By: Erin Dyer
Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A, recently made a statement that has been flooding the news and social media like Hurricane Katrina. Cathy expressed his family’s support of “traditional” marriage between man and woman, and only between man and woman, reflecting biblical views. While Cathy, as an American, has the right to have and stand by his personal beliefs, it was clearly a bad business decision to state that his company, Chick-fil-A, backs his views. Many people are unhappy, to say the least, with Chick-fil-A’s ignorant anti-gay marriage beliefs, and thus have agreed to boycott Chick-fil-A completely, vowing to never eat their nuggets dipped in their famous Chick-fil-A sauce again.
While the company does have the right to its own views, the public also has the right to protest. In addition to Chick-fil-A boycotts, a radical gay group, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), is firing back at Chick-fil-A’s stance, and promoting a National Same-Sex Kiss Day held at countrywide Chick-fil-A locations. This Same-Sex Kiss Day will serve as a peaceful protest in efforts of leading by a nonviolent example, and will occur this Friday, August 3, at 7pm.
In 2010, Chick-fil-A donated almost $2 million of their profits to anti-gay organizations and efforts. So, basically, any time you buy a chicken sandwich you are supporting anti-gay ideals directly with your own dollars.
I have heard, many times, people saying that boycotting Chick-fil-A alone probably won’t grant marriage equality any faster– and they may be right– but it’s a pretty good place to start. If you support marriage equality and plan on boycotting Chick-fil-A, you may want to know about other anti-gay companies you may have supported or are currently supporting with your money– such as Urban Outfitters, Exxon Mobil, Wal-Mart, and Salvation Army– to name a few. If we stop giving our money to anti-gay corporations, then the LGBT community stands a greater chance of being granted the rights and equal opportunity they deserve as human beings.
If you want to ignore these issues and have a Chick-fil-A chocolate milkshake and chicken sandwich for lunch, that’s fine. You can do that. Or you can agree to never again support Chick-fil-A and any other anti-gay companies. You are free to react (or not react) in any way that you please. As for me, I will be arriving at the Chick-fil-A located at 1 Main Street in Houston this Friday evening, with my posse of friends– gay and straight– where I will be planting a big, wet one on my beautiful, same-sex best friend, Ariana Katechis, in hopes that each small step taken towards equality will one day create great change.
I’m not sure that I understand the point of this National Same-Sex Kiss Day. How exactly is this supposed to help? The company hasn’t said they wouldn’t serve gay couples. They haven’t even expressed a distaste for serving gay couples. Their belief system states that homosexuality is a sin. They therefore are choosing to support causes that back their beliefs by making sizable donations. Just as the people boycotting are choosing not to give money to a company that supports causes with beliefs that directly contradict their own and can even be considered offensive to many. Boycotting on a fundamental level makes sense. Don’t give ChickfilA money to spend in places you don’t feel the money should be spent. But National Same-Sex Kiss Day? Is this just a chance for ‘boycotters” or pro-equality supporters to unite? Did you not feel united through boycotting? Will kissing someone in the same sex at a ChickfilA create even an ounce of movement in the right direction? ChickfilA is a franchise. The franchise owners and the people working there don’t sign an anti-gay mission statement. What exactly will you be proving to them? “…a peaceful protest in efforts of leading by a nonviolent example.” Leading who? ChickfilA is a christian owned company. I guarantee they’re not going to change their beliefs. As far as they’re concerned they’re doing the right thing. Their supporters generally feel the same way, or at the very least feel it is ChickfilA’s right to spend their money as they see fit. I’m straying from my point though. Back to my original question. How exactly is National Same-Sex Kiss Day supposed to help? What new small step is being taken?
Because a “belief” that homosexuality is a sin is bigotry and society will no longer tolerate it as an acceptable position.
Crystal doesn’t seem to get it. Anti-Gay bigotry is shameful. This is a civil rights issue. It is especially sad when some christian groups who say they believe in brotherhood, don’t practice what they preach.
Crystal, shouldn’t you be asking “what purpose does it serve for CEO Cathy to express his bigotry in the media? What exactly is he trying to prove? Does he think he’ll change our minds?”
You didn’t though, did you? Best we keep our mouths shut and not ride the bus at all, right?
Hint: It’s not about changing the minds of the suits.
Neither of you have answered my question. I’m not arguing the validity of their beliefs. I actually haven’t said where I stood. All I asked is how is this National Same-Sex Kiss Day was supposed to help? What change is it specifically supposed to make or help make?
You’ve both used the term bigotry. Actually many people are throwing that term around. Bigotry is a mixture of hate and intolerance. I’ll give you the intolerant part. Most christians have no desire to be tolerant honestly. They believe we’re “called to be different, set apart”. That doesn’t leave room for being tolerant of everyone just as they are. However, at no point has this company expressed any level of hate.
Fighting intolerance with intolerance will do nothing. Fighting percieved hate with hate will do nothing. I don’t actually believe anyone’s listening to one another at this point. It’s become too heated and hostile. It’s a very split topic in the US clearly. People should discuss, debate and stand up for what they believe in. I just don’t personally see how my kissing my female best friend in a ChickfilA franchise is going to help…
houbc, Didn’t your parents teach you that you can’t answer a question with a question? You have no idea where I stand. I’ve made a point not to discuss that here because at this point no one is really listening. I didn’t ask for a hint. I asked for information. Your sarcasm was unnecessary.
To answer your questions though I think Mr Cathy answered the questions asked of him honestly but brazenly. I don’t feel he answered the questions in hopes of changing anyone’s mind nor do I believe he was trying to prove anything.
You’re the third person to respond to my original post and I’ve yet to get any actual answers.
Not that you need to hear this, but THANK YOU. Thank you for supporting some of my rights as an American. Thank you for protesting tomorrow.
Thank you for speaking freely about your choice to not give your money to companies that are actively anti-gay, and have owners that are openly hateful of others for reasons that are ACTUALLY morally wrong. Thank you for putting your money where you mouth is, and thank you for posting this to let everyone know you are doing this.
Thank you for supporting our right to show employees and customers of Chick-fil-a that we are unhappy with their choices, and that they have the right to change. Thank you for showing Dan Cathy that his right to say what he wants about non-traditional families, will not win him customers, and that what they are doing is WRONG.
I believe one day “non-traditional” people like gays and the transgendered, will have equal rights amongst strait people. But we as a population will have to fight for the rights of all of our people. People who deserve a “non-traditional” marriage are not the only people who can protest anti-gay movements. We should all be fighting for the rights of gays, just like we should all respect the rights African-American men had to fight for, and women had to fight for.
To Crystal, I agree with Jay, because it is not simply a view on something simple. What this company is standing behind is the idea that some people, because of their choice in who they love, do not deserve the same rights as everyone else does.
I am more inclined to agree with you on the bottom part of your second post, because many people are just angry about what “the suits” have said. They are insulted and they just want to prove that Chick-fil-a is wrong and should be stopped. However, many of us can, as you say, ” should discuss, debate and stand up for what they believe in”. I challenge you to see that this is not what people are doing, though. A FEW people are standing up to Chick-fil-a and are chosing to not support them morally or financially anymore.
To answer your question more directly, “How exactly is National Same-Sex Kiss Day supposed to help? What new small step is being taken?” – the point is not to aggressively change the minds of Chick-fil-a or America as a whole,(I agree, they will not) it is to symbolically SHOW that these people are not supporting Chick-fil-a because of Chick-fil-a’s opinion to deny other people their rights, and that anyone can make that choice as well. I plan to be outside a nearby franchise with a sign and a bottle of water to show employees and customers, and hopefully some kind of press that it is my right to support whatever I want, just like it is Dan Cathy’s. I just happen to be a little more land-of-the-free-American and he happens to be a little more I-am-mighty-me-American.
@Crystal– The point is for publicity and recognition of a cause.