Rant
Chick-fil-A's Tasty Chicken & Free Speech Are Much Appreciated
Recently, Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press that the company values families, and tries to embody a family-values culture. He said:
We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.
Cue the liberal boycott and subsequent conservative buycott. It seems like the fastest way to boost a business’s sales is for liberals to try and boycott it for espousing conservative ideals. Remember Whole Foods? CEO John Mackey published in op-ed in 2009 saying that he did not support Obamacare and that it would raise the cost of doing business. Liberals boycotted, and then all of a sudden the health food stores were jammed with freedom (and deodorant!) loving people trying to figure out the difference between 'organic' and 'hormone-free.'
So liberals decided that Chick-fil-A hates the gays, even though that’s not even close to what Dan Cathy said, and therefore must be made to pay for their intolerant ways! Conservatives, eager to stand up for Dan Cathy and his first amendment right to freedom of speech, organized a buycott for Wednesday, August 1, at Chick-fil-A franchises across the country.
It worked. The restaurants in every corner of the nation were packed. Because tasty chicken and free speech are awesome.
As I perused Facebook yesterday, I saw several posts from apolitical friends saying that they were ‘sad’ or ‘scared’ for the future of this country when so many people would go out of their way to support ‘hate.’ It occurred to me that too few people understand what this is about, because it really has very little to do with gay rights.
Chick-fil-A has never refused to serve, or even hire, someone based on his or her sexual orientation. The company does not have an official position on gay marriage; they just value traditional marriage. Having an opinion that marriage is between one man and one woman is nothing new, and in fact is a position held by Barack Obama until very recently. Let me repeat: Chick-fil-A has never, ever discriminated against the homosexual community.
Dan Cathy dared to express a completely valid opinion, and liberals tried to vilify him for it, with the goal of shutting him up. Conservatives rallied around his right to speak his mind in the best way they could: Boosting his business.
Now here’s your feel-good story of the day ... how did the supposedly intolerant Chick-fil-A employees treat protesters accusing them of hate? They passed out cold water to them. Oh yeah, Chick-fil-A is totally evil. Or something.
Do you think Dan Cathy was out of line or within his rights by expressing his opinion on marriage?
Image via Randy Son of Robert/Flickr
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Procrastamom
One of the great bloggers I read said it best:
"There are many who are insisting these lines of people were just there to support Freedom of Speech. My first argument is: If an outspoken White Supremacist was the CEO of McDonald’s and your city wanted to keep McDonald’s out – would you have shown up in support of his freedom of speech? NO. Because you would be too worried someone would misinterpret that as you agreeing with him.
Secondly – would the exact same crowd be there if the story was reversed? If Dan Cathy gave gobs of money to the Human Rights Campaign and some conservative Mayor said, “Not in my city!” Would the same people show up in solidarity? NO. They would not. There would only be a fraction of those “Free Speech” defenders there."
http://www.misszoot.com/2012/08/02/why-i-cried/
fleurdelys3110
Good article Jenny. Somehow, free speech only seems to apply to liberals. It is also refreshing to read that Chick-Fil-A is treating the protestors with respect. The bans that many cities have placed on this company are disgusting and borderline unconstitutional and unAmerican, as the deprive the individual consumer of having a choice of whether to go there or not.
Survivingthe2nd
Thank you for your article. Very well spoken. I just wanted to give you a positive since I am sure you will get torn apart by all of the other commentors :/
brandspanknnew
I for one don't care. I am not a christian, gun toting, right wing, conservative asshole, but are they actually screening who works for them for these things? No. Are they saying they will not serve their food to people with different beliefs, ethnic backgrounds, or sexual preferences? No. They may be conservative die-hard christian assholes, but guess what? They are a BUSINESS. They will not discriminate against their client base for one major reason. MONEY. They have always made a lot of money. Think they will turn away a black gay man and his lover who want to purchase $15 of Chick-Fil-A? Hell no. I think they boycott has a great backing and I think it is wonderful that people are standing up against such a public slap in the face to their loyal customers. I am a liberal. A STRONG LIBERAL who frequently boycotts and protests and screams in the face of a republican. I think everyone going over board with this is absolutely a waste of breath and public time. Get over it already. It's their belief, not yours.
EvalynCarnate
Haters gonna hate..And hater-ers gonna hate too. How about instead of hating on ChickFilA yourself, you go out and donate your time, effort, and money to the LGBT community. Support THEM if you so see fit. Boycotting a chicken sandwich just seems......small? O.o
tnyangel
I still just wish we could have a fiscally Conservative party that wasn't puritanical. I don't want my politics decided by the Bible.
MomofTwo
KWnavywife
It amazes me that the liberal media can say some of the most vile, hate filled things about what ever and whom ever they please but you have a CEO of a company KNOWN for its Christian principles say that he values tradition marriage, and there is out rage.
Chick-fil-a does not and has never discriminated against homosexuals, but no one wants to see that. Mr.Cathy was with in his rights as an American citizen to express his opinion. He wasn't hateful, or mean spirited in what he said. However, once again, the liberals have proven they only value tolerance, and free speech when it something they agree with.
AI
shesliketx
I also have an issue with those mayors saying they will block chick fil a from opening in their city...simply because that could be employment for someone. As much as I appreciate their reaction :)
That being said- no one is trying to take away y'all's free speech. This article is proof of that.