Here comes the rant!
Dan Cathy, President of Chick Fil A's publicly speaking out against gay marriage stinks of publicity stunt to me. He publicly spews his "family values" on a radio show, offending droves of people who get ruffled, lash out and protest the company, sending out a backlash of support for Chick Fil A. And boom. They have lines for miles of God fearing anti protesters ready to gorge on fast food in the name of what is good and holy. Cha Ching! Chick Fil A win! Kind of like the JC Penney/Ellen thing. I get it. I did it too.
I personally don't give a f--- about Chick Fil A. After the food poisoning episode of 1998, I haven't touched the stuff. As a rule, we don't eat fast food at all anymore so the possibility of finding myself in a situation where chikin would sound like a viable or even tasty option at this point is slimmest slim to none. I am well aware that if given a list of all of the political organizations that were financially supported by all of the places that I patronize, I would find a few if not many that I would find the proverbial beef with, and I may or may not look for an alternative option, depending on how it affects me, my community and whether or not I feel like my dollar or my "$6.50" will make a difference or a dent. But in this particular case, if I still ate chikin I would most certainly quit. Why? Because I can not, with good conscience, patronize a company that's President squeals out so loudly and publicly against a right that I feel so strongly that I deserve as a human being, the right to be legally married to my wife, and then puts that chikin money right where his big loud mouth is and donates it to organizations like Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, Exodus (Proclaiming Freedom from Homosexuality since 1976), organizations that fight to keep homosexuals demoralized, ostracized and on unequal footing in the eyes of the law. The above organizations all sound quite nice and benign (with the exception of Exodus, which is seriously a head scratcher, or a knee slapper, in it's archaic ridiculousness)...but seriously, this is another can of worms and another blog all together. My point is not just that I disagree with this stance, or that I believe him to be a bigot, or that I find it distasteful that he chooses to ostracize many of his patrons (I mean, gay people like chikin too!) it is that by patronizing his company, I would by default knowingly and willingly be donating money to these organizations. So there are many of us who want to get the word out as to why these issues are so important to us. My issue with Chick Fil A ends here. I don't think the chikin business should be shut down, nor do I fancy that my monetary donation to an organization that aids in my fight for equality, in the amount of a chikin dinner, is going to immediately change the world, but it makes me feel better. For some, protesting outside the Chick Fil A with a picket sign makes them feel better, and I am proud to see them standing up for themselves, for me, for our values. A dear friend told me this afternoon, as he was leaving me to go protest in front of our neighborhood Chick Fil A, that he wasn't protesting to change anyone's mind, he was protesting to raise awareness. He said "I don't want to argue with anyone. I just want to put a face to the issue."
At the end of the day, as frustrated and bent out of shape as I can get over these issues, I have to remind myself that there is such a glimmer of hope in these times. For me this issue is about equality. And in this fight, we will struggle, just like we struggled in the fight for every civil liberty that we have gained thus far. It will get better. We are talking about it. It is uncomfortable, painful and stressful, but damnit if it isn't going to be worth it!
And now for a couple of fun quotes that I could not help but share!
"Great food, shitty morals. I can't and won't tell someone how to run their business - but I won't support something that belittles me as an American and ultimately, a human being. :/" -My friend Jacob
"I didn't eat at Chik Fil A or any other fast food restaurant today. Let's do ourselves a favor and boycott all of them, not for their political ideologies, but because they are physically killing us.
... " Anonymous FB friend
It is your right to disagree with homosexuality, but would Jesus Christ support discrimination? -My friend S
"If you are going to speak out publicly against [a group of people], and say a bunch of stupid shit about [group of people], that is well within your first amendment right. You are then opening yourself up to criticism from anyone who disagrees with you. If I want to point out publicly that you said some stupid shit and tell people that they shouldn't eat at your restaurant, that is well within my first amendment right." -My lovely and ever so brilliant wife.
