Suitably Flip

Rockin' Around the Family Tree

Stop the ACLU was thumbing through the latest Lowe's catalog and noticed the company has finally become holiday-inclusive.

I'm not sure how I feel about the ignorant assumption that only people who conform to society's "family" model of modern living deserve the joy of indoor tree husbandry, but at least it's no longer the domain solely of the Christianists.

On the website, Lowe's also offers (with no explanation) this lovely reversible Bavarian fir.  I can only assume this one is the handiwork of some Bible-thumping malcontent at the company making a point about Christmas being in distress.

If so, that's pretty clever.  The malcontent should probably get a raise.

Anyway, for some reason, the American Families Association had a problem with Lowe's heartwarming celebration of the "family" and asked supporters to write to the company asking what gives.  Lowe's responded with an apology, along with a scripted follow-up they asked AFA to post on their website, which they did.

Lowe’s has contacted the AFA and assures us that it is proudly committed to selling Christmas trees this year, as it has done for more than 60 years. The company apologized for the confusion created in its 2007 holiday catalog when it headlined the page of Christmas trees “family trees.” The error was not caught before the publication was distributed, and Lowe’s says it is disappointed in the breakdown in its proofing process.

Lowe’s assures us that they refer to trees as Christmas trees in this season’s television and magazine ads and in its advertising flyers. The company says it is redoubling its efforts to proof its catalogs in the future to prevent this issue from recurring.

We appreciate Lowe’s for listening to its customers and responding appropriately to our concerns.

Sometimes, when I'm pressed for proofing time, I just look for the largest word on the page and make sure I got at least that one right.

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Rockin' Around the Family Tree

Stop the ACLU was thumbing through the latest Lowe's catalog and noticed the company has finally become holiday-inclusive.

I'm not sure how I feel about the ignorant assumption that only people who conform to society's "family" model of modern living deserve the joy of indoor tree husbandry, but at least it's no longer the domain solely of the Christianists.

On the website, Lowe's also offers (with no explanation) this lovely reversible Bavarian fir.  I can only assume this one is the handiwork of some Bible-thumping malcontent at the company making a point about Christmas being in distress.

If so, that's pretty clever.  The malcontent should probably get a raise.

Anyway, for some reason, the American Families Association had a problem with Lowe's heartwarming celebration of the "family" and asked supporters to write to the company asking what gives.  Lowe's responded with an apology, along with a scripted follow-up they asked AFA to post on their website, which they did.

Lowe’s has contacted the AFA and assures us that it is proudly committed to selling Christmas trees this year, as it has done for more than 60 years. The company apologized for the confusion created in its 2007 holiday catalog when it headlined the page of Christmas trees “family trees.” The error was not caught before the publication was distributed, and Lowe’s says it is disappointed in the breakdown in its proofing process.

Lowe’s assures us that they refer to trees as Christmas trees in this season’s television and magazine ads and in its advertising flyers. The company says it is redoubling its efforts to proof its catalogs in the future to prevent this issue from recurring.

We appreciate Lowe’s for listening to its customers and responding appropriately to our concerns.

Sometimes, when I'm pressed for proofing time, I just look for the largest word on the page and make sure I got at least that one right.