Sorry, I Don't Hate

Susan and I were brought up in families where our parents completed high school and we lived paycheck to paycheck. Our parents brought us up to value education, work hard and to be respectful of others regardless of their ethnic or religious backgrounds. Regardless of the faults or short comings of our parents, they taught us not to hate.

Recently someone asked the CEO of Barilla Pasta, one of the largest pasta companies in America whether we would be seeing any gay couples in their advertising. The CEO responded that (I am paraphrasing) that there would never be gay couples in Barilla ads and that if that was unacceptable, they could buy their pasta from another company.

Needless to say, Barilla was bombarded with negative feedback which forced an apology. In response to my email, Barilla sent the following email:

Dear Dr. Gerald,

At Barilla, we consider it our mission to treat our consumers and partners as our neighbors – with love and respect – and to deliver the very best products possible. We take this responsibility seriously and consider it a core part of who we are as a family-owned company.

We are working hard to learn from this experience, and appreciate you taking the time to share your comments and valuable feedback.

Sincerely,

Barilla

Case # 163841

Sorry, I will buy my pasta from another company. If the CEO was a class act, he would resign.If we don't stand up against hate, someday the haters will  come after us.