It goes without saying that obviously in the eyes of the media, Chick-Fil-A is not the most popular fast food eatery this week among some people. Chick-Fil-A President Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press that his restaurant has always supported the 'traditional marriage'
"We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that," Cathy told the Baptist Press, the news agency of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Now obviously in today's age of franchises such as Oreo coming out in support of gay marriage, one coming out against isn't going to be the popular one among some individuals in the LGBT community and beyond.
Here's my issue.
It isn't going to affect me what Oreo or Chick-fil-A's "stance" is on a certain topic. As long as they continue to do what they've done to be successful companies and serving their customers the best way they know how, it doesn't affect me. What's being misinterpreted in what Cathy said, is the fact that he never said that he or Chick-Fil-A hated people who are gay. He was simply answering a question and gave his stance.
People have to learn to respect both sides of an issue. You don't have to agree with Cathy or what Chick-Fil-A stands for, but agreeing with someone and respecting them is a whole other issue. I have plenty of folks who disagree with me daily, and that's fine. I respect their opinion and you should respect mine.
With that being said, I do not feel companies and franchises need to employ a "company stance" in what they believe on these issues. Neither Chick-Fil-A nor Oreo are politically driven organizations. We don't (or shouldn't) look at franchises or celebrities to decide who we should vote for come election time. We don't need to know and quite frankly, if some of you actually knew what stance certain companies would take if they had to, you would probably wouldn't like it, whether you would be boycotting one way or another. I thought it was silly for people to boycott Oreo for their rainbow cookie in support of equality, and I think it is equally silly for folks to boycott Chick-Fil-A.
1st amendment rights aren't just for those of the popular opinion. And obviously, it is your choice to eat their chicken or not. Has been and always will. No one is forcing you to support them, and no one is telling you that you can't eat there either. That's the beauty of living in this country of ours. (For now)
If you've ever ate at Chick-Fil-A, than you know the type of courteous, friendly, sensible service you've come to appreciate eating at one of their establishments. Chick-Fil-A holds their employees to very high standards, and after speaking with people who have worked at a Chick-Fil-A, they require to you to be extra polite (i.e. "My Pleasure").
Next time you're in a Burger King, take note. That ain't happening.
Obviously if you know me, you know I believe anyone should be allowed to marry whoever they choose, for reasons I oppose government force, but that's another blog post. Also if you know me, you know I am a huge Chick-Fil-A fan. But honestly, it wouldn't matter to me who it was.
But lastly, let's really think about what we're doing if we boycott Chick-Fil-A. Are they going to be so affected so much that they run into bankruptcy? Not a chance. Are you going to be doing anything to promote equality if you don't eat chicken? No.
So for heaven's sake, let's hop down from our perch a top the high horse, get a grip on reality, and start worrying about more important things, like the upcoming Presidential race.
Chick-Fil-A released this statement earlier:
"The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect — regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender," according to the statement. "Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena," it said.
