About Don Wildmon
Donald E. Wildmon is founder and executive director of American Family Association based in Tupelo, Mississippi. He is also a United Methodist Minister who served as a pastor in Mississippi for 12 years. He and his wife Lynda have four children and six grandchildren. He is the author of 22 books with more than 1,000,000 copies in print.
Education:
- 1960 - Bachelor of Arts, Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi
- 1965 - Master of Divinity, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
- 1990 - Doctor of Law honorary degree, Asbury College, Wilmore, Kentucky
- 1994 - Doctor of Divinity honorary degree, Wesley Biblical Seminary
If you are not familiar with his name, you likely are aware and probably have participated in some of his successful boycott campaigns. What about the successful boycott of 7-Eleven to drop Playboy... or the successful boycott of K-mart to remove the porn from their subsidiary Waldenbooks... One of the first activities of the new CEO of K-mart after getting rid of the porn was to contact Don Wildmon and pledge to lead K-mart in a family-friendly direction. Donahue also credited Don Wildmon and the AFA for destroying his program.
He's also been the driving force in the current Disney boycott. He has appeared on Meet the Press, McNeil-Lehrer Report, Good Morning America, The Tomorrow Show, The Today Show, Nightline, the 700 Club, and other television programs. He has also been featured in several publications including Time, Newsweek, People, TV Guide, Christianity Today, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal.
A few quotes from his enemies:
Wildmon leads "a band of moral zealots...busy inventing a national problem." James Duffy, Pres., ABC Television
"We look upon Wildmon's efforts as the greatest frontal assault on intellectual freedom this country has ever faced." - Gene Mater, Senior Vice Pres., CBS Television
Wildmon's boycott campaign is "the first step toward a police state." - Brandon Tarktikoff, Pres., NBC Entertainment
A TV Columnist from The Chicago Tribune, Ron Alridge, wrote "What Wildmon's opponents fail to grasp is that he is surviving, thriving and gaining influence because he is (a) sincere, (b) smart, (c) more than a little bit right!"
Here are a few lines from an article titled "The Tupelo Tornado" by Good News Magazine editor Steve Beard.
"Whoever said that perception is reality, has never met Don Wildmon of the American Family Association. The caricature of Wildmon is that of an ignorant and reckless culture grouch. Reality, however, paints a very different picture.
Wildmon is vastly more intelligent than his detractors would ever admit. He discusses cutting-edge radio technology with the ease of an electrical engineer. His forays into the culture war are marked with the strategic sophistication of a military operation. Wildmon is endowed with what the experts call savvy "sweet smarts." Although he has a keen sense of right and wrong, he lacks the smugness of moral superiority.
Not one moment in his busy day is wasted. With the speed of a tornado, Wildmon darts around his headquarters, rummaging through stacks of mail and dropping into offices unannounced to discuss his latest crusades. For an easygoing southern community like Tupelo, Mississippi - birthplace of Elvis Presley - Don Wildmon runs on a higher level of adrenaline than most folks.
Wildmon is one of America's original culture warriors, the most formidable pain-in-the-neck for television network executives to ever walk the planet. He surfaced on the cultural radar back in 1977 as a concerned United Methodist minister who encouraged his congregation to protest Hollywood's portrayal of sex, profanity, and violence by shutting off their television sets for a week. "Turn – The - TV - Off Week" gained national media attention and catapulted Don into the spotlight. From those humble beginnings, Wildmon has built one of the most effective grassroots organizations in America.
Bottom line, he's not out to impress anybody. In his words, "I'm not profound, I'm a fighter." Frankly, this is why his staff and supporters love and trust him. And, it also explains why his enemies hate him like they do."
Beard sums him up best in these lines, "In some ways, Don Wildmon is an unlikely national celebrity. He is not a charismatic leader, per se. He does not turn heads when you walk with him into a restaurant. He does not wear Armani suits, and his shirts do not have stitched monograms, let alone duff links. He does not turn up the charm when he talks to the press. Wildmon is thoroughly unpretentious. He would much rather be making life miserable for some television executive (or Michael Eisner, ACLU or People for the American Way rep.) than singing his own praises. He is too busy to toot his own horn. Besides, there is a culture war going on. He seems to be saying, 'Don't you see it? Can you hear it?'"
|
|
