Last week I did something that’s out of my comfort zone. Sometimes fear of not doing something overwhelms the fear of doing it…
I walked by the rows of check out lanes at Walmart and at the end of each row was a bright red issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. So what you say? The plunging neckline on the cover model nearly revealed her navel along with her cleavage. I saw it and thought of our children.
Every child who walks through the checkout lane with his mom sees, at eye level, a seductive, half exposed woman next to a large text saying, “GET NAKED.” Did you know that the human brain remembers everything? We may not be able to access all the memories, but they’re there. God knows it, that’s why He continually encourages us to be careful what we look at. Every child that sees the Cosmo cover has that picture in their head for the rest of their lives. And we wonder where addiction to pornography begins…
I’m so tired of seeing our children’s innocence being destroyed everywhere they go. Not even the grocery store is safe anymore! As a result, I’m becoming bold in my old age! Ignoring my beating heart, I approached a manager who happened to be standing in front of the check out lanes!
“Excuse me, are you a manager?”
He smiled, “I’m an area manager. Can I help you?”
I smiled back, “Yes. Do you see the Cosmo magazines prominently displayed at the end of each check out lane? Every child who comes in here has to see that woman’s chest and the words, “GET NAKED,” next to it. I don’t want my kids, or any other kids, forced to look at it just because they’re innocently shopping with their mom, do you? I know magazines buy shelf space and you’re limited on what you can do, but can’t you at least cover the picture?”
He was very gracious and said he would pass along my concern on. It’s been a week and nothing has been done. On Friday I asked a second manager to cover the picture. If I don’t see a change, I’ll call it to their attention again, and again, and again!
If enough of us graciously challenge the status quo we can make a difference. Next time you grocery shop, look at the magazines that line the check out gauntlet and think about your children. What are they seeing? Do you want that picture in their heads for the rest of their lives?
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While at my local Walmart I made a passing comment to my wife that kids just learning how to read should not have try to sound out the words “SEX” or “ORGASM” as predominately displayed on the Cosmo magazine covers at the checkout out while their parent is being rung up at the register.
Miraculously something happened because all the Cosmo magazines are now covered up but for the title and are now at the end of the checkout line.
Let’s call a spade a spade shall we? Cosmo is soft-core porn. (yes, “pornography” originated as written material long before the first photograph was ever invented. the word literally means “writings of harlots.”) The only people not seeing this are those who have long been desensitized to all things indecent and see indecency in shades of grey instead of black and white….which is what it is.
If you want to buy and read Cosmo, that’s fine…but it shouldn’t be at the checkout line next to the breath mints in a family store in my opinion.