- [Blaire] So here we
are slowly but surely making our way through
2020 and into the fall. Finally it gets a little more chilly out, it gets darker sooner and there are plenty of opportunities for hot tea or a pumpkin spice latte if that's your calling. One of my favorite
parts of the fall season is the fact that all of the
fun holidays are coming up, which means plenty of time
to get festive and crafty and I love decorating my
little house for the holidays. Halloween, Christmas, whatever, I love it. So if you're going to decorate, then of course you'll most
likely stop at a crafts store at some point to pick up
some supplies and decorations and there are many local and chain stores to choose from obviously
but today, I am going to potentially narrow down that
list for you by one store. Because today we are going
to be discussing the ethics and practices of one
crafts store in particular and what is talked about today in this video might just change your mind about giving them your
hard-earned money in the future. So hello everybody and and
welcome back to the channel. My name is Blair or the iilluminaughtii and today we are talking about Hobby Lobby and let me just put a giant disclaimer in front of this video
before we even get started. CEOs and business founders are allowed to have their own beliefs. If the owner of Hobby Lobby is religious, that is his right to be religious. If a Christian business doesn't want to open on Sunday,
that's also their right. So I don't want anyone
to think that this is me attacking a business
owner for their religion. My issue with Hobby Lobby is how its owner has weaponized what he
calls Biblical principles and has used it to exclude others and that's what I have a problem with. But I just wanted to get that out in the open right away
from the start because I know plenty of Christians do
not condone these behaviors. So I don't think I really need to add to a stereotype that
Christians are starting to get that isn't really that great. But with that being said of
course, let's jump right in and talk about what Hobby
Lobby has done in the name of religion and their
multiple controversies. To start with, Hobby Lobby
first opened in 1972. Their website paints an
inspirational story and it reads "In 1970, David and Barbara
Green took out a $600 loan to begin making miniature
picture frames out of their home. Two years later, the fledgling
enterprise opened a 300 square foot store in Oklahoma
City and Hobby Lobby was born. Today with more than 900 stores, Hobby Lobby is the largest privately-owned crafts and arts retailer in the world, with over 43,000 employees
and operating in 46 States." They also state on this
Our Story page that "Mardel Christian and Education
Supply, an affiliate company, offers books, Bibles,
gifts, church and education supplies as well as a
homeschooling curriculum." They state they are committed
to "honoring the Lord in a way we all do by
operating the company in a manner consistent
with Biblical principles. Offering our customers
exceptional selection and value. Serving our employees and their families by establishing a work environment and company policies that build character, strengthen individuals
and nurture families. Providing a return on
the family's investment, sharing the Lord's blessings with our employees and
investing in our community." And remember this,
according to Hobby Lobby, these are their goals and
this is what they believe in and I have no issue with
this but Hobby Lobby clearly isn't just a
Christian crafts store or else I obviously wouldn't
be making this video. Now the first issue many people have with these beliefs is where the
money from Hobby Lobby goes. The Green family
apparently donates millions to anti-LGBTQ groups such as
the Alliance Defending Freedom. You have also probably
heard that name before. The ADF famously represented Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cake Shop, who refused to create a wedding cake
for a same-sex couple. There's been a lot of
legal debate on the topic since the Supreme court
ruled and Phillips' favor but didn't recognize a
broad right to discriminate. So if part of your business
model is discriminating against someone for
their sexual preference, then I have the right to know that and I have the right to not give my money to you and to let other people know. So I'm just gonna say that's kind of fair. If you want to be a piece of of shit, I get to tell people about it, right? I can't tell Green how to spend his money and since it's his money and
not the company's, at least to my understanding, then
it's his business, not mine. We will get back to this later but my point is that I
don't have to like it or agree with it or support Hobby Lobby because of it because what
he's doing isn't illegal. However, their actions in
2012 are even more frustrating and where we can see this
strong religious mindset come into conflict with how they
operate as an actual business. (anxious electronic music) So In 2012, David and Barbara Green took a public stance against Obamacare, not only as an individual
but as a company. In a statement reprinted
by Business Insider, David said, "My name is David Green and I am the founder and CEO
of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. My family has been an
integral part of this business since day one and remains an
important part of it today. Another integral part of Hobby Lobby from day one has been our faith. My parents were both pastors and all my siblings are
involved in ministry. I feel like somewhat of an
outsider going into retail but I've always found a way to
minister through Hobby Lobby. We have always operated our company in a manner consistent
with Biblical principles, including integrity and service to others. We believe wholeheartedly
that it is by God's grace and provision that Hobby
Lobby has been successful. Therefore, we seek to honor
Him in all that we do. As part of that faith, we care greatly for our employees and their families. That's why unlike most major retailers, we are only open 66 hours per
week and are closed on Sundays to allow our employees to
spend time with their families. For the past four years in a row, we have increased the minimum
wage for our full-time employees and it's now 80%
above the national minimum wage. We also believe in sharing
our faith, which is why we purchase full page
ads at Christmas and Easter in newspapers in all the
major cities where we operate. We also contribute both
time and funds to numerous Christian organizations across
the nation and the world. Hobby Lobby has always been
a tool for the Lord's work. For me and my family,
charity equals ministry which equals the Gospel of Jesus Christ." And so far, I don't really have too much of an issue with this. I've had to summarize a
little bit here and there so it doesn't sound repetitive but legally and from an unbiased perspective, I can't really fault David here. His beliefs and those
Christian organizations, the anti-LGBTQ ones anyway
aren't what I'd support but he's been transparent
about what Hobby Lobby stands for and as long as people know that and who they're giving their money to, then I suppose that's okay in my book, at least because it's
not illegal right now. I don't know if I'd call
supporting a bakery that refused service to a gay
couple doing the Lord's work, given what the Bible says
about showing kindness and compassion to people
and welcoming others but David has the freedoms
to support what he wants. However, it's what he
says in the next part of the statement that
really bothers me the most. "But now our faith is being challenged by the Federal government,
the Health and Human Services Preventative
Services Mandate forces businesses to provide the morning after and the week after pills in
our health insurance plans. These abortion-causing
drugs go against our faith and our family is now
being forced to choose between following the laws
of the land that we love or maintaining the
religious beliefs that have made our business successful
and have supported our families and thousands of our
employees and their families. We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs to comply with this mandate." And this is where I have my first gigantic issue with Hobby Lobby. Personal disagreements in how
to treat people is one thing. But this is where I feel it takes a turn from personal conviction
to undeniably fucked up. That first sentence gets me
a little more than anything. "Our faith is being challenged
by the Federal government." Like what? The government is not
suppressing anyone's belief and if you've had a flourishing, obviously Christian business
up until this point, like they're really not
gonna fuck with you. Plus calling the morning
after pill abortion-causing is beyond frustrating because
it's horribly inaccurate and those pills are meant to prevent a pregnancy from happening
in the first place, so abortions don't even have to happen because it prevents the
fertilization of the egg. I'm not trying to turn this into a pro-life or pro-choice debate here. This is literally just a fact. If you're already pregnant,
those pills do not work on you. It cannot cause an abortion. NPR even quoted David's
statement and explained, "The morning after pill he's referring to is sold under the brand name Plan B. The week after pill, which actually only works for five days after
unprotected sex is called ella. Both are classified by the Food and Drug Administration as contraceptives. Neither is the same as the
abortion drug RU486 or Mifeprex. That pill isn't considered a contraceptive and isn't covered by the
new insurance requirements. the constant references to Plan B and ella as abortion-causing pills
frustrates Susan Wood, a Professor of Health Policy at George Washington University
and a former Assistant Commissioner for Women's
Health at the FDA. 'It is not only factually incorrect, it is downright misleading
and their only connection to abortion is that they can
prevent the need for one.'" Though there has been debate about Plan B and if it works before
or after fertilization, there's been fairly definitive research that shows it only works
by preventing ovulation. So even if David Green
believes that the second an egg is fertilized,
it is immoral to abort, these Plan B morning after
pills aren't getting rid of fertilized eggs or
pregnancies to begin with, which technically means that the pill is actually in line with his message. It's preventing the thing
he doesn't want happening. Anyway, also according to NPR, ella, the week after pill is
even given to rape victims in Catholic hospitals
in Europe because while these Catholic hospitals
may have pro-life values, they can be unbiased
enough to look at the data and research done to
realize that no abortions are going on here and that these pills can truly help the women
that are in need of them. And yet, somehow Hobby Lobby
just can't figure that one out. Again, there's a ton of evidence
that shows these emergency contraceptives delay the
release of the egg itself. But there's debate that because it can't technically
stop implantation, some of these pills have been
mislabeled for saying they can. Regardless though, they are
not abortion pills and that's not what the laws were trying
to ensure by any means. Yet in large part because of Hobby Lobby, the Supreme Court had to
review the contraceptive mandate and on July 13th,
2013, a District Judge, Joe Heaton, granted
the company a temporary exemption from the
contraceptive-providing mandate. But in June 2014, the Supreme
Court ruled that Hobby Lobby and other closely-held
stock corporations could be exempt from the law based
on religious preferences. The Wall Street Journal
reported, "Breaking five-four along the Justices'
conservative-liberal divide, the final decision of the Court's term extended the religious protections enjoyed by people and churches
to certain employers, in one of the most important
rulings on religion in years. The decision handed both political parties a rallying point for
the midterm elections. 'A corporation is simply
a form of organization used by human beings to
achieve desired ends,' Justice Samuel Alito
wrote for the majority. 'Protecting the free-exercise
rights of corporations like Hobby Lobby, Conestoga and Mardel, the for-profit employers that objected to covering emergency and
certain other contraceptives in their health plans, protects
the religious liberty of the humans who own and control
those companies,' he wrote. The dissenting liberals led by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said
the Court's majority had exalted the religious
views of a handful of business owners over
the public interest. In this case, extending healthcare to women of childbearing age. 'Working for Hobby Lobby or
Conestoga, in other words, should not deprive employees
of the preventative care available to workers
at the shop next door,' Justice Ginsburg wrote. She was joined in whole by
Justice Sonia Sotomayor and in large part by Justices
Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan." And again, I know it's hard to remain unbiased and unpolitical
about things but I do believe that you should be able to
have access to healthcare. I don't really think that should be an argument and I don't know why it is. But either way, Hobby Lobby
did legally win in this case, at least that's how they went
about this in a legal manner instead of just ignoring the
law and doing as they pleased like I've seen plenty of
times on this channel before. However, it's some of their
other controversies as well, at least in my opinion that
are far more black and white in terms of just the fuckery
this company has been pulling. So the next issue I have with
Hobby Lobby is sort of a mix of hilariously stupid, illegal
and just stunning honestly. I feel like some of you might not even believe me when I tell you what they did because of just how ridiculous
this actually sounds. (relaxed piano music) Hobby Lobby was trying
to sponsor the Museum of the Bible and in
their journey of trying to find religious
artifacts for this museum, they smuggled in illegal and
fake purchases from Iraq. And no, I'm not kidding. Steve Green, David's son
co-founded the Museum and blamed inexperience for
this mishap, shall we say. According to NBC, he
said he didn't appreciate the complexity of the acquisitions process and relied on dealers and shippers who didn't know how to document
and send the items. "This resulted in some
regrettable mistakes," the company said in a statement. And if that's not the understatement of the year, then woo, oh boy. So these Hobby Lobby reps were warned that the items that they
purchased could be fake but they went ahead and
funded this Museum anyway. According to the New
York Times, in July 2017, just four months before
the Museum was set to open, Federal prosecutors in New York announced that Hobby Lobby and the
Greens had acquired in 2010 at least 5500 artifacts
fraught with red flags from dubious dealers in
the United Arab Emirates. They had also allowed
the objects to be shipped to the company's
headquarters in Oklahoma City misleadingly described
as ceramic tile samples according to prosecutors. Hobby Lobby relinquished those items and paid a $3 million fine. When the Museum later opened
on November 17th, 2017, the Greens seemed confident
their troubles were behind them. Steve Green spoke of the
museum as non-sectarian and said of the Bible,
"Let it have an impact in your life as it has my
life or our family's life and so many people all over the world." "We don't hold any concerns
about our collection," Steven Bickley, the Museum's
Vice President of Marketing told The Atlantic just
before the museum opened. Indeed a year earlier in 2016, the museum had even put
out a scholarly ebook, now discredited, and touted the so-called Dead Sea Scroll fragments as an especially important addition to known material. But the legacy of its original collecting practices remained and became
the focus of an inquiry by a team of investigators
hired by the Museum to analyze its 16 Scroll fragments. Hired under the proviso
so it could act with full independence and present its
findings free of interference, The team published its
results on March 13. It found as first reported
by National Geographic that not only were the
fragments fake, but they were deliberate forgeries
created in the 20th century. Two weeks later, Steve Green announced
another embarrassing gaff. The Museum, as first reported
by the Wall Street Journal, would be sending another 11,500 artifacts, 5,000 papyri fragments
and 6,500 clay objects back to Iraq and Egypt because
of insufficient provenance. In a long statement, Mr.
Green admitted that he had "trusted the wrong people
to guide me and unwittingly dealt with unscrupulous
dealers when buying the items." Pride comes before a fall, right? Isn't that how the saying goes? Something like that, I don't know. He thought there was nothing
more wrong with the collection and yet more of it was
even proven to be fake. It's just so stupid and it's also such a dangerous problem to have. What it shows is that Hobby Lobby can't really be trusted with money, if this is how they're going
to spend their millions. Again, I do have to concede that of course they are private company,
so they can run themselves into the ground at their
own leisure of course. But I'm just saying, it's kind of funny to
watch from the sidelines. Like seriously, they put millions into the black market and nearly spread misinformation to all of
their Museum visitors. Like if you can't even trust a Museum to tell you the truth about a topic or for a place to get information, then who the hell can you trust? One or two forgeries would be one thing but well over a million dollars worth and all of it directly
tied to Hobby Lobby, like it's as infuriating as
it is stupid, it truly is. Experts on cultural law warned them. Hobby Lobby didn't listen. So they're actually getting
what they deserve here and any repercussions that come forward. Hell, some of these supposedly
weren't even good forgeries. So it just looks even worse
as you keep digging into this. If the Greens were going to say that they're confident in the
rest of the collection, then maybe they should have examined it. You know, just to make
sure and not to mention, "Every shipment found by
CPB lacked the correct customs documentation
and had shipping labels that falsely and misleadingly
identified the documents as ceramic tiles or clay
tiles," the DOJ said. The labels also said the artifacts hailed from Turkey, a country that doesn't have the same importing requirements as Iraq. Other items were shipped from Israel and falsely declared to
be from the same country. It's unclear if Hobby Lobby knew the items were illegally smuggled. And that is where I'll actually give Hobby Lobby the benefit of the doubt and I'll say that I don't think they were actually aware that the items
were illegally smuggled. But not being aware of the law still is not an excuse to
break it and this level of ignorance just really
hits dangerous levels. They're just casually
supporting the black market. So who knows where this money truly went or what it was even used for. But Hobby Lobby just
gave it away 'cause lol. Now the other three controversies involving Hobby Lobby
are a little bit smaller, not necessarily because
they're not as important but there is just less to talk about. (anxious electronic music) One of these is the fact that Hobby Lobby believes in converting people at work. In 2010 Green said, "I would like to know that we have brought as many people to know Christ as we possibly can. We hope to continue to
just grow our company. As long as there's someone on this earth that doesn't know Jesus
Christ, we have a job to do." The company stresses that the beliefs of its owners are not forced
upon employees in any way but it says it offers a path to
religion for those who want it. Hobby Lobby has three chaplains dedicated to minister to workers and
Green said four years ago that hundreds of employees
had been converted, including more than a dozen
managers in a single year. "We prayed a prayer with them
and we did have 15 managers come to know Christ in the
business place," he said. Hobby Lobby may claim that
they don't force their beliefs on their employees but
other sources say otherwise and this, if you ask me, is
the real fucking bullshit here. They don't want the Supreme Court pushing its beliefs on them
but they see no problem with pushing their beliefs on employees and that's hypocritical as hell and I don't know how they can't see that. According to The Country
Herald in Central Illinois, "Green has a long history of pushing beliefs on his employees
through ownership." This article brought up these issues after critiquing the second
controversy with Hobby Lobby, how they handled the pandemic. According to Daily Mail, "Arts and crafts giant Hobby
Lobby is slowly shutting down stores across the
country amid intense criticism about a letter claiming
the company's boss's wife had a vision from God telling
the chain to stay open. Calls to stores around the
country show some are open, some are closing while others just
don't know what is going on. The confusion follows a letter
sent to stores last week by Chief Executive David
Green, who said his wife Barbara had a heavenly
vision about the coronavirus. Many store employees
took that as a message that the store should stay open because God would protect them from the illness." Green called his 76 year old wife his family's prayer warrior in the letter. "While we do not know for
certain what the future holds or how long this
disruption will last, we can all rest in knowing that God
is in control," Green wrote. "The company's leaders are doing
all they can to balance the need to keep the company strong
and the needs of employees. To help ensure our company
remains strong and prepared to prosper once again when
this passes, we may all have to tighten our belts over
the near future," he said. Yeah, we'll all have to tighten our belts. As in his employees would go without pay while David Green, billionaire,
lives it up in his mansion. What a fucking disgrace. First of all, Hobby
Lobby tried to claim that they were an essential
service and that's how they tried to stay open initially
in the midst of a pandemic and then when they finally do close after cease and desist letters,
their employees have no pay. So which is it, Hobby Lobby? You act like you're so
important and essential but then you tell your own employees that you can't afford
to give them leave time? I know Hobby Lobby isn't the only company that did this but I want them to get back to their own commitment
from their website. For a reminder, here's two of them. "Serving our employees and
their families by establishing a work environment and company
policies that build character, strengthen individuals
and nurture families. Providing a return on
the family's investment, sharing the Lord's
blessings with our employees and investing in our community." Hobby Lobby's employees
need their bosses now more than ever and those monetary
blessings more than ever too. Green is a multi-billionaire, he's worth four and a
half billion dollars. But he is not serving his employees and the Greens aren't sharing
with their employees either, especially in a time of need. They say, "Hey, take
advantage of unemployment. We can't help you." That's not very Christian-like, is it? Now the third controversy is a bit smaller and one that I'm adding
almost as an afterthought, but one Hobby Lobby
employee was antisemitic to a Jewish shopper when
they told the shopper they couldn't "cater to you people" after the shopper was looking
for Jewish holiday crafts. Hobby Lobby issued an
apology, made a statement and the Anti-Defamation
League accepted the apology. I don't think Hobby Lobby is
necessarily antisemitic because of this, as they didn't
tolerate the employee's comment but it did happen all the same. At least nothing like
it has been reported, if anything else has
been going on at least. So that's left unclear. Hobby Lobby isn't required to have every single craft item
from every religion either, especially when the store's
made it clear that they are in line with Christian
values and Christian values only. The reason I bring up
the scandal at all is because yet again, it's just
another example of hypocrisy. Hobby Lobby doesn't want to cater to others and carry Menorahs
for Jewish holidays. They don't want those
beliefs pushed on them and they aren't obligated to sell them. Yet they promote
anti-LGBTQ foundations that advocate for pushing
that belief onto others. The ADF that they donate millions to supports the re-criminalization
of sexual acts between consenting LGBTQ adults and claims that a homosexual agenda
will destroy society. Michael Farris, a Baptist
minister, was appointed CEO at ADF and he has won a hell of a
disturbing hate-filled history which by the way, that
could make a spicy video just in and of itself
because it's so fucked up. But anyway, this is
the message he promotes today of course, and it's no different. It's pretty consistently hateful. "ADF's longstanding antipathy
towards LGBTQ people has become public through
its work on lawsuits, various statements its leaders have made and materials it has offered
on its website over the years. It has also promoted the
idea of a homosexual agenda, a nefarious scheme to destroy Christianity and eventually civilization through LGBTQ people's efforts to secure
equality under the law. To those who believe in
this conspiracy today, LGBTQ people are not
really seeking equality. Rather, they're actually
seeking to destroy such things as Christianity,
the family and culture." And it comes as no surprise here but they've also equated
homosexuality to pedophilia and advocated for ex-gay
conversion therapy. Not agreeing with the LGBTQ
community is certainly one messed up thing but
this goes entirely beyond just being like "I'm
not comfortable with it" or whatever to just
hateful and destructive. I think it's pretty obvious
to a lot of you guys but I obviously do support
the LGBTQ community. It's hard to not support
something that you're a part of and I've made that pretty
clear in past videos and I know in the comments section, I'm definitely gonna get some people that are gonna disagree with me
about this kind of stuff. But everyone has an asshole
and everyone has an opinion and I don't want to see your asshole and I don't care about
your shit opinion either. It's hateful, inhumane
treatment that I can't tolerate and I have to shut it down immediately because the shit that I just read from this fucking group, it's fucked
up on a whole other level and this is who Hobby Lobby literally gives millions of dollars
to every single year. They support this message of
hate and that's the biggest reason why I'll never
support Hobby Lobby in turn. So with of all that being said, that's where I'm gonna end today's video. It was a little bit of
everything all over the place. Sorry to end it on such a negative note. I just have some feels towards this, in case you couldn't tell. I really hope you learned something in today's video and enjoyed that. So if you did, please
hit the thumbs up button. If you're new here, make sure to subscribe and make sure to share this
around with family and friends, whoever, more people
obviously need to know and understand the messages
behind Hobby Lobby. If you guys want to see more
content from me as well, you can pop open my description box. You're gonna find links for everything including my soap channel,
my puppy's channel, collaboration with Sad
Milk, all the good stuff. Links for everything will be down below. So again guys, thank you so much for making it through another video. I love you guys and I'll see
you in the next one, bye. (upbeat electronic dance music)
