Opting Out of Mother's Day?

Major corporations and businesses are sending out emails offering a chance to “opt-out” of Mother’s Day-related communications this year.

In a viral thread posted Sunday on their Twitter account, the  Arizona Informer newspaper posted more than a dozen screenshots from businesses sending Mother’s Day opt-out offers.

Interestingly, the content of each opt-out offer was nearly identical.

Is it an organized effort?

Opting out of Mother's Day?

Be informed, not misled.

The Daily Wire says, "Something very strange is happening with Big Corporations," Arizona Informer captioned the thread. "Out of nowhere, [Kroger]-owned [Fry’s Food Store], [Kay Jewelers], [Hallmark], and now [DoorDash] have all sent ‘Opt out of #MothersDay‘ emails to their customer base."

“This is not organic,” the account charged. “This reeks of anti-family activists.”

Nor is it new.  Activists in the UK have been working on redefining "Mother's Day" for several years.

Waitrose, a high-end grocery store chain in the United Kingdom, is going “gender neutral” for Mother’s Day (known there as “Mothering Sunday”), offering a series of cards that are “gender neutral,” just in case your mum happens to be your dad, or she prefers to be known by a series of unconventional pronouns.

The purpose of the shift, Waitrose says, is to make the holiday more “transgender friendly,” reports The Times UK. Since gender is just a fluid concept, why use an archaic word like “mother” to represent a specific relationship a child has with its primary caregiver (or, in the case of families who don’t abide by traditional gender norms, its secondary caregiver)?

Trans activists in the United Kingdom are overjoyed, and even compared their progress at naming the day “Mothering Sunday” to that of the United States, which insists on maintaining a backward embrace of “Mother’s Day.” Some, though, feel the holiday’s un-gendering has not gone far enough. Schools in the U.K., The Times reports, have changed “Mothering Sunday” to “Parenting Day” or “Special Persons’ Day” to avoid any offense.

Attacking Motherhood?

Has it come to this?

In 2016, USA Today announced that Hallmark would "transition" their card offering for the upcoming Mother's Day.

They said, "Today cards featuring messages to stay-at-home dads, divorced parents, and same-sex couples will line shelves alongside typical Mother’s Day cards." 

“Now you see a huge range of situations represented including pet moms to two-moms and former in-laws,”  Hallmark said. “We are really trying to represent a diverse range of relationships that represent current society.”

I personally believe that Hallmark and a number of other corporations are trying to undermine the significance of the role of traditional Mothers in society.

This campaign against traditional motherhood has now come to America.

CNS News reported that "A growing number of companies are reportedly inviting customers to opt-out of receiving Mother’s Day email ads, in the name of sensitivity and 'inclusivity'.”

They say, "On Sunday, a Twitter thread by @AZInformer, an account with slightly more than five thousand followers, reported the news, which quickly attracted more than a million views:

“Something very strange is happening with Big Corporations. Out of nowhere, @kroger owned @FrysFoodStores, @KayJewelers, @Hallmark, and now @DoorDash have all sent "Opt out of #MothersDay" emails to their customer base. This is not organic. This reeks of anti-family activists.”

Companies listed include:

• Levis
• Ancestry
• MAC cosmetics
• Stitch Fix
• BuyBuyBaby
• Etsy
• Cartier
• Kroger
• Frys Food Stores
• Kay Jewelers
• Hallmark
• Door Dash
• Nestle's Nespresso

 The nearly-identical language used by the companies, such as labeling Mother’s Day “a difficult time,” prompted some critics to suspect a coordinated effort by woke liberals to “cancel” the holiday in order to advance their gender-fluid ideology.

Many companies--same message:

• “We understand that Mother’s Day may be a difficult time for some,” a message from DoorDash said, adding an option to be “removed from additional emails and push notifications” relating to the holiday.
• A message from Kay Jewelers said, “We know Mother’s Day can be a challenging time, which is why we want to know if you’d rather not receive Mother’s Day-related emails.”
• “With Mother’s Day coming up, we understand this can be a difficult time of year for some,” read a similar email from Nespresso. “If you would like to opt out of Mother's Day emails, you can simply click below.”

Are the leftists diminishing the importance of Mother's Day?

In a word, "No." At least not yet.

Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk tweeted a question to his 2.1 million followers:

“Brands are bending over backward to let customers ‘opt out’ of Mother's Day. Can we opt out of Pride Month spam too?”

Research by the National Retail Federation shows that, since 2009, the percentage of adults celebrating the holiday has held steady at around 84%, while the average expenditure on Mother’s Day has more than doubled.

We love our mothers.

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.