That said I'd rather not have it be some sort of political statement that I wanted a chicken sandwich.

This is part of what I was getting at in my earlier post...I don't want to think about this daggum stuff while I'm eating a freakin' chicken sandwich. Now it's all political, and there is a marker in the sand. They chose their side, I'm choosing mine.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/und ... _blog.html

When is a chicken sandwich more than a piece of protein on a bun? When it’s a culinary weapon in the culture wars.

After Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s comments on marriage launched a national “Eat Mor Chikin” backlash, another cultural bigwig, former Arkansas governor and Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee, announced Sunday that he was coordinating a campaign in support of the “company run by Christian principles.”

“Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day,” Huckabee wrote on his Facebook page, has a simple goal: “Let’s affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values we espouse by simply showing up and eating at Chick Fil-A on Wednesday, August 1.”

Huckabee continued: “Too often, those on the left make corporate statements to show support for same sex marriage, abortion, or profanity, but if Christians affirm traditional values, we’re considered homophobic, fundamentalists, hate-mongers, and intolerant.”

More than 47,000 have agreed via the event’s page to participate.

Eat Mor Chikin, take a stand against gay marriage?

The company, which the Cathy family proudly claims to operate by biblical principles, including famously keeping its restaurants closed on Sundays in observance of the Sabbath, may be feeling the heat. It wrote on its Facebook page July 19: “Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”

A July 16 article in the Baptist Press drew attention to Cathy’s beliefs about marriage. “Some have opposed the company’s support of the traditional family,” wrote K. Allan Blume, the article’s author. “ ‘Well, guilty as charged,’ said Cathy when asked about the company’s position.”

Cathy continued: “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.”

The attention focused by Cathy’s comments to the Baptist Press also pointed people to statements the businessman made on “The Ken Coleman Show,”a syndicated radio show.

On the June 16 episode, Cathy said (listen here):

“As it relates to society in general, 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 would have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is all about.”
In response to Cathy’s comments, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino told the Boston Herald that he would act to block the company from opening in his city: “Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston. You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population.” The Jim Henson Co. promised to avoid future partnerships with the eatery, and thousands tweeted, blogged and took to Facebook in opposition to Cathy’s statements on marriage.

On the other side of the food-as-political-fight, Oreo found its popular cookie in the center of the gay rights debate in June, when a rainbow-colored cookie was posted to its Facebook page on Pride Day “with accompanying text that read ‘Proudly support love!’ ”

It just bothers me that roughly one sentence of a book of thousands of words and chapters is what this whole mess is about.

I go back to Jesus, but the guy didn't spend his life defining the "biblical family unit" he spent it ministering to prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers, the disabled... the outcasts of society. Basically teaching that above all else, God is love.

Love thy Neighbor is the 1st commandment. So if we leave it at that, I'm not sure why factions keep seeking to involve the government in the definition of marriage anyway (other than to force a morality on the rest of the country). At the very least there are groups of people who are living together whether you like the idea or not, and the laws we have on the books are harming thier freedoms to be with and care for the people that they love. People came to this land in part so that people would be free to practice thier chosen faith (free from government oppression) There is no reason whatsoever that gay couples should not have the same rights as heterosexual couples.

This started to become an issue I was aware of last year, as I recall, then got really ramped up with Cathy's more recent and explicit comments.

I don't really care about the personal beliefs of any business owner, but there is somewhat more than that when you start looking into what companies do with their profits. CFA has a non-profit organization that gives money to numerous Christian organizations, none of them with an explicitly anti-gay focus, but all of whom probably do some work in that area. Source: http://www.snopes.com/politics/sexuality/chickfila.asp

I think that's where I first became aware of it--as a part of a similar "controversy" about Target donating to corporations who have anti-gay views.

IMO, it's a tough judgment call. CFS (or Target for that matter) aren't explicitly giving money to anti-gay causes, but how close is too close? And does it make it worse when the company president comes out and proudly proclaims "guilty as charged"?

As some said, I hardly think it's the consumer's responsibility to delve deeply into where all any one company's money goes. But, in this case, the consumer doesn't have to go fact-finding. The info is right in front of us and that makes it much harder to want to give into my daily CFA craving than any other corporation who may do things I ultimately find even more offensive but I'm less aware of.

Easily the biggest fast food scandal since the Burger King questioned the existence of God.

Kermit still kicks ass.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/ji ... 37209.html

My kids love the fuck out of Chick Fil-A, so my course of action is obvious.

Write a nasty letter telling them that I won't eat one more bite until they recant their stance of gay marriage and abortion.

Then take my kids to Chick Fil-A.

what's more offensive is when he said "we are married to our first wives". Does that mean that since I'm in my second marriage I should not eat there?

I took it mean that they plan to have more than one wife at some point.

Fucking idiots have no idea the kind of hell that could be!

Is Romney allowed to eat at a Chick Fil-A?

only after the Mormon church has baptized the dead chicken

that's pretty cool

I thought so.

your thinking was on the ball

Thanks, teach.

please cite your source next time