Chick-Fil-A Fast Food: Anti-Gay

[The Pecman]

And as an update: this coming Friday (8/3/2012) will be a pro-gay "kissing" protest at Chick-Fil-A, according to this CNN story:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/us/us-chick-fil-a-debate/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

This follows a pro-straight marriage day on 8/1, where Chick-Fil-A claims they set several sales records with large crowds coming by to show their support of the restaurant.

For all I know, the entire thing is just being stirred up to drive sales...

[Cole Parker]

They had lines over a block long, waiting for a chicken sandwich. That's obviously not going to happen regularly. What will happen is the gay community, and friends of the gay community, will never go there again. Net results will be a loss in sales, and jokes on the national stage for a long, long time.

C

[colinian]

And as an update: this coming Friday (8/3/2012) will be a pro-gay "kissing" protest at Chick-Fil-A, according to this CNN story:

http://www.cnn.com/2....html?hpt=hp_t2

This follows a pro-straight marriage day on 8/1, where Chick-Fil-A claims they set several sales records with large crowds coming by to show their support of the restaurant.

For all I know, the entire thing is just being stirred up to drive sales...

The closest Chick-fil-A near to where we live (in Fairfield) gave away chicken sandwiches to everyone until they ran out. That's how they got a big crowd. Did they do that in other locations?

Colin

[The Pecman]

What will happen is the gay community, and friends of the gay community, will never go there again.

Then again: here's a gay couple who explains why they still eat at Chick-Fil-A:

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-823655?hpt=hp_bn1

"I love Chick-Fil-A as a place to get good tasting food. I do not support their beliefs and disagree with their funding of groups that are well known to be anti-gay activists. Personally they have never treated me any different as a gay man and I will continue to do business with them so long as that holds true."

[Guest Dabeagle]

Then again: here's a gay couple who explains why they still eat at Chick-Fil-A:

http://ireport.cnn.c...3655?hpt=hp_bn1

"I love Chick-Fil-A as a place to get good tasting food. I do not support their beliefs and disagree with their funding of groups that are well known to be anti-gay activists. Personally they have never treated me any different as a gay man and I will continue to do business with them so long as that holds true."

Then he deserves everything their corporation does to him.

[The Pecman]

I think it's not a simple black and white issue. What I said earlier in this thread is, if we stayed away from every corporation that openly or secretly donated money to causes we hated, we wouldn't be able to buy much of anything. They main difference is, they hide it a lot more carefully than Dan Cathy of Chick-Fil-A, who at least is honest about being a bigoted jerk.

More on the "Kiss Day" protest on CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/03/us/chick-fil-a-kiss-day/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

[Guest Dabeagle]

I think it is very black and white, one of the few things that is. I don't have to experience Orson Scott Card nor support his views with my money. I don't have to insist on how tasty these people's sandwiches are and give them my money. I can go to Sears or JC Penney or Kmart instead of Wal-Mart because I know their policies and donations aren't supporting causes that want to see me be a second class citizen. If you give your money in exchange for products and services that do that, then it's very black and white - you got what you paid for.

[Cole Parker]

Another way to look at the same thing is to say that part of every dollar you spend their is spent to demean yourself.

C

[E.J.]

Meanwhile, Kentucky Fried Chicken is taking advantage of the bad publicity for their competition:

And then there's this (gets a bit strange at the end):

http://FunnyOrDie.com/m/726w

[The Pecman]

I think it is very black and white, one of the few things that is. I don't have to experience Orson Scott Card nor support his views with my money.

Well, look at it this way: there are ways of obtaining Card's books for free. Everything is out on the net if you know where to look for it. Not that I would advocate such a thing, of course...

I don't have to insist on how tasty these people's sandwiches are and give them my money. I can go to Sears or JC Penney or Kmart instead of Wal-Mart because I know their policies and donations aren't supporting causes that want to see me be a second class citizen.

If you knew the sweatshop conditions of the Chinese vendors who provide products for Target, JC Penney, and K-Mart (and also Harbor Freight), you would be every bit as outraged. The Dude and I have talked about this -- he lived over there for years, and I've visited Hong Kong, Taiwan, Seoul, and many other places that would leave you stunned in terms of human misery and suffering.

I'm not defending Chick-Fil-A at all -- only to say that this is not a black and white issue, and that hundreds of corporations are every bit as evil, maybe worse. Donald Trump is also against gay marriage, and this is a man who owns hundreds of companies and many major businesses (to name just one).

I suspect what will happen is that something like the Coors scenario will happen: Dan Cathy will eventually pass away, his heirs will take over, and they'll change company policies to be a lot more open and less bigoted. Coors is 100% for gay rights today, and they were monsters in the 1970s and early 1980s. Things can change. The Chick-Fil-A Corporate FAQ page notes that their restaurants are independently owned and operated, so bear in mind that the company doesn't necessarily control the individual franchises.

They are clearly overwhelmed and concerned with all the publicity going on in the last couple of weeks. I note that their website makes it very hard to figure out where to find their corporate offices, but a tweaky Google search got the info:

Chick-Fil-A Corporate Office

5200 Buffington Road

Atlanta, GA 30349

(404) 765-8000

I'm not impressed that they provide no easy way to email them to comment on their corporate policies, but I'm sure a snail mail letter to the above address (or phone calls) will provide some satisfaction. My observation -- just looking at it from a PR point of view -- is that I bet 75% of the company's execs are completely flummoxed, and they know that the upper management people are total morons. I don't doubt that the PR people are beside themselves, just wishing the CEO had kept his big mouth shut.

Me, I'm glad he spoke out, because at least this way, we know he's a bigoted asshole and doesn't try to hide it. It's the sneaky ones you gotta watch out for.

[Cole Parker]

I'm not defending Chick-Fil-A at all -- only to say that this is not a black and white issue, and that hundreds of corporations are every bit as evil, maybe worse. Donald Trump is also against gay marriage, and this is a man who owns hundreds of companies and many major businesses (to name just one).

To me, there's a significant difference. In the case of these chicken dealers, they're in effect thumbing their noses at us, bringing the fight to our doorstep. Sure, other corporations donate hither and yon, but they mostly don't make a big deal of it. This guy did, just like he wanted to pick a fight. I think that changes things.

C

[JamesSavik]

Actually- it is a black and white issue.

Chick-fillet is funding organization that want to criminalize homosexuality in the US, and employ Bryan Fischer, Paul Cameron and George Rekers.

Overseas, they are lobbying repressive goverenments in Africa to be even more repressive to homosexuals, criminalize homosexuality and even make it a capital offense.

http://prospect.org/article/exporting-anti-gay-movement

Seems pretty black and white: if we fail to engage these people, they WILL hurt us.

[colinian]

Right on, James. That's something we shouldn't miss when considering whether to support Chick-fil-A and their support of anit-gay hate groups by buying their sandwiches. Doug, Chris, Steve, and I, our parents, our grandparents, and most of our friends agree as well. Chick-fil-A can go elsewhere to find customers.

Colin

[JamesSavik]

Surely the law in the US frowns on hate speech as in any other civilised country and you have laws preventing it?

Rick-

We have no such laws. What is supposed to keep things in balance is that you can say anything you like. That does not make you immune from the consequences of your speech or actions.

In this case, Chick-fillet has taken substantial public relations heat for their anti-gay stand. I think it's going to get a lot worse for them. Joe Blow is going to forget about Chick-fillet but people with an iron in the fire won't be as quick to forget or forgive.

We must think in terms of playing the long game and in the long game, Chick-fillet will lose.

[DesDownunder]

Jamessavik said;

We must think in terms of playing the long game and in the long game, Chick-fillet will lose.

As will all, who chase poor defenceless birds which, cannot fly and are fed modified grain with antibiotics to fatten them so that they can be beheaded and have their feathers plucked from their scalded skin before being dissected into pieces of meat which are battered and soaked in boiling oil, to be sold to gluttonous consumers who condemn the love of people who just want to marry each other.

[EleCivil]

I saw this video the other day, and thought I'd share. A vlogger, The Nostalgia Chick, compares/contrasts Orson Scott Card and Chick-fil-A.

[The Pecman]

As will all, who chase poor defenceless birds which, cannot fly and are fed modified grain with antibiotics to fatten them so that they can be beheaded and have their feathers plucked from their scalded skin before being dissected into pieces of meat which are battered and soaked in boiling oil...

But it tastes so damned good!

BTW, noted right-wing religious buffoon Pat Robertson recently said: "Gay Chick-Fil-A Protesters Should 'Shut Their Mouth' Until They Can Produce Children."

My comment to Pat is that I pray every day that he'll slide under a gas truck and taste his own blood, but that's me. And he seems to be unaware that there are plenty of gay people who are raising children.

[The Pecman]

And in a surprising update to this story:

One of the activists who organized the gay boycott of Chick-Fil-A spent a day with restaurant CEO Dan Cathy over New Year's at a football game a few weeks ago, and now reports that the restaurant owner has tempered his views:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shane-l-windmeyer/dan-cathy-chick-fil-a_b_2564379.html

The author concludes: This past week Chick-fil-A shared with me the 2011 IRS Form 990, filed in November for the WinShape Foundation, along with 2012 financials. The IRS has not released the 990 to the public yet, but the financials affirm Chick-fil-A's values a year prior to the controversy this past July. The nearly $6 million in outside grant funding focuses on youth, education, marriage enrichment and local communities. The funding reflects Chick-fil-A's promised commitment not to engage in "political or social debates," and the most divisive anti-LGBT groups are no longer listed.

He stops short of saying, "we are no longer boycotting Chick-Fil-A's restaurants," but at least it shows that the family that runs the corporation is reconsidering where they put their money, and perhaps now they understand there are many sides to the issue of gay marriage.

[The Pecman]

And here's a fascinating editorial by a gay CNN contributor on the pros and cons of Chick-Fil-A's new attitude, and what it really means:

http://eatocracy.cnn...?iref=allsearch

As the author says: "The recent news may have influenced me subconsciously stopping and picking up a half-and-half tea just this very morning, the first I’ve had since summer. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but going forward, I’m honestly not certain what I will do - if I will continue my renewed patronage of Chick-fil-A or not. Truthfully, I now have a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth and sadly, my once perfect half-and half tea just doesn’t taste as sweet."

[E.J.]

Chick-fil-A sales up 12% in 2012

http://www.bizjourna...ness+Journal%29

When most of your shops are located in the south, being seen as anti-gay is good for business.

Or maybe most people just don't care.....kind of depressing.

[Guest Dabeagle]

I read somewhere that they disclosed their giving was about the same. I had a hard time stomaching the article talking about these folks as nice people.

[The Pecman]

If you read the earlier articles, they trotted out some store managers who insist that they have gay employees and gay customers, and the only anti-gay attitude is from the CEO, which has nothing to do with the individual stores. I was talking to a (very politically-minded) friend of mine the other day, and he said something interesting: "you know, at least Dan Cathy admits to being an asshole. There are a thousand other CEOs of huge corporations who are terribly bigoted and anti-gay, but they hide behind PR firms and shell corporations and won't ever admit how they really feel in public."

I'd also point out that at least he was willing to have a conversation with a gay spokesman about the issue, and acknowledges that this is a complex area. I'm reminded of the Coors Beer company in the 1970s and 1980s, who were so religiously conservative and anti-gay, hundreds of gay bars threw all the Coors signs into the streets and banned their beverages for decades. Once new management came in around 1995 and began hiring gay people on staff, the ban was lifted and you saw Coors back in all the bars. My guess is: we wait long enough, and Dan Cathy and his ilk will eventually fade away and get replaced by younger people who are much more tolerant.

[JamesSavik]

I still don't like waffle fries and I'm NOT going to like them in the future.

[The Pecman]

God, that's the one thing we like the most: the waffle fries. They're excellent! And I hate the french fries at 90% of the fast food places out there. McDonald's is the gold standard, and everybody else is in about 10th place. Most taste like fried cardboard with a little salt to me.