Shoving It!

Back in July when my store, The Green Monkey moved into our new storefront I sent out press releases to area newspapers. The small community newspaper, The Cleveland Post, ran the story along with some pictures of the new store. A day after the newspaper article ran I received my first “hate homosexuals” email from an anonymous female reader. (Aren’t they always anonymous?!) Her email stated that I should be ashamed of myself and that I would burn in hell for what I was doing. She also stated that she was tired of homosexuals shoving their lifestyle in her face and in her children’s face.

I wondered why she thought my store would be shoving any lifestyle in her face or anyone’s face for that matter. Isn’t it the heterosexuals that are shoving their lifestyle in our face! Everywhere you turn you see heterosexual couples enjoying themselves and living their lives, openly and without ridicule. You see them in the parks, in restaurants, in commercials, in print advertising, in the movies and read about them in books! When was the last time you saw a commercial depicting a homosexual couple on one of the BIG national networks? How many Family Christian Bookstores are there in your area compared to an Alternative Family Store? So, who is doing the shoving here?

Our families may look different but our family is built on a foundation of love just like theirs. All families deserve to be recognized and respected. My vision is one day to see an alternative family store on every street corner, too! I am very proud to be an owner of a store where two Mommies or two Daddies can bring their children to find books and more about their family!