Ring the bell all you want, I don't feel bad.

'Tis the season to avoid eye contact with those Salvation Army bell ringers. You probably feel bad about it, don't you? Well, in recent years I've come to the conclusion that I don't really feel bad about ignoring them. I give to charitable causes, just not them. Why, you may ask? Well, there are lots of charitable groups out there, and most of them don't show a pattern of discrimination.

Most people don't realize that the Salvation Army is a church first and foremost. Of course, they'd prefer you didn't think of them like that. It's not that surprising, just think about the name: Salvation Army. What sort of salvation? The religious kind, I guess. Their officers are ministers, and their charter clearly emphasizes their mission to spread Christianity.

If this were the extent of it, I wouldn't care so much. There are instances of the nicer donated items going home with high-ranking employees, theft of funds by employees, and then there's that creepy militaristic thing they do. In many areas officers are not even allowed to marry outside the church -er, I mean organization.

There is a clear pattern of discrimination against homosexuals in the Salvation Army. They refuse to hire anyone known to be gay. They even worked out secret deals with the Bush administration to protect that policy in exchange for supporting the "faith-based initiatives". In fact, they even actively lobby against pro-gay legislation. Their addiction treatment programs are just glorified bible study. It that's your thing, fine. But people should know that's what they're donating to.

When New York City moved to require all organizations to provide benefits to the domestic partners of employees, the Salvation Army threatened to close all their New York soup kitchens. It seems like their priorities are a little off. They're a church when it's beneficial, and a charitable organization when that's beneficial.

Okay, I get it... they're technically a church and they can do this stuff (as stupid as it is). That doesn't mean that people shouldn't know this before they fork over donations. There are lots of other charities to donate to. Why not give some money to public radio or Amnesty International instead?