Tim Horton’s was caught flat footed in USA the other day. They agreed to provide 250 cups of free coffee to an organization called “National Organization for Marriage” who were organizing a "Marriage and Family Day".
Now to a Canadian, this sounds fairly innocuous. Average Canadian, when he thinks of family, he thinks of nuclear family, single parent family, gay family (with one or two parents), adopted kids, foster kids etc. There is a general recognition in Canada that a family can come in many different forms. Same way, these days marriage means both homo and heterosexual marriage in Canada.
And this is what may have caught Tim Horton’s offguard. Probably what is why they decided to sponsor "Marriage and Family Day".
Unfortunately, in USA the words ‘family’ and ‘marriage’ have a nauseous, noxious, extreme right wing odour to them. Any organization that has the word ‘family’ in it (e.g. Family Research Council, American Family Association etc.) is probably an extreme right wing organization. In USA, family means nuclear family only, with husband, wife and two kids, with the husband going out in the city to earn the big bucks, while the mousy, submissive wife stays home, cooking and cleaning.
Anyway, after vigorous protests by gay groups, Tim Horton’s realized the error and cancelled the sponsorship.
Tim Horton has more than 500 stores in USA. If they want to continue to expand in USA, they must become familiar with local culture, local customs and act accordingly. The word ‘family’ has totally different connotations in USA and Canada.
TheStar.com | World | Tim Hortons withdraws donation to anti-gay event
Now to a Canadian, this sounds fairly innocuous. Average Canadian, when he thinks of family, he thinks of nuclear family, single parent family, gay family (with one or two parents), adopted kids, foster kids etc. There is a general recognition in Canada that a family can come in many different forms. Same way, these days marriage means both homo and heterosexual marriage in Canada.
And this is what may have caught Tim Horton’s offguard. Probably what is why they decided to sponsor "Marriage and Family Day".
Unfortunately, in USA the words ‘family’ and ‘marriage’ have a nauseous, noxious, extreme right wing odour to them. Any organization that has the word ‘family’ in it (e.g. Family Research Council, American Family Association etc.) is probably an extreme right wing organization. In USA, family means nuclear family only, with husband, wife and two kids, with the husband going out in the city to earn the big bucks, while the mousy, submissive wife stays home, cooking and cleaning.
Anyway, after vigorous protests by gay groups, Tim Horton’s realized the error and cancelled the sponsorship.
Tim Horton has more than 500 stores in USA. If they want to continue to expand in USA, they must become familiar with local culture, local customs and act accordingly. The word ‘family’ has totally different connotations in USA and Canada.
TheStar.com | World | Tim Hortons withdraws donation to anti-gay event