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Today is “Chick-fil-A” Appreciation Day and I expect it to be a huge hit.
That’s fine as far as I am concerned. This day gives the gay community a larger platform to educate why we are angry at the restaurant chain.
It’s not about it’s owner’s religious beliefs or opposition of marriage equality.
There are religious right organizations and talking heads (and unfortunately mainstream journalists) who are attempting to make it solely a religious issue.
They claim that Chick-fil-A doesn’t have an anti-gay agenda and that supposedly us “radical homosexuals” are demonstrating intolerance.
Let’s remind them what it’s all about.
In 2010, Chick-fil-A donated nearly $2 million to groups who make it their mission to attack the gay community through lies and distortions. These groups push several false notions from homosexuality is connected to pedophilia to the idea that gays can change their orientation – an idea frowned on by the legitimate scientific community.
According to Equality Matters, the Family Research Council is one of these groups:
The Family Research Council has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for its propagation of known falsehoods about the LGBT community. For example, president Tony Perkins has a long history of false and inflammatory attacks, such as claiming that pedophilia is a “homosexual problem.” [Washington Times, 11/24/10; SPLC, accessed 6/27/12]
The Family Research Council employs Peter Sprigg, who once said that gays should be exported out of the United States:
and that “homosexual behavior” should be criminalized:
And let’s not forget FRC’s head, Tony Perkins, who has called gays vile, intolerant, and pawns of the Devil:
That is when he is not making ugly comments about gay children and their families (beginning at 3:10):
Let me be clear – there have been several elected officials attempting to use the power of their office against Chick-fil-A. I am not in favor of this.
However, I am equally bothered by the need of so-called Christians to deliberately sugarcoat the issue to the point of omitting several facts about the groups that Chick-Fil-A supports.
Chick-fil-A’s money supports hate and lies and the last time I checked, hate and lies are hardly Christian principles:
Related posts:
Simple answers to the questions about the Chick-fil-A boycott
Fake Christians are lying about Chick-fil-A
9 Comments
Alvin, I’m curious as to why you object to political officials acting to keep CFA out of their communities. Elected officials routinely act to keep undesirable operations (landfills) and businesses inconsistent with community standards (fetish shops, strip clubs) out of their communities. Cathy has made it very clear that homophobia is part & parcel of how CFA does business just like stink is an inherent and undesirable component of landfills. Homophobia is inconsistent with the community standards and undesirable in Chicago, Boston, etc. Our officials simply are acting to uphold these standards. Nothing new or extraordinary in what they’re doing, just as there is nothing new or extraordinary in the right’s eagerness to play martyr yet again.
“supposedly us ‘radical homosexuals’ are demonstrating intolerance.”
Projection is one of them most salient traits of conservatives.
I share the good Reverend Kenneth Chalker’s view on gay marriage.
Check it out here.
http://www.cleveland.com/religion/index.ssf/2012/06/bibles_message_on_marriage_is.html
“Alvin, I’m curious as to why you object to political officials acting to keep CFA out of their communities. Elected officials routinely act to keep … businesses inconsistent with community standards (fetish shops, strip clubs) out of their communities.”
Don’t forget that many communities frequently lump gay bars (particularly those that feature drag shows) together with strip clubs and fetish shops as adult entertainment businesses that go against “community standards.” They’re often forced to operate “out of sight” on the outskirts of town or in blighted areas, if they’re even permitted at all.
If you support the notion that a city should be allowed to ban businesses that some members of the community and city council find objectionable, it would undoubtedly have a much greater adverse impact on the gay community than Chick-Fil-A.
Well said… thanks.
My point was it’s happening already-communities makes these kinds of calls every day (including calls to exclude bars, gay and otherwise). It is only now that a religious bigot is on the receiving end of this sort of “community morals” argument that people become concerned about the civil liberties implications.
Appreciation Day…how bizarre. What, exactly, is being “appreciated”? Bigotry?
We really do have the easier road to travel here. All we have to do is boycott Chick-Fil-A. Most of the food on the grocery shelves and most of the restaurants in our communities come from corporations who support equality – they have sexual orientation and (in some cases, but not enough) gender identity and expression in their non-discrimination policies, many offer DP benefits, and many have LGBT employee resource groups. Some advertise in gay media, create gay-positive advertising, and support gay organizations and events.
But for all those right-wingers who lead or support those anti-gay organizations, if they really want to put their money where their mouth is (and it seems money might be one of their few remaining choices), they would have to boycott almost all food. All of these brands would be off the table (literally) for them: Kraft, General Mills, Kelloggs, Nabisco, Coca-cola, Pepsi, Starbucks, MillerCoors, Anheuser-Busch, Hershey, Ben and Jerry’s (of course!), and many, many others.
They won’t be appreciating Chick-Fil-A only today, they will be appreciating them every day, because it’s one of the few places they have left to eat if they don’t want to be supporting equality with their food dollars.
See this article on the Advocate’s web site for more: http://www.advocate.com/business/2012/07/20/foods-tony-perkins-cannot-eat
As much as I disdain these people, I have enough compassion that I would never wish to see other human beings starve to death.
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head.
Legislators should be protecting civil rights and ending discrimination, not fighting a battle on cultural grounds against a business. The tactic itself is discriminatory, and gives the conservative right a martyr.
Reactionary Democrats are painted as totalitarian “liberals”, and have lost the war already because it appears to lack a long term strategy.
Everyone should have a right to make a living, not denied because of their beliefs about marriage (bigoted or not)- just like everyone should have the right to be opposite married or same married.
The Aderman is limited about what he can do, but maybe he could get Chick-fil-a to sign a contract that if they can build, they give up the right to donate to that campaign. Employees are forced to do it everyday, LLC’s should too.
I’ve heard in other situations politicians have, or are attempting to make deals with conservative businesses to not engage in discriminatory employment practices itself. This simply leaves bigots armed with profits to fight their battle at a higher level.
Ultimately democrats are fighting for ground already won, failing to recognize it de-facto gives up that high positon. Henry VII ended superiority of canon law over the Realm or the King during the reformation in the 1530′s and the States did it 1776.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_Concerning_Peter%27s_Pence_and_Dispensations
Let’s do the papists and middle age reverts a big favor, and let them have their precious holy ceremonies to define it as they like within the confines of their own bigoted churches.
Have the Gov/State recognize legal partnership contracts, not religious marriage ceremonies nor the authority of a church to define such. Make marriage and civil partnerships for everyone totally separate. I think tax discrimination should be ended for singles too.
I feel like this is a diversion or a waste of energy to tear after Chick Fil A like this, when legislators should use the tools they were elected to use.