Chik fil-a...freedom of speech or intolerance?

So you are calling Obama an out and proud Gay bigot then.

You said Gay marriage is a civil rights issue and not a Church one -- understand he has not imposed his philosophy onto his employees rights, except the right to take Sundays off.

I mean really, he has no Federal power...and the Obama Admin has not made Gay marriage law.

Also, the Bible doesn't view women in modern day terms. If he felt women only belonged in the kitchen and not working - but hired women, or expressed pro-life but hired women who have had abortions, I might eat there and I might not.

Nothing he spoke out on is against the law, but those particular Mayors reaction to him have been.
They have no RIGHT to impose the power of Government over an OPINION. Unless he breaks the law, they need to suck it up and hope their constituents refuse to patronize his establishments.

 

So if a very conservative christian organization had asked him where he thought a woman's place should be and he had said women should be in the background and are the weaker sex and incapable of taking leadership positions and should be concerned with keeping house and looking after the kids, would women be up in arms or not?

 

Love me some Chick Fil-a

Some of you are some overly sensitive mofos.:smt042

 

We can say what-ifs till the cows come home. The fact is, the man never mentioned race or gender issues, he actually never even used the words gay or homosexual. He ONLY said that his company supports the bibles definition of marriage.

Personally, I'm against Chic-Fil-A's opposition to gay marriage, because marriage in the legal context isn't based on any religious principals anyway.

 

LOL I still <3 it too!

However, as much care as he took with the delivery in his statement, i believe he should have made it on behalf of himself and not his entire organization. Same reason to keep other sensitive subjects off limits in certain scenarios (i.e. The workplace). That's a lot of risk to take, even given their good rep, good food, etc....

But you will have a diverse population that will continue to support your establishment, regardless. In today's society, there is little you can do or say that will not offend someone....

 

I won't eat their again. There is no excuse to actively try and keep others from their civil rights just b/c you don't agree with them. This is not a matter of freedom of speech b/c no one is arguing he should be put in prison, silenced or censored by the government. We have the freedom not to give our money to people we don't want giving it to hate organizations. Gay people do not have legal rights. In many states they can be fired and refused service. These organizations are fighting for not only the ban on gay marriage to remain but for them to have no legal rights at all and some members are even trying to make it a criminal offense to have homosexual relations. Not only that but they are fighting against peoples right to watch porn, censor nudity, language, etc.. on cable, abortion (for those that are pro-choice), and dispensing birth control.

I live close to where the original chickfla was built and in my town we have a dwarf house and 1 of the 3 Truetts Grill. I already took issue with the fact at our Truetts I have never seen a single employee that was not white, not skinny, and not young. Young people in my town are a minority, Skinny people are a minority, and white people are only little less than half so it in excusable.

 

The Chick Fellatio: stuck in the craw
Posted on July 30, 2012

This post is all I have to say about the Chick-Fil-A controversy. It sums up various posts on the issue and various points made by my friends and I. From now own, rather than spend time debating this issue person by person, I’m going to point people here.

My hope here is to find common ground with those who have disagreed with me on the issue, and maybe to persuade. It’s not to ridicule or to best.

So, in the interest of common ground, let’s start here: I acknowledge the absurdity of all this debate.

It’s definitely strange to have days-long Facebook debates flare up everywhere over a chicken sandwich. The anger, sarcasm, and hurt feelings on display seem strange or even laughable because most people have seen Chick-Fil-A as just a restaurant with a funny ad campaign. I’ll get into some of the whys and wherefores of that later. But, for now, let’s just say that, yes. It can seem ridiculous to get all worked up over fast-food chicken.

Let’s also agree that this isn’t about curtailing anyone’s rights under First Amendment. The Constitution is a legal document. This is not a legal argument. No one is arguing that Chik-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy should be put in prison, or silenced, or censored by the government. This has nothing to do with government censorship or government abridgment of Freedom of Speech. So don’t worry: the ability of this millionaire to legally spend his millions as he sees fit is not in jeopardy. You need not defend it.

Now, let’s get to the nitty-gritty of things. Please read carefully. These things have been said before, but not by me, and not all in one place. Please read with an open mind. If you can’t read with an open mind, please leave, take a minute, come back, and try again. If you can’t do that, then please don’t bother. Please read all of the words here, rather than just reading half of the argument and assuming you know what I’m saying. Read these words as they are written. Again, if you don’t want to read my words, then don’t continue.

So here goes:

1. This isn’t simply about marriage. Shocker, right? It’s extremely frustrating that same-sex marriage is the great continental divide. People are judged according to how they stand on this issue, as if no other issue matters. Did you know that a person can be for same-sex marriage and still be homophobic? Did you know that a person can be against same-sex marriage and be gay? We all get categorized very quickly based on the marriage issue and maybe that’s not fair. But here’s what you should know:

- In 29 states in America today, my partner of 18 years, Cody, or I could be fired for being gay. Period. No questions asked. One of those states is Louisiana, our home state. We live in self-imposed exile from beloved homeland, family, and friends, in part, because of this legal restriction on our ability to live our lives together.

- In 75 countries in the world, being gay is illegal. In many, the penalty is life in prison. These are countries we can’t openly visit. In 9 countries, being gay is punishable by death. In many others, violence against gays is tacitly accepted by the authorities. These are countries where we would be killed. Killed.

- Two organizations that work very hard to maintain this status quo and roll back any protections that we may have are the Family Research Council and the Marriage & Family Foundation. For example, the Family Research council leadership has officially stated that same-gender-loving behavior should be criminalized in this country. They draw their pay, in part, from the donations of companies like Chick-Fil-A. Both groups have also done “missionary” work abroad that served to strengthen and promote criminalization of same-sex relations.

- Chick-Fil-A has given roughly $5M to these organizations to support their work.

- Chick-Fil-A’s money comes from the profits they make when you purchase their products.

2. This isn’t about mutual tolerance because there’s nothing mutual about it. If we agree to disagree on this issue, you walk away a full member of this society and I don’t. There is no “live and let live” on this issue because Dan Cathy is spending millions to very specifically NOT let me live. I’m not trying to do that to him.

Asking for “mutual tolerance” on this like running up to a bully beating a kid to death on the playground and scolding them both for not getting along. I’m not trying to dissolve Mr. Cathy’s marriage or make his sex illegal. I’m not trying to make him a second-class citizen, or get him killed. He’s doing that to me, folks; I’m just fighting back.

All your life, you’re told to stand up to bullies, but when WE do it, we’re told WE are the ones being intolerant? Well, okay. Yes. I refuse to tolerate getting my ass kicked. “Guilty as charged.”

But what are you guilty of? When you see a bully beating up a smaller kid and you don’t take a side, then you ARE taking a side. You’re siding with the bully. And when you cheer him on, you’re revealing something about your own character that really is a shame.

3. This isn’t about Jesus. I have a lot of Christian friends. Most of them are of the liberal variety, it’s true, but even this concept seems lost on some of you. Most of them are pro-LGBT rights. Pro-gay and Pro-Christ are NOT mutually exclusive. They never have been, in the history of Christianity, though it’s been difficult at times. It’s not impossible to be both.

If someone is telling you it is, then maybe you should wonder why they’d do that. I see divorced Christians, remarried Christians, drug addict Christians. I see people with WWJD bracelets bumping and grinding on TV and raking in millions to do it. I see greedy, rapacious, vengeful people who are Christians. And these people are accepted in the Church, and the Church does very little to combat them. Sometimes it seems like being gay is the ONLY thing certain modern Christian movements won’t allow. Why’s that, I wonder?

Jesus had almost nothing to say about sexual behavior of any kind. He was too busy teaching more important things. Empathy is at the heart of his teachings. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Remember that? It’s in red. So let’s examine that:

4. If things were reversed, I’d stand up for you.

Please think about this: How would you feel if KFC came out tomorrow and said they were spending money against equality for Asian Americans, or African Americans, or religious people? Really. Think about it. What would you do? How would you feel? How would you feel if, after their announcement, there was a big increase in KFC sales and I was all over Facebook supporting KFC. Please stop reading right now and imagine this. I’m serious.

You can stop now because it’s ludicrous. It would never happen.

Oh, I don’t mean the part about KFC being against some group. That COULD happen. I mean the part about me supporting them. Let me tell you something, and you can damn well believe it: I’d sign on for the boycott IMMEDIATELY.

Why? Well, because I believe in equality for all people, that’s why. But also, personally, from the bottom of my heart: because you are my friend, and I don’t willingly support people who harm you for just being you. How could I? How could I, really? But, more importantly for our purposes, how could you?

Seriously, how could you? What has Chick-Fil-A ever done for you? Sold you some fatty chicken at a ridiculous mark-up? Made you chuckle at semi-literate cartoon cows? You mean more to me than KFC possibly could. If I, in turn, don’t mean more to you than a chicken sandwich from Chik-Fil-A–if my life, my quality of life, and my dignity are such afterthoughts to you that you’d not only refuse the boycott, but go out of your way to support someone who was hurting me? if I let this stand, if I don’t stand up to the bullies and if I let my friends egg the bullies on, what does that make me?

Well, it makes me a Chikin.

Yeah, so suddenly it is cause for anger, ridiculous or not.

But I’m not going to stop being Facebook friends with anyone over this issue.

Instead, I will remain. And, when you see my face with my partner’s in my profile, maybe you will examine not simply what your opinions are about gay people, or gay marriage, or the first amendment, even; maybe you’ll examine not merely your opinions but your values. What is friendship to you? What is loyalty? How important are human life and dignity to you? Are they more important than fitting in with your social group? Are they more important than loyalty to a corporate brand, or a political party, or some misguided church teaching?

That’s why we’re so angry. This is personal for us. There are times in your life when you have the opportunity to stand up for your friends. When you let that opportunity pass, your friends notice. It doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, but it diminishes you, and it diminishes the friendship. That’s how it is, no matter what the issue or what the venue.

So stand up. Stand up for us. Do the right thing. You don’t have to agree with us on everything, but repudiate Chick-Fil-A. Unlike them on Facebook. Withdraw your support for them. Join us in the boycott. If you can’t do that, then please ask yourself whether I’m your friend. In fact, ask yourself whether anyone is.

This is all I have to say. If you’d like to debate the issue further, I’ll do it, but I’m not going to go around and around on the same points. If you’re just going to repeat yourself, save us both some time. If you haven’t taken the time to actually read this carefully and actually consider carefully what I’ve said, then I see no reason to waste further words.

The ball is in your court. Again, I urge you to do the right thing.

 

I am a Christian but I am fed up with Christians using their religious beliefs to excuse their ugliness toward others. They used their religious belief to excuse themselves for having the right to enslave non Christians (Africans). They used their excuses to ban interracial marriage. In fact one of the first things they did in the late 1600's was force ministers to preach that is was wrong and fine and defrock them if they married interracial couples. This is simply NOT OK. I couldn't stand up for interracial rights b/c I was not born but I can stand up for gay rights. Everyone should have every right to marriage of their choice as long as all parties are consenting adults. If people have ever wondered how whites could be so evil to own slaves to look at interracial marriage with disgust well you have to look no further that the bigot people on homosexual marriage. Their doing the exact same thing. Their raised and brainwashed from the time their small children to feel that is homosexuality is wrong and disgusting just as racist raise their children to feel that blacks are inferior and interracial marriage is disgusting.

 

Silence

 

Chick-fil-a gives money to hate groups that try to prevent gay people from achieving equal rights.

As far as I'm concerned, that's all I need to hear.

Also, an article today that interviewed gay CFA staff indicated that the atmosphere is homophobic, and many of them have left their jobs or are thinking of leaving as a result of what was said.

I have no patience for it. It's not a first amendment issue...it's a bigotry issue. Americans seem to think that the First Amendment means you get to spout off bullshit and don't have to face consequences- no, it means that you can say things, and the government can't throw you in jail for it (unless you incite a riot, etc.). It does not mean that you get to be a jackass hate-monger and won't pay the price.

Simple.

 

Obama is the only POTUS is U.S. history to take an affirmative stand on gay marriage.

What else is he expected to do???

Someone posted a link from 2008 about Obama's then opinion on gay marriage; he supported civil unions but was not in favor of endorsing gay marriage rights.

Sorry if I take the opinion of Obama the PRESIDENT over that of Obama the CANDIDATE.

 

I agree here....I think the American culture has become too PC...everything now is not to hurt anyone feelings yet freedom of speech gives people the right say what they want no matter what is said....

 

Actual quote from radio interview with Chick-fil-a Ceo Dan Cathy;

“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.



I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about."


Sounds hateful to me.
I guess some issues just don't matter to people unless it affects them personally.

 

Exactly. His actual quote was pretty hateful.

 

This. A thousand times this. The extreme majority of the people criticizing the protesters have absolutely no understanding of the First Amendment, and to whom it applies. The First Amendment does not protect people from being criticized about what they say in any way, shape or form.

 

He should have really driven the point home and ended his remarks with that Bible verse that condemns gay marriage. I'm sure it's in there somewhere...

 

[YOUTUBE]JprRWKQys7A[/YOUTUBE]

 

They have money and power behind them though.

Santorum organized a "support your local chickfila"
day.

And palin with Todd was first one to go down and have her greasy picture shot with fresh food from that horrid place.

 

The man can say what the hell he want to say. I don't agree with gay marriage, big fucking deal. We, people of WWBM, always stress about standing up for what we believe. Well guess what, he did just that people. We have larger problems in this country to be concerned about. Like why the rich get breaks, the poor get hand outs, and the working middle class like my self get fucked in the ass by the government. Why don't they meet and boycott that?? People getting their feelings hurt for simple shit like this when this country falling apart. SMH.

 

Policy?