the celebrities to be boycotted. At last count, 107 celebrities of various stature and from diverse media are listed.
No. 107 is Robert Redford, who is targeted for allegedly stating that ''Bush is pursuing a dangerous and self-defeating path and offers an absence of leadership.'' Some celebrities are included for merely signing the "Not In Our Name" petition. Others are included with the quotes that earned them the ire of PABAAH. They range from the innocuous to the abrasive. Renee Zellweger, for example, is quoted as asking, "Why are we going to war? I'm confused." The quote from Sandra Bernhard, not surprisingly, is more brash: ''The real terrorist threats are George W. Bush and his band of brown-shirted thugs.''
A lot of people, Alvarez said, aren't aware that the celebrities they know and love have taken political positions. ''We're just trying to make the public aware of where these people stand. They're saying Bush is a racist. People should be outraged,'' he noted.
Alvarez's activism has a local edge, too. He's leading a petition drive to fire WSYR-AM 570 afternoon-drive motormouth Jim Reith for his on-air comments about U.S. foreign policy. Alvarez said he's been banned from calling Reith's radio show. Reith did not return phone calls, although we figure it's because he would rather the issue just went away.
Not surprisingly, Alvarez remains a staunch supporter of the Iraq invasion. He said the military operation was justified, despite the minimal evidence of weapons of mass destruction. The criticisms of the war on terrorism are also misplaced, Alvarez asserted. ''People talk about the erosion of freedoms, but I don't see that. I haven't lost any freedoms. I feel more secure knowing that we have a leader at the helm who is not afraid to take action to do what is necessary to protect America.''
Of course, this being America, Alvarez's views aren't shared by all. One posting on the Cusack Political Board (www.eboards4all.com/183497/) addresses a note ''To Jon Alvarez and other Fascists.'' Another posting refers to him as a ''fear-mongering, stupidity-spreading idiot.'' One writer opined: ''Jon, I seriously think you have been hired by some left-wing organization to parody the right.''
Starbucks, the Seattle-based caffeine mega-conglomerate which has been targeted by PABAAH because it plays Crow's music in its stores, had little comment when notified about the objections of Alvarez's group. ''As a multinational company with business partners worldwide, we refrain from entering into political debates,'' said Jenny Walsh, public relations coordinator for Starbucks. ''Starbucks values input from our customers, and we believe that these customers are interested in the musical tastes of Sheryl Crow, which is why she was chosen as a featured artist in our Artist's Choice CD series.''
Alvarez might also take note that Web sites are not immune from libel suits. Last month former U.S. Senator James Abourezk (D.-S.D.) sued Michael Marino of Pennsylvania, editor and publisher of the site ProBush.com, for $2 million in libel damages because the site put him on its "traitor list." Abourezk, who is of Arab descent, claims that to call someone a traitor implies that person has committed a crime. Abourezk's lawyer, Todd Epp, termed the tactics used by Marino ''a new McCarthyism.'' The Web site, meanwhile, has begun soliciting funds for its legal defense.
For his part, Alvarez said his decision to boycott Bush's opponents isn't cutting into his listening or viewing pleasure. He's listening to country singer Toby Keith, not the Dixie Chicks, for example. He's watching cable television and the Fox News Channel. And while he won't be checking out any flicks with Susan Sarandon or Tim Robbins, Alvarez said he enjoys movies starring Bruce Willis. ''We're not Nazis about this,'' he said. ''We're just giving people information so they can make informed choices.''
He won't be missing much.
We need a FReeper chapter.
We need a FReeper chapter.
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