Comments on About Those Same-Sex-Wedding-Celebrating Hallmark Cards...

That was FUN!!!!

Done! What a helpful link. If anyone's feeling lazy, here's my note:

Dear Chairman Hall:

Thank you so much for recognizing the validity of gay relationships by releasing a line of gay marriage cards. I recognize that your primary motivation was based on the demand for such cards, but it is still an important and brave gesture. Please ignore the ignorant fundamentalists who will pillory you for this.

Yay! That was fun!

Mine mentioned that while (as the AFA points out) gay marriage is illegal in 48 states, recognizing the relationship of someone you love is illegal nowhere.

That made my day!

Genius! Done and done!

Fun :)

Dear Chairman Hall:

I am happy to see that Hallmark is offering wedding cards for same-sex couples. I think Hallmark represents an important part of American culture, and having such card is an important piece of the growing acceptance and inclusivity of our society.

-- A happy (straight) customer

I had fun twisting the phrasing to become positive rather than negative. Not that I imagine most (or any) of these are read carefully anyway.

A better action would be to buy the cards.

has the link been disabled? not working for me :(....

Technically, gay marriage isn't ILLEGAL in 48 states. It's just not recognized. Illegal to perform them, but you won't be arrested for being married.

Wait... Am I a pastor?

The link was disabled, just go to their homepage and look for ActionAlerts.

Man, that was fun!

Done.

Awesome, that was fun.

I even checked "yes" in the "Are you a Pastor" field - thanks, Universal Life Church!

Great! Done. Now, if we could get all those idiot protestors in Denver to do the same...

The link just worked for me:

Dear Chairman Hall:

I am elated that Hallmark is promoting a lifestyle which is normal in 50 states. There was a time Hallmark told us to send the very best. Happy to see you have taken a giant step up. I'll buy more. American Greeting Cards, your competitor, will be getting my email asking for the same treatment of the LGBT community.

Thanks for the morning treat!

yay! take that AFA!

I tried, and got an error. SAD.

The customizable template is so much fun!

Subject: "Thank you So Much for Gay-Friendly Cards, Hallmark!"

Dear Chairman Hall:

Congratulations from a loyal customer! I am delighted that Hallmark is noticing that gays and lesbians are awesome people, too, and healthy card shoppers, and care about each other and others (and have families who love them and send them cards too) in ways that often call for sending a thoughtful greeting card. There was a time Hallmark told us to send the very best. Glad to see you have taken a giant step up. Hooray! American Greeting Cards, your competitor, should take note of your delighted customers and follow suit.

Turning the table on these idiots never felt so good.

I tried and I got an error message on the next page, so I'm not sure if it went through or not.

What a brilliant suggestion! That was fun. I also enjoyed noting at the bottom that I was a "pastor". :-)

Done. And I posted this to my blogger and myspace blogs.

I love how the right has the inability to think for themselves. (Premade hate mail? Come on guys, you're getting lazy.)

I also mentioned in my email that when I am looking to buy a greeting card I will always go to the Hallmark section first.

So they can take that and shove it down any skeptical old stuffy "profits, profits, profits" board member's throat.

Hopefully the AFA isn't smart enough to misuse whatever email addresses y'all are leaving...

That was the high point of my day. :)

Re: Amy @ 24: If you're a "vote with your dollars" kind of person, pick up a copy of this week's Ellen-and-Portia People magazine. I want that shit to be the best-selling issue in their history.

Man, doing that really improved my PMS-soured mood! I really hope they read the email we are sending. It would be even more fun than just hijacking their nasty campaign.

Funny. I wrote an email praising the decision to allow same-sex cards, and I didn't get shipped straight to hell. Maybe there's a delayed reaction or something...
Nope.

I just sent a card too, and as I hit the send button, read the fine print which says "In keeping with our Privacy Policy, we may notify you via e-mail of updates on matters of importance. If, at that time, you do not wish to receive such mailings, follow the instructions provided in the e-mail message to unsubscribe. If you DO wish to continue receiving our updates, please add us to your 'approved' or 'safe' list so the message is not filtered. "

so, looks like i'll have to be on the watch for fundie spam in the future...

not if you use a fake email address . . .

Dear Chairman Hall:

The American Family Association, a shrill and hypocritical organization known for promoting several (ultimately fruitless) boycotts against companies that do not hew to their extremist agenda, has decided to target your fine company because of the recent introduction of cards for people celebrating same-sex marriages. They've even set up a convenient online form for their outraged members to contact you, as I'm sure you are by now aware. However, I am using their complimentary service to congratulate your company on its decision to run the cards; I think they are a good addition to Hallmark's collection.

The AFA would rather I tell you something in this vein:

"I am surprised that Hallmark is promoting an unhealthy lifestyle which is illegal in 48 states. There was a time Hallmark told us to send the very best. Sorry to see you have taken a giant step down. No more. American Greeting Cards, your competitor, will be getting my business."

This kind of strident ranting is typical of AFA missives. Now that you have seen what they have to say, you and I may ignore it entirely. The AFA is not so numerous and influential as it likes to think, and its message is growing progressively more discordant with mainstream American sensibilities. Your company has clearly recognized that with the introduction of this new line of cards.

Again, I want to thank you for offending the AFA; I hope that their tiresome outrage generates enough controversy to boost sales not only of your new same-sex marriage cards, but other Hallmark cards and products as well.

All the best,
Greg

@30: what they're doing there is getting ready to spam you. Opt-out should be illegal, but it's not. Neither is letting them have it with both barrels when they come at you.

I used the same fake email I use for pr0n. AFA's being AFA, I don't expect them to change. Nice to see a major company actually get something right, even if only out of profit motivation.

Just use an email address @afa.net, let them spam themselves.

Used a fake email address. Also, I copied and pasted into a real email client so I could send Mr. Hall an email directly. AFA might use a filter.

Dear Chairman Hall:

I am so glad to see that Hallmark is producing quality greeting cards for same sex marriage. I hope that Hallmark sees good sales in this line, and I congratulate you for providing all of your customers with a suitable, quality product.

You have gained a customer for life. Thank you very much.

Hummm….And none of these comments are hateful?
And they are so original?
How hypocritical!

ok, that rules. NOW GO BUY THE CARDS!!! nothing says change like $$$$ spent in this country.

So if they're boycotting Hallmark, where will the American Family Association buy its same-sex greeting cards?

I tried to send the following email:

Dear Chairman Hall:

I am not gay but I support your companies efforts to recognize that there is a market for cards for same sex marriages. As someone who knows same sex couples, it is nice to know that if it is ever legal for them to marry in my state, I will be able to go to Hallmark and buy them a card.

Larry Davenport

and checked "Yes" for pastor (I am an ordained minister) and got the following error message:

error '8004020e'

/afa/activism/ProcessAction.asp, line 256

Can someone tell me what that means?

It could also be being blocked internally because the nursing home I'm in is owned by Mormon's and the have put web security on the server to prevent "obscene material" from being downloaded/uploaded.

@40, I got the same error message, because I only used a first initial. Put in a full first name.

Thank you Hallmark!

Dear Chairman Hall:

I am thrilled that Hallmark is getting with the times and recognizing the trend of same-sex unions. There was a time when there was no appropriate card to send on such an occasion. Glad to see you have taken a giant step into the 21st century. Hallelujah! American Greeting Cards, your competitor, needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

All required fields have been filled out accurately. I wound up using my regular email rather than the web mail.

@40 I got the same error. Maybe they've figured out what we're doing?

Thank you for joining our AFA ActionAlert team. To complete your subscription, you must confirm your e-mail address.

Go to: E-mail Confirmation Page
https://secure.afa.net/blah blah blah

Woo hoo! My first email/spam from AFA. Shall I confirm my "membership" and troll relentlessly, or shall I just delete? Decisions, decisions...

Here's mine.

Dear Chairman Hall:

I am pleasantly surprised that Hallmark is promoting a level of fairness and equality which is legal in only 2 states, so far. Pay no attention to those who scold you. It's wonderful to see you have taken such a giant step forward. Here's hoping American Greeting Cards, your competitor, will be following your lead soon. Until then, I'll be buying Hallmark.

Awesome! I did it too!

awesome! Just sent them a nice thank you note. Take that, AFA.

I thought I might send mail to an address from the actual Hallmark site... and was interested to find that as yet, the announcement of these new cards is nowhere to be found. Not in their press release section, either. Hmmm.

It worked for me, so they haven't caught on yet.

Here's what I wrote:

Dear Chairman Hall:

Thank you to you and Hallmark for promoting equality and acceptance in the U.S. There was a time Hallmark told us to send the very best. And the very best is what I plan to send to my friends who are getting married despite the fact that it's illegal in the state we live. I'll only buy Hallmark from now on.

That WAS fun : ) Took two tried so don't give up! BTW I used "yeahright@ata.com" as my email address. My note is:

Dear Chairman Hall:

I send cards out quite frequently and must admit I have not really considered the brand, Hallmark, of my youth. Perhaps I thought you too stodgy.

Your decision to create and distribute cards for ALL people is wonderful and deserves my support. I will be going out of my way to purchase MORE of your products for all occasions.

Oh, and since I am a bit of an stickler for courtesy; thanks to the foolish folk at AFA for making this email so easy to send!

It's sad to see a great company like Hallmark bow to any sexual lifestyle, especially one that is un-natural. It is obvious that those who consider this a victory and say that it isn't illegal haven't heard the last word on it yet but each of will be called to account for his deeds both good and bad. Hallmark, one of my favorite companies, will no longer receive my business.

I sent a letter praising Hallmark's decisions earlier, and have now received FOUR failure notices, telling me that my email was undelivered to: sgronb3@hallmark.com, jodell1@hallmark.com, and newsroom@hallmark.com...
Has anyone else gotten these? Does it mean that my emails didn't get to anyone interesting?

mary, I got the same thing. but only 3 failure notices. after three delayed delivery notices yesterday. maybe their inboxes are too full.

Dear Chairman Hall:

Thank you so much for recognizing the validity of gay relationships by releasing a line of gay marriage cards. I'm also looking for greeting cards for swinger relationships, so I'm hoping you also out of the closet with a swinger's marriage greeting card.

I am a firm believer that any number of men should be allowed to marry any number of women - no matter how temporary. Hollywood Celebrities and the Mormon Polygomists of Utah are obvious markets, but swingers all over the world need to feel loved too. We should have greeting cards to reflect these sorts of unions as well to provide casual partners a bright and cherry Hallmark Day.

While your at it, I have a two cats and a dog who are very fond of each other. Could you make a line of menage a trois greeting cards for pets?

Thanks in advance.

Yours Truly,

Gourmet Swinger

@55: I'm sorry to hear that, Rod. I hope you'll pray for us poor sinners when you're up in that lonely Heaven with Jayzus.

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I only wish there was more we could do to counter the actions of the American Faggot--er, Family Association.