I got an email today from the American Family Association notifying me that Subway restaurants are not allowing home schooled students to participate in their contest for $5000 in athletic equipment. When I get these kinds of emails I cannot help but wonder if this is an atrocity big enough to warrant a mass email to let me know how mean and unfair subway is. Can’t subway sponsor a contest to give away equipment to whoever they want to? Can’t they set their own rules and decide how they want to distribute their free equipment? I am sure the AFA wouldn’t like it if other people started trying to impose anti-Christian standards on their hiring practices, etc. There are a lot bigger things that could use our attention than this. I really don’t get it and I think this makes the AFA look silly. It makes it seem like there is a guy in a room somewhere just looking for the next thing he doesn’t agree with to send out emails about.
I applaud the AFA for oh so many things they have gotten right but this is one of those things that really won’t do very much good and really doesn’t advance the Christian cause at all.
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I think there are times when certain Christian groups come off sounding like a bunch of 5-year olds on the school playground whining to the teacher “he called me a name… …she stuck her tongue out at me…”
Where did Christians ever get the idea that they should be treated fairly in this world?
Rex
I second Rex’s response. Of all the things going on in the world, this is the fight they choose?
What are home schoolers doing that they would need athletic equipment? Maybe that should be our starting point.
The AFA isnt an organization that impresses me much. Something about a group that fights for the rights of “Christian” ideals and traditions seems to be in complete opposition with the very message of Christ. Not to mention that they take up a lot of petty causes, such as the one you brought up.
I think I agree with you, but I also feel the pain of people who homeschool. There are a couple of kids in my youth group who are homeschooled (for very serious health reasons…not because their parents are overprotective or because they don’t have social skills). They got kicked off of Facebook a couple of weeks ago because they are homeschooled. When they sent e-mails to Facebook to inquire why, Facebook told them in no uncertain terms that they neither respect nor try to accommodate homeschooled people.
This is the wrong battle for the AFA to fight, but homeschoolers really do get mistreated a lot.
I won’t be homeschooling my kids, but I respect people who do.
What many may not understand is that home schoolers have nonprofit home school sports associations that offer various sports & are in need of athletic equipment. We do not have a large influx of tax dollars like the public schools do. (even though we must pay taxes to our local failing schools.) We pay out of pocket for the rental of gyms, equipment/uniforms, referees, and travel expenses to and from games. A simple stipulation that if a home schooled student were to win, they would be required to donate the money to a nonprofit sports association of their choice would have been satisfactory. In Texas, home schools are legally private schools. Subway’s contest stated if was for public/ private schools, yet they discriminate against Texas home schoolers by not acknowledging our legal status. For those of you who may not be aware that home schoolers have volunteer led sports organizations that offer many of the same sports as public/private schools; then please update by viewing these links from the New York Times concerning such and understand there are 3 million home schoolers in the USA.
Video
https://tinyurl.com/3th9wu
March 16 article
https://tinyurl.com/4wbxkl
Players offered scholarships by college scouts
https://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/players_in_college.htm
I would like to add that my son plays for a local nonprofit sports association as I mentioned above. It is just *one* such organization available in my community. These sort of organizations are where ever you find a home schooling community. I have posted the link below for *my* sports assoc., to give you a personal feel for how these groups organize. Knowledge often breeds understanding, and home schoolers welcome those who wish to understand more about us.
https://www.eteamz.com/satch/
Mama Bear,
I really don’t mean to sound harsh but what is acceptable are the rules they choose to set for their own contest. No one is forcing them to give things away. Would you want people telling you how to run your charity, who you can and cannot give to, who you can and cannot hire, etc? I doubt it. So why impose that on Subway? I know it is not ideal to everyone but if that is the way a private company wants to distribute their charity I am not going to jump on them for it. I respect it and move on.