Suspicions are True

I had seen this "John 3:16" on the bottom of Forever 21 bags long ago but I refused to beleive that it referred to the Bible. I thought: "Why pu that on a bag? Who would do that? That's crazy". I thought that maybe it was a serial number or something like that. I was in denial mainly because admitting that it was a reference to the Bible would mean boycotting this store.
Well, today I finally Googled it (again, this is what you do when you don't want to write a paper you ahve to write) and found out that it does refer to the Bible and that the owner of the company is well aware of what he is doing. Its cheap, forced evangelization. Simply put, its someone trying to force his/her beleifs on me. Why mix religion with retail? I figure its effective but so wrong in so many ways. I won't go into this discussion 'cause I don't want to write too much today, but I will say that now I have a new dilemma in my life. Should I boycott Forever 21? But if I do then, where will I shop? What's a fashionista to do when her favorite store, the store where she finds clothes she likes at prices she can afford, goes against her beleifs?! Then again, if I don't see it it won't affect me. But I know its there anyway! Aaaah!!

Excerpt:
"[...]One who did: Don Chang, the deeply religious founder of clothing chains Forever 21 and XXI.

Five years ago, the clothier copied In-N-Out by stamping the Bible book, chapter and verse notation John 3:16 on the bottom of his stores' shopping bags: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

It's "evidence of faith," corporate spokesman Larry Meyer says.

Other owners making a faith statement in the secular marketplace include David Green, whose craft chain Hobby Lobby plays only Christian contemporary music in its 362 stores, and S. Truett Cathy, who advertises that Chick-fil-A sandwich shops nationwide are closed on Sundays to free employees to focus on faith and family.

"Americans are more accepting of overt religiosity these days, and corporations are good at figuring out how to do it with a light touch, one that's not going to scare off unbelievers," says sociologist David Halle, director of the LeRoy Neiman Center for the Study of American Society and Culture at the University of California-Los Angeles."
- USA Today