Levi Strauss, the San Francisco-based apparel company, is seeking to put up a giant Christmas tree in New York’s Central Park, adorned with condoms. The denim manufacturer is hoping to rent space from the Makkos Organization, a private company that operates the park’s Wollman Rink. City officials are reportedly not happy with this gambit, and it is uncertain whether Levi Strauss will get its way. If it does, the tree will go up on December 1, World AIDS Day.
Catholic League president William Donohue explained the league’s position:
“Levi Strauss does a lot more than sell jeans—it is the nation’s most fevered agent of political correctness in the workplace. From its war on the Boy Scouts to its exploitation of children in Third World countries, Levi Strauss has shown its true colors. Its aggressive sponsorship of the radical gay agenda has ironically led it to promote the causes of AIDS. By giving generously to organizations like the Hetrick Martin Institute in New York, Levi Strauss funds programs that advocate promiscuity among homosexuals. And now it wants the world to know how devoted it is to condoms, thus adding to the superstition that condoms will save gay men from the consequences of lethal sex acts.
“If a company were to put up a Christmas tree adorned with miniature coffins wrapped inside an AIDS ribbon, the tolerance kings and queens at Levi Strauss would be screaming bloody murder. But somehow they think it’s okay to launch an attack on Christians. This proves that they are more than just bigots, they are plain stupid: to do this at a time of the year when sales are critical is irrational. Let them now deal with the boycott that we will call if the tree goes up.
“We will ask the city to demand that Levi Strauss put a large sign by the tree that informs the public who the sponsor is of this hate speech.”
