Recent Chik-Fil-A Happenings

[cleomiele]

I'm kind of surprised this isn't a thread already, but I'm curious: where do you stand on the Chik-Fil-A boycotts and, conversely, support groups recently as well as the corporation's donation to groups like the Family Research Council? Feel free to link to articles or other media forms that help support your views.

 

The opinion I personally hold has nothing to do with Dan Cathy's right to free speech, nor does it have anything to do with his private company "practicing Christian faith." What I cannot be complacent about, however, is the donation to those organizations that strive to set society completely backwards from any sort of equality for people of all orientations and sexualities.

 

A brilliant, heartfelt argument from the boycott perspective can be found here:

http://www.owldolatrous.com/?p=288

 

Please give the article a read, regardless of which side you stand on. It really gave me a lot of perspective: going to Chik-fil-a and continuing to buy their products regardless of their contributions to openly anti-gay groups is, in effect, to say that you value your chicken sandwich more than the life and rights of any given gay person. And that is not a dramatization.

[Zombiiesque]

You know, and this is obviously just my two cents - he is entitled to his personal opinion, but I feel that it reflects horribly on him to announce it publicly when he's the owner of a company. I know they're an actively Christian company, but really, why bother to make such a stand ? I hate it. I absolutely love their food, and their customer service is really top notch in the fast food industry - but I won't be buying their products again. I know I'm just one person, but I refuse to give my money to support them. Honestly, it's thoroughly disgusting to me.

[Saxen]

I read an article about this recently, and about how The Muppets have revoked their deal to produce toys for the restaurant due to the their support of anti-gay organisations. I will look for the article but in the meantime I've managed to find the picture that went along with it. This was their response;

 

 

Deplorable.

 

Edit: I couldn't find the article I originally read but here's one I found on Google.

[Welcome Back Apathy]

It's not just one person's speech. It's not just one person speaking against gay people. Actions speak louder than words, and one person donated millions of dollars to organizations...not just organizations that fight gay marriage, but organizations that fight to make gay marriage illegal. Organizations that use that money to fund "pray out the gay" camps--which not only don't work, but are emotionally AND physically abusive, and they have led to so many suicides.

 

If you eat at Chick-Fil-A, your money might actually kill someone.

 

Do they have the right to donate where they see fit? Sure! And we have the right not to eat there. We have the right to make sure that these organizations don't get off the ground.

[vyvren]

It's unbelievable that some people actually are against eqaulity for all. In this case, It isn't just about feelings getting hurt, orgainzations like the the Family Research Council and the Marriage & Family Foundation go out of their way to have the love between people of the same gender criminalized.

 

I agree with all of the above posters, and I think that Karina makes an excellent point: the money you spend on a Chick-Fil-A meal could acutally kill someone.

[cup_of_chai_tea]

I think that's not the case, if everyone was gay there would be no life anyway

 

[Dynohawk]

I think that's not the case, if everyone was gay there would be no life anyway

 

Yes it is the case, and not everyone is gay anyway so what kinda of dumb answer is that?

[karmacow]

I think that's not the case, if everyone was gay there would be no life anyway

 

Gay marriage doesn't turn people gay. That's really not an argument for anything.

 

I'm dumbfounded by the whole thing. I don't understand how anyone can be so violently against gay rights. I don't even know what else to say.

[Welcome Back Apathy]

I think that's not the case, if everyone was gay there would be no life anyway

 

You might consider going to the gay marriage debate to talk about this.

 

But not everyone is gay, so what's the problem? Look how out of control the population is right now. Look how many people are pregnant as teenagers. Look how many people have children they can't afford. We're not in any danger of dying out; we're in danger of dying from lack of resources. Homosexuality won't fix the problem, but it's definitely an improvement.

[andaraen]

I don't think there's really much more I can say on this beyond "If you don't like it, don't eat or work there."

If enough people do just that, Chik-Fil-A will have a hard time making a profit and will either go out of business or rethink who they donate to so they can stay in business.

[cleomiele]

I'm glad to see so many sensible people in one place! (On the internet, that is sometimes difficult :mellow: )

 

I read an article about this recently, and about how The Muppets have revoked their deal to produce toys for the restaurant due to the their support of anti-gay organisations. I will look for the article but in the meantime I've managed to find the picture that went along with it. This was their response;

 

 

Deplorable.

 

Edit: I couldn't find the article I originally read but here's one I found on Google.

 

Yes, I remember reading about that around the time it happened and was absolutely disgusted. That's not the only deplorable thing they've done that includes dishonesty, however:

In this screencap some Chik-fil-a PR guy apparently used stock photos and a fake name to create a facebook account purely to act as though a consumer was combating people accusing them of lying about the Muppets products.

 

With all of this in mind--and the recent events that have caused more and more people to become aware of the things Chik-fil-a supports with their money and thus stop eating there--I think it's clear they're just digging themselves a bigger and bigger trench every day.

 

I don't think there's really much more I can say on this beyond "If you don't like it, don't eat or work there."

If enough people do just that, Chik-Fil-A will have a hard time making a profit and will either go out of business or rethink who they donate to so they can stay in business.

 

Wouldn't that be a great change? I don't know how plausible it is for them to reflect upon the harm they are doing to others due to drops in sales, being the HUGE (and obviously very dedicated to their cause) company that they are, but we can hope :)

[vyvren]

I don't think that the main thing to worry about is whether too many or too few people are gay. I don't think that sexuel orientation, color of skin or religious beliefs should be a factor upon which you are judged by others.

 

It's reprehensible that some people think that they have the right to cause others misery.

[Rebecca~]

This company makes me SO ANGRY. Not only are they friggen bigots that can't deal with people just wanting to get married to the people they love, just wanting to be able to NOT GET FIRED from their jobs for being queer, but their CORPORATE DOLLARS go towards a council that actively SUPPORTS countries that want to make homosexuality punishable by death. This was kind of touched on in the article the OP linked to, but I hope people will understand how serious this is.

 

This isn't about "free speach". This is violent hate and bigotry. Seeing pictures of people lining up to support this company makes me sick to my stomach, and fear for my queer brothers and sisters everywhere.

 

I just want to say, that I appreciate you guys so much. So many of the people on TDN are such fantastic allies, and I appreciate the fact that this is a pretty safe space. Rainbow cookies for you all.

[Bubbleline]

I believe Dan said something about homosexuality being a "crime against God", but with him supporting the murder of innocent people in other countries, I wonder which God would find more repulsive: the act of loving who you want to love and being happy that way and ultimately hurting no one else, or the act of murder and spreading hatred and intolerance among your fellow man. People like him just use religion as a curtain to hide behind for their bigotry. It's disgusting and is part of the reason why I stopped being religious. And aren't people forgetting a really memorable scene of the bible? That one part where Jesus protects a cheating wife or courtesan and says "Let he without sin cast the first stone." Yeah, way to have a conveniently selective memory, jerks.

 

I never liked the place to begin with and only went there once or twice, but I am never going again and have convinced 2 of my friends, who previously loved the place, to boycott it with me. Even if the company wises up and changes their minds in the future, I am never eating at any Chik-Fil-A, anywhere, again.

[Rebecca~]

I believe Dan said something about homosexuality being a "crime against God", but with him supporting the murder of innocent people in other countries, I wonder which God would find more repulsive: the act of loving who you want to love and being happy that way and ultimately hurting no one else, or the act of murder and spreading hatred and intolerance among your fellow man. People like him just use religion as a curtain to hide behind for their bigotry. It's disgusting and is part of the reason why I stopped being religious. And aren't people forgetting a really memorable scene of the bible? That one part where Jesus protects a cheating wife or courtesan and says "Let he without sin cast the first stone." Yeah, way to have a conveniently selective memory, jerks.

 

I never liked the place to begin with and only went there once or twice, but I am never going again and have convinced 2 of my friends, who previously loved the place, to boycott it with me. Even if the company wises up and changes their minds in the future, I am never eating at any Chik-Fil-A, anywhere, again.

Word.

It always annoys me when people talk about hating queers and loving Jesus in the same breath. You know what, folks? Jesus didn't say a word about us. Ever. You know what he did talk about? A lot? Loving your neighbours. Not judging people. Not being a jerk, really.

Whoops, you guys failed that!

[karmacow]

I'll take one of those rainbow cookies!

 

In a way I wish that chik-fil-a had restaurants in Denmark so I could actively choose to not eat there. Even though I'm a vegetarian and they probably wouldn't have any food for me.

[Rebecca~]

I'll take one of those rainbow cookies!

 

In a way I wish that chik-fil-a had restaurants in Denmark so I could actively choose to not eat there. Even though I'm a vegetarian and they probably wouldn't have any food for me.

Take all the cookies you want! :D

 

Hahaha, I kind of feel the same way! There are no stores in Canada either (Which, I think is a blessing over all though- I was able to go through facebook without a single mention of Chick-Fil-A, while from what I've heard, other people have had to either not look at facebook, or basically had to unfriend a bunch of people because of the hate they were spewing. :|

[Zombiiesque]

You should see how angry people are at the mayor of Boston - and GOOD FOR HIM! Hugs for you Rebecca, and those cookies! So cute. I cannot believe in this day and age that people are still this ignorant, and using the Bible as a basis for promoting hate and intolerance just disgusts me. I cannot imagine remotely supporting a company like that.

[Emily]

I agree with what was said about the personal vs. corporate issue. You can hold your beliefs, but please stop trying to force them on others. The issue here is that a handful of people are speaking for the entire franchise, which in turn encompasses all their employees, suppliers, customers, etc, while proactively trying to deter and abolish the civil rights of others. In order to make big business listen, you need to hit them where it hurts: in the wallet. Working in retail, I experience many people that threaten to stop shopping at certain stores and take their business elsewhere, but few actually carry through on the threat. Don't like what they're doing, don't eat there. If enough people do it, the profit loss may be enough to make the people in charge re-think their actions. Again, I don't expect their beliefs to change, but trying to control others like they are doing is wrong.

[Azariah]

I agree with just about everyone in this thread. I actively decide not to eat there when my family goes on vacation.

 

My dad, mom, and brother don't care they'll eat it anyway. However I just feel like my money should not be donated to such a thing. I will never spend money on them again and will never step foot into one of their buildings.

 

My mother tried to yell at me to get me to go in, one of the staffers was outside and asked if everything was okay. I told him I wasn't stepping into the restaurant because they were bigots, he gave me a high five... his dad makes him work there to get the "gay" out of him. :(

[cleomiele]

I agree with just about everyone in this thread. I actively decide not to eat there when my family goes on vacation.

 

My dad, mom, and brother don't care they'll eat it anyway. However I just feel like my money should not be donated to such a thing. I will never spend money on them again and will never step foot into one of their buildings.

 

My mother tried to yell at me to get me to go in, one of the staffers was outside and asked if everything was okay. I told him I wasn't stepping into the restaurant because they were bigots, he gave me a high five... his dad makes him work there to get the "gay" out of him. :(

 

Wow, that's...really disturbing actually. Especially coming from a parent. Like Rebecca said, Jesus taught people to not judge and be accepting, which a lot of Christians are apparently not very good at! I'm amazed at the audacity some people act with.

 

What I would be really interested in seeing is a graph or some figures concerning their sales around the time of all of this surfacing. I wonder if enough people are actually boycotting to make a substantial difference in the near future (you know, after "appreciation day" is passed us). I'd love to see it.

 

I'm glad this is a safe space, though! :) I love this forum more every day.

[Zombiiesque]

Oh my gosh, really? That poor kid, I hate that for him! :( It's kind of neat that you met him while under protest though - and good for you for taking such a stand.

I love that about this forum as well, it's so refreshing!

[karmacow]

My mother tried to yell at me to get me to go in, one of the staffers was outside and asked if everything was okay. I told him I wasn't stepping into the restaurant because they were bigots, he gave me a high five... his dad makes him work there to get the "gay" out of him. :(

 

That's messed up :( poor guy. But awesome that he high fived you for not wanting to go in there :D

[lilshadowdweller]

We don't have Chick-A-Fillet here in Canada. Actually, the only reason I ever knew about it was because of this recent issue. I barely buy from KFC so I probably wouldn't purchase from them too often regardless. It wouldn't be too intelligent for them to state such a thing here in Canada, seeing as homosexual marriage is allowed. That doesn't mean we don't have people who discriminate, there's still many of them out there. Oh, and guess what? Marriage is essentially normal here. People of opposite sex are still marrying! Go figure!

 

But I have heard about all of those people who went to Chick-A-Fillet to support them. And this disgusts me. How Christian is it to support a place which indirectly wants DEATH to homosexuals? That's just sickening. It's because they don't know the full story - they just think Chick-A-Fillet is supporting "traditional" marriage and "family values", but they don't get that they are donating to people who condone death to others. I hope that's it, anyway. If so many Americans openly went there KNOWING what the people have done that Chick-A-Fillet supports, well, that's really disgusting and wrong.

[j3wishcookies]

I think this whole thing is dumb. They aren't the only company that supports the foundations. And they are allowed to use their money on whatever. I'm all for equal rights but if some company that sells chicken that I happen to like very much doesnt so what. Do you care about Mcdonalds stance on Obamacare or how Taco Bell feels about abortion. Its food not politics.