Saturday, August 4, 2012

Chick-Fil-A...Hypocrisy, Following The Money, and Utterly Missing The Point


Yes this is another Chick-Fil-A post. I know that you may have already had you Fil of them(har har). It does seem that you can't swing a stick these days without being confronted by a story about CFA  on the blogs, online news outlets, television, newspapers, and twitter feeds. This one, seemingly inconsequential company has become the focus of a debate we would normally reserve for a much larger event....like the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell for instance. And yet...this obscure fast food chain has been rocketed into the limelight. Hell...I can't even type this post without the customers in my store reading over my shoulder as I type and wanting to engage me in conversation about it...that's how big this is getting. And there seems to be some confusion as to what it's all about.

With everyone and their Grandmother talking about this(literally)...I didn't think I needed to be one more voice in the din. But...The problem is that nearly everyone has it wrong. Dan Cathy and his homophobic comments have become the focus of the debate, which has become focused on free speech, free capitalism, and freedom of religion....none of which has anything to do with why Chick-Fil-A got in the hot seat to begin with.

However, I had determined not be yet another blog post....until....it all came to a head for me this morning when I saw Jon Stewart's take on the issue on The Daily Show and that became the straw that broke the camels back. And so it is my turn to set the record straight and to hopefully offer a course correction to a debate that has gone dangerously off the rails. But first, The Daily Show clip after the jump....


I need to start off by saying that, normally I respect Jon Stewart and his show. Even though The Daily Show is entertainment, opinion, and satire you get a more balanced view of the news on his show than I have EVER seen on Fox News or CNN. However, this time they really dropped the ball by missing a rather large point that should have been easily uncovered by reading the front page of just about any other news source.....Following Chick-Fil-A's donation money and involvement with anti-gay lobbyist groups. Either they did not understand that or they simply did not do their homework. But no matter why they missed it, they're take on the issue is indicative of what I have read on much of the internet. this is extremely frustrating to me because that slant on the story is what CFA wants us to focus on.

As The Daily Show points out, Dan Cathy made some rather pointed comments about his views of marriage equality. We get it, Mr. Cathy and Chick-Fil-A subscribe to that belief and they are fully entitled to that. But here's the deal.....Everyone is talking about this as if his comments are what has the gay community up in arms....it is not. It has been common knowledge for years that Chick-Fil-A does not support gay rights or the gay community. I remember being aware of that before I even adopted my kids and that's at least five years ago right there. Correspondingly, I have not eaten there because I was already aware how they feel about me and those like me. In all that time it has always been their right to feel that way and no one has called them out our demanded a boycott because of it.

So What changed?

The reason why Chick-Fil-A began to garner the negative attention of the gay community is because it came to light that they were supporting organizations who were actively working to prevent and/or strip our rights away. First it was reports that they were simply donating food to anti-gay rallies...no big deal. but then it became public knowledge that they were donating up to three million dollars to organisations that lobby against our rights at the ballot box and in the halls of congress. The beneficiaries of their donations are some names very familar to us for causing real and demonstrable harm to the gay community. Perhaps you've heard of them....The National Organisation For Marriage, Architects of Prop 8 in California as well as similar ballot initiatives in New York, New Jersey, Minnisota and most recently caught trying to divide the gay community and African American communities against each other. There is also The Family Research Council... who regularly sends Tony Perkins to congress to testify against us, as he did in DADT and several DOMA hearings, and who advance the ideas that all gays are disease spreading pedophiles(the list of their actions against the gay community is rather long. I could not condense it.) Focus On The Family...another organisation who uses it's funds into scaring the community at large into thinking we are coming for their children and marriages. AND...as if that weren't enough, orgs that have practiced reparative therapy...including Exodus International. And now that some time has gone by, it would appear that three million in donations was too small a number:


THIS is the core of the matter and the point that gets conveniently forgotten when talking about why no one should eat at a Chick-Fil-A. They have crossed far beyond holding an opinion and ventured into the realm of taking palpable actions against the gay community by financially bank-rolling the organisations who DO cause us measurable harm. It is as if they had done these things themselves instead of by proxy....and by Dan Cathy's remarks they would.

So...is it just a chicken sandwich still? Is it still a matter of free speach? In my opinion the answer is no. And yet, I have heard countless comments from gay people and those supportive of us to the effect of, " I don't care...it's just chicken. The chicken is good, so I'm gonna keep eating it."...all with the implication that we are being bullies for calling their patronage into question. These are the same people who will get up in arms when it's a battle for marriage equality at the ballot box. Yet, if the chicken is tasty enough...we don't care where the money goes it seems.This frustrates me and while I am Mr. Diplomacy most of the time...I can't just let comments like those slide by...not when they end up as the "Yes on Prop 8" sign that is on my neighbors lawn reminding me that there are plenty of people around who think my family is worth less than theirs is and are willing to vote it into the state constitution. I think we are justified in calling people out in continuing to eat at CFA in the light of that knowledge. That's not bullying, and especially not for the sake of some abstract political concept. That is asking  CFA to please stop kicking us in the nuggets...and if they don't, we get to kick back.

For every commercial on T.V that NOM has paid for...for every trip Tony Perkins takes to congress to incite the spector of the gay menace, that we then have to undo by making videos, blogging, protesting, and lobbying our lawmakers...all of is is made partially possible by the monies that CFA gives to these organizations. To continue to support them with our money is a statement that you simply don't care and can't be inconvenienced. And as Pam Spaulding points out, who needs friends who will sell you out simply for something as small as a chicken sandwich?

Which brings me to the conservative response to the boycott....Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day. Here again, conservatives are doing what they do best...spinning the message into one of martyrdom. CFA is being billed as the victim of a huge gay bully and so they must all circle the wagons and rise up to defend family values by purchasing chicken sandwiches. Dan Cathy has been called a hero and anyone who's anyone is the conservative movement has fallen all over themselves to get a picture of themselves with a bag of Chick-Fil-A's goods...including Sara Palin and Mike Huckabee. This has caused support for CFA has become another one of the ways in which you can prove your conservative loyalty. The whole thing would be laughably ridiculous if it wasn't for the fact that many of the individuals proudly mugging for the camera in a CFA wanted to lead the nation. Lending their support for CFA sending a clear message to the world that gay people don't belong in that nation. That's all good though for them though, because CFA made record sales that day off the backs of their bigotted stance toward LGBT people...and as Herman Cain points out, they intend to turn that money right around and donate it to the same organisations that will continue to fight to make sure gays can not marry..and even if we do win at the ballot box...they will tie us up in court forever with money that smell suspicously like chicken. Thank you so much for your support of Chick-fil-A....


And what about the people behind the counter? For many gay employee's of CFA, it's just a job...a much needed job in this economy...but they signed up for a paycheck not an idealogical viewpoint. As they have expressed, boycotting CFA hurts them more than it will ever harm Dan Cathy. Yet, The comments that gay employee's inside Chick-Fil-A hear from their customers and fellow employees is beyond disgusting. One such employee was recently featured on The Daily beast. She initially wrote in protest to the boycott...and then CFA appreciation day rolled around and some stuff was said:

No one really stopped talking about the reasons why today was as busy as it was. The people I work alongside kept going on and on about how powerful it was to be part of such a righteous movement, and how encouraged they were to know that there were so many people who agree with Dan Cathy. They went on at great length about how it was wrong not just for gays to marry, but to exist. One kid, age 19, said “I hope the gays go hungry.”.....
…When this first started, I implored my friends and allies not to boycott. Now, if I didn’t work there, I’d be boycotting too. That much hypocrisy and hatred leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and the last thing I want to eat is their chicken.


And from the Huffpo:


One gay employee who works at Chick-fil-A headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., and asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job, says he is getting it from both sides. On the one hand, there is the customer who came in and said he supported Dan Cathy and then "continues to say something truly homophobic, e.g. 'I'm so glad you don't support the queers, I can eat in peace,'"...
...Gabriel Aguiniga, a gay employee at a Chick-fil-A in Colorado, also said the hardest part hasn't been hearing Cathy's comments. Instead, "[it's] constantly having people come up to you and say, 'I support your company, because your company hates the gays,'" Aguiniga, 18, wrote in an email. "It really takes a toll on me." 


I do not believe any hurting the employees of any business. Most of them are people like me who are just trying to get by day to day. Many of them may not have had a lot of choice in terms of their place of employment...you take what you can get when the economy sucks. That said....I can not sit by and allow CFA to hurt my family and then let them roll over and pretend like I am the bully. They do not get to disown their actions....nor do any of the conservatives who lined up in defense of CFA. In contrast to the CFA boycott, when push came to shove...and Starbucks publically expressed support for marriage equality in the Washington state, guess who it was asking us to "Dump Starbucks"?  You guessed it...The National Organisation For Marriage, one of the benificiaries of CFA's millions. It is funny that, at that time, none of them thought it was bullying to boycott Starbucks....not that Starbucks noticed. NOM still has their "dump Starbucks" petition up even though no one remembers it any more.


Did Starbucks do anything less than Dan Cathy has done? They simply added their name, along with the names six other prominent companies to a letter expressing support for marriage equality and their gay employees to Governor Chris Gregiore. And all of the sudden fundies were crying foul and pledging to sink Starbucks in the depths of financial ruin. Yet all Starbucks actually did was express an opinion, just like Mr. Cathy did...and they most certainly did not care about Starbucks first amendment rights then did they?

And finally....Not to beat a dead chicken, but we have been reading about this issue non-stop for the better part of a month now. I feel like a have a pretty good handle on the points of view on both sides. That is why, when I read this unrelated post by Alvin McEwen of  Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters I felt it applied to this debate. His post is about the comments made by anti-gay pastor Jack Hakimian and they struck a cord in me because they seemed to speak to the notion that Dan Cathy and CFA are martyrs for a cause...whether religious or political. When I read it, i nearly stood up and applauded, so I hope Mr. McEwen will forgive me for quoting it nearly whole cloth:



Your religion will not protect you from criticism.  You don’t know us and based upon your words, you do not care to know us. 
That’s fine. Our community doesn’t exist to get in your so-called good graces. Nor do we seek “tolerance” from you like some pet who has urinated on your favorite rug. 
You can believe what you want and you can say what you want.  But when you start talking about us, don’t expect us to sit in a corner and cry. And above all, don’t expect us to take your abuse with the pitiful good nature of a battered spouse. 
We are not “things” nor are we “trapped in a lifestyle.” We are human beings and we will not settle for less than being treated like human beings. Your religion does not entitle you to take verbal potshots at us without the courtesy of a highly angry response nor does it entitle you to freely lie about who we are without the courtesy of a stern correction. Our lives will not be dictated by your fevered imaginations of what we allegedly do in the bedrooms. Nor will you restrict every aspect of our lives to those fevered imaginations. 
I don’t care if you speak in tongues, can heal the sick, or raise the dead. You don’t have rights and privileges above us. You never have and you never will. 
Basically, it comes down to this – if you can’t handle our response, don’t call us out in the first place.

For my part...and in closing...What ever happens with Chick-Fil-A in the long run, I do not think we should write their actions off as unimportant because they are a fast food chain. I for one know how much work goes into undoing the work of those they support. And while this may  not be a ballot initiative or a federal court case...it is no less important to stand up for ourselves and our community.

I just found out that my city has recently approved a Chick-Fil-A to be built not more than three blocks from my home...in a county that overwhelmingly voted to strike down Prop 8. I am appalled at this. I know that they have every constitutional right to do business in my back yard but that does not mean that I need to be silent about it. You can bet your sweet fillet's my husband and I are going to be a part of the effort to let our community know what Chick-Fil-A stands for. Then we will see how easy it is for them to do business here. They don't get to do what ever they want and expect no response from us. We can not let them make us back peddle and keep explaining why we are doing this while they control the conversation. We need to keep this debate on target and let the world know that we don't care if CFA hates our guts...this is NOT a freedom of speech issue and it never was. They can continue to be public about their views until the chickens come home to roost.....but when they vote with their money, we get to do the same.

Until next time dear readers.....


24 comments:

  1. Thank you! I have been trying to tell friends and family this exact thing for quite a while now. It is about where the money goes and what that means. It isn't about free speech and yes, buying a chicken sandwich really does mean you are literally supporting hate. Because when you buy that chicken sandwich, your money is becoming part of their money, and this is what they do with their money.

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  2. I can feel the anger in your post and also the likely conversion in your thinking on the disagreement you and Jay had on the Chick-Fil-A about to go up close to where you live. There’s no time to hold back and investigate whether the local franchise investor knew what he was getting into when he put his money on the line. Unless he’s a complete moron, he knew…. They need to be stopped early on, when it might be easier to do so. So, yes, the new Chick-Fil-A SHOULD be protested against. And Jay shouldn’t go alone. You should go too. I heard you say in your Chick-Fil-A video that you were reluctant to call this a war. But that’s exactly what this is. Fight it for the war it really is. And show no mercy. Your enemy sure doesn’t. A rightwing sack of shit like Cathy who gives large sums to organizations that do us demonstrable harm should be exposed and humiliated whenever and however possible.

    The following pertains not to Chick-Fil-A but to the larger culture war. What happens in a voting booth. Until we win our rights, most any Republican running either for President, Senate or Congress needs to be regarded as your mortal enemy if you’re gay. Voting for those hysterical Bible banging theocratic fanatics not only is madness if you’re gay, but it also makes you a traitor to your own people. If you’re already out to family and friends, tell them that Republicans with power are out to harm you and that’s why you despise them and won’t vote for those bastards. Tell those family members and friends that if they vote for those bastards in the current climate, they are voting to harm you directly because, once elected, that’s exactly what will happen. Hurting the gay community in any way possible is the ultimate blood lust of any true conservative Republican at that level of power.

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  3. I wondered how it turned into a free speech issue when it was never about that in the first place. Funny how they make us look like the bad guys...what are they so afraid of?

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  4. This is an excellent post and exactly right! I had family and friends stand in those lines and they told me it was just standing up for free speech and had nothing to do with their feelings on gay rights. Most of them just listened to Huckabee and the folks stirring up a meme over free speech and didn't understand where the donations were going or how they were often being used to smear folks like us. Of course I was called a liar and all sorts of vile things when I tried to point this out. They can't get past the image of what they see as a fine Christian man. The Cathy's have done lots of great charity work but that doesn't change what the fact that Dan Cathy is now using his influence and wealth to fight against our equal rights. He should find some worth causes where he can really make a difference by helping people in need!

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  5. I wonder what the longterm consequences to Chick-Fil-A's business will be now that it is firmly branded as the anti-gay chicken sandwich?

    Perhaps the company has blundered into a lucrative niche market. Large percentages of American consumers actively dislike gays (and in the South, CFA's home territory, that's probably majorities). I say "blundered" because, even though they are funding anti-gay efforts, until recently it was relatively on the down-low. Now, thanks more to Huckabee and the religious rightwing than to anything gays have done, CFA is well known to be anti-gay. As the semi-official winger fast food it may be that CFA will continue to reap benefits.

    For those who are made uncomfortable by spending money to support an explicitly anti-gay project, however, CFA may begin to taste less yummy.

    The first Narnia movie was a box office smash, and got a big boost by being adopted by conservative Christians. It was seen as a pro-Christian family movie so churches bused families to theaters. I read reports that something similar happened with the CFA Appreciation Day - buses and independent organizing. The Narnia sequels did not get the same stamp of approval for some reason and box office faded. The last movie barely got made. I'm not saying that people stayed away from the Narnia sequels because they were in any way anti-anything - perhaps they just weren't as fun as the first - on the other hand there was no commitment from the churches to the franchise. Will there be a commitment to CFA? Can CFA bank on the kind of support they saw on CFA Appreciation Day? Color me unconvinced.

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  6. people are fickle but there will be, as they have for years already, a staunch large group of devoted followers. cult members if you will...(i couldnt resist)

    i have a cousin who did/does work for them and i really dont know that she understood that the protest was not about Mr Cathy's remarks but about the actual hate he is growing. an ex in the family made the comment that she did not think CFA had ever been in the closet about being antigay, that was also not the point either. we have known, for years, about that.

    i have tried to be clear that it was not and has not been Mr Cathy's words at issue but his actions that are contrary to christian values and make him in my opinion a zombie worshiping christianazis (they should really drop the 'christian' banner because they aren't 'christ-like' at all).
    so as always thank you for well thought out words that are not mine and perhaps some others will listen here where they do not to me.

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    1. In Omaha, the only Chick-Fil-A we have is one the ground floor of the Mutual of Omaha building near downtown. Ironically, Starbucks is in there too. I went to see the protest and to circulate around inside to overhear haters’ comments. Since I happen to be job hunting, I couldn’t allow myself to either be filmed in the protest line or be interviewed by the media so I was very watchful for their presence and, when they were around, I stayed well away from the cameras. I did approach the protest line to say hello when no media were present though.

      The protest here was very small—perhaps 8 people—and, looking back on it, I’m doubtful as to its effectiveness. Their signs read, “Have a Gay Day Chick-Fil-A,” “Hate Is Not a Family Value,” “Hate Is A Fowl Business Model,” “Honk 4 Equality,” and “Cock Tastes Like Chicken.” The accuracy of that last sign was a bit questionable. It probably would require sprinkles of a new formula of Mrs. Dash to bring out that chicken flavor! :-D :-D Anyway, no sign I recall seeing conveyed anything reflecting that money spent at Chick-Fil-A goes to fund hate lobbying in Congress or that Chick-Fil-A spends its money to actively harm us. And the failure to do that naturally allows the public to think that this is just protesting Chick-Fil-A’s expression of its own corporate opinion, an opinion widely shared by the majority dwelling here in Haters Woodstock of Nebraska.

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  7. Dear Bryan,

    there’s more Holy Spirit in you than in any of those alleged CFA Christians. I mean it. To be honest, I hate the fact it gets boiled up to a war of opinions. But stating YOUR opinion in a civilized way (like here in your blog or in any other peaceful protest) is YOUR right and I salute you as a family for sacrificing your time and permanently scratching beneath the surface. It basically boils down to this: they ACTIVELY impact our lives and TAKE AWAY our human rights. As for us, even in protests WE NEVER take theirs. ‘Cause I never saw a LGBT member saying: “Let’s cure the straight” or “The straight should not marry” or “You are not entitled to seeing your wife”. So, dear Leffews, you are nothing but RIGHT. And this post of yours is just amazing.

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  8. Bryan, A heartfelt and well written blog. I'm just not yet convinced, unfortunately, that the issue is not first amendment rights . Of course we have the right, not to mention the moral obligation, to boycott the product of a business that boycotts our basic human rights. BUT--- as Jon Stewart points out in his sardonic but unfortunately accurate assessment, the mayors of Boston, Chicago and San Francisco do not have the right to refuse to allow Chick-Fil-A to do business. And that is because to block them today gives those mayors precedent to block one of our businesses, or a business that support us (you cited Starbucks) in future. There is everything right with boycotting the existing business franchises, advertising the spending breakdown of their income dollars, helping to find NEW jobs for the LGBTs actually stuck working for the monsters, and generally continuing to educate the masses as you do in every moment of your lives--- by setting the perfect example. But there is nothing right about abridging anybody's rights, anywhere or anytime no matter how difficult that is to swallow. (Me, I don't think I'll be able to swallow ANY chicken sandwich, ever again.)

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  9. You know Crab....I have to admit that I was surprised as hell when Bostons mayor made his statements. Prior to that NO ONE outside the gay community was paying attention to this. SO...no. I don't think they can block them and not look like utter hypocrites themselves. However, It does help to have the mayor of your town make public statements of opposition(even if he cant back them up) because I reminds the public at large that this is not just a gay issue.

    And I still find myself wondering if people would still be lining up for CFA if the group they were working against were some other minority. Somehow I just don't think they'd get the same support if they were working to discriminate against the African-American community...or the Hispanic community.

    Then when a mayor of a city said,"you can't do business here", they might actually applaud. But because it's us gays they cry "fowl" and start clucking about first ammendment rights
    Bry

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  10. I have never been so upset with the mainstream media in this country this past week. They twisted this entire story. I wish they would have shown the Ali Forney Center in New York. It is a homeless shelter for LGBT teens that end up on the streets because their good "Christian?" families have kicked them out. These "Christians?" believe all of the hate and misinformation these hate groups put out there-the very groups that Cathy supports financially. Don't be surprised if Cathy comes out of the closet someday. Closeted gay people make the biggest homophobes...

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  11. Dan Cathy said that he's for traditional marriage; he never said that he hated gay people or that they weren't allowed inside any Chick-Fil-A restaurant in the country. The man's entitled to his own opinion, just like everybody else. If you ask me, I think the gay community's being a little over-dramatic with this one. I don't give a fuck what he's for as long as I get my fucking waffle fries I'm good to go.

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    1. Kerner, did you even read the blog? Also, if Dan Cathy was just expressing his opinion, no one would have cared. But instead, Dan Cathy chose to spend millions of dollars to anti-gay groups to try and make people be afraid of gays with lies and misrepresentation, to try putting gays in prison or in "ex-gay therapies." There is a group who supports killing gays in uganda that Dan donated money to. Because of those donations, he's trying to push back civil rights and destroy many lives of LGBT people. That is what this is about, not his opinion.

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    2. Kerner,

      Also go back above to Tim's first comment setting out SPECIFICALLY what each group Dan Cathy contributed to is up to and how they propose to harm us, and it goes way beyond "merely" marriage discrimination. This is what your waffle fry purchases are helping to fund. I'm sure any gay family members, friends or co-workers you may have find your concern for their welfare very touching. I take it you're straight, which is fine but just remember that if you had a different birth outcome than what you got, you also would be gay and the harm these organizations Dan Cathy contributes to would be out to harm you to.

      My last statement probably confused the hell out of you if you aren't familiar with "gay biology." At least for males, a biological cause for gay orientation has been found and if you go to Youtube and do a video search for "epigenetics and homosexuality," you'll get the correct video and everything is explained very clearly. It's an excerpt from a 2008 National Geographic documentary on the subject. Once you see it, you'll understand for yourself that flipping out over someone's orientation is as fucking retarded as having a conniption over someone's eye or skin color. Not saying you flip out that way yourself, because I don't know you. I'm talking about how people at large might react when they are still badly misinformed.

      This biology stuff is just an aside, but the point of all of this is what the money is funding, how it seeks to hurt people who have characteristics they were born with and cannot help, and NOT about Candy's opinion.

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    3. And Kerner, that is why I would ask you to bravely put aside your taste for waffle fries and boycott the product and the establishment. Not try and legislate where the establishment can be or what they can sell, but make a statement in solidarity by not consuming. A statement that says you do understand where their income dollars are going. Because those dollars and those donations do make a difference. To all of us. Biology aside, we are not overreacting. Thanks.

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    4. the money he has paid out demonstrates his hate far better than any words he could ever say. mr cathy sr has been quoted as desiring to fire any employee who is gay, im willing to bet the son is not far behind that himself.

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    5. There's still time for Cathy to fund preacher-designed electrified fence enclosures for us. Oh, I keep forgetting, that would be just an exercise of his freedom of speech. I guess that calls for another freedom of speech day flash mob kind of thing outside Chick-Fil-A's by all those fine Christians again. This time they'll all be wearing "Eat mo' chicken, buy mo' fencin' " tshirts.

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  12. And the round of applause goes to Brian. Excellent post - very well written and expresses very well what I have been trying to say all along. I just hope that more and more people get to understand that this isn't about freedom of speech at all and there is a big difference between stating your beliefs and funding groups that want to cause harm to us and our families. I hope you are having yourself a good day. Take care.

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  13. Great post! You managed to articulate what I have been struggling with since this entire chick-a-tast-aphy began. The man is full of hate, he funds hate, dont give hate any funding.

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  14. Brian nailed it.

    It's not about people getting their knickers in a twist over some crazy restaurant, it's about a popular company openly stating that it funds hate groups which lobby to take away the rights of lgbt people. The daily show missed the point this time, which surprised me.

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  15. I agree with the post. However, I noticed that at the top of this page there is an ad for a Chick-Fil-A coupon deal. This seems rather ironic.

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  16. Yea Chick-Fil-A can waster their money on our blog it just means that many more people who support them wont see their add.

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  17. I find it difficult to understand Americans obsession with freedom of speech. I mean I understand from your history where it comes from, but I can't wrap my head around how many times it becomes a talking point in your media. I can understand why in countries that where speaking freely could have serious consequences (e.g Saudia Arabia) why it would be an important issue for people lives. But I find it hard to understand when americans stand up for someones right to utter hateful commments. I am not advocating that people who utter these comments be legally punished but that people can respond and disagree without it becoming a 'free speech' issue.

    This is a big part of why the right wing media was able to twist this story and move away from the point that not only where CFA anti marriage equality but they were actively supporting it through donating to the groups you mentioned.

    I live in a country with free speech (I am not going to get dragged to jail for openly disagreeing with the government) but I and my fellow Irish citizens dont feel the need to harp on about it all the time! And therefore, if an issue like this came up, we are more likely to be able to focus on the points that matter and not the fact that we are all allowed to talk about it.

    Point being, if you move away from this free speech issue, you may be able to talk about the important things.

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  18. This is true whether the child is there for their own medical care or because a loved one is receiving medical care. fence contractors thunder bay

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