The Chik-Fil-A Fiasco

This post is a little late but I couldn't resist staying away from the whole Chik-Fil-A thing.  I could sum up my thoughts into one simple phrase ("Get over it") but that wouldn't be fun.  I will preface this post with this: This post is not necessarily about my own personal beliefs about traditional marriages versus gay marriages.  This post is simply what I think about the whole situation.  I have friends who are gay and I am friendly with gay people.  I am not gay and the lifestyle is not for me, but I do not judge others who decide to live that kind of lifestyle.  If people want to debate on what is right or wrong using the Bible, then debate with this in mind:  Jesus says not to judge (because that is his job), and we must love one another.  We don't have to like what they do but we should still love them (and God knows I've gotten upset with Jon enough times... or even my kids... because of something they may have done that I didn't like but that does not change how I feel about them).  With that said, let's move on...

For those of you who may have been living under a rock and missed out on the whole thing, I'll explain briefly what went down.  The CEO (Dan Cathy) voiced his personal opinion on same-sex marriages and publicly advocated against it.  This caused such a big uproar among the gay community (as well as the people who support gay marriages).  People who support gay marriages staged "Kiss-Ins" at various Chik-Fil-A locations, boycotted the restaurant and verbally trashed the CEO and the corporation.  In response to that, people who support traditional marriages, the CEO's opinion and as well as one's right to an opinion organized an Appreciation Day on August 1st 2012 where thousands across the US flocked to the chains to purchase food.  Chik-Fil-A later announced that Appreciation Day actually broke record sales for the corporation.

Speaking of record-breaking sales, I think it's pretty ironic that the gay community and its supporters indirectly caused Chik-Fil-A to bring in record sales on August 1st.  Think about it - if the gay community and its supporters didn't make a big deal out of it, the chain of events probably wouldn't have happened and Chik-Fil-A wouldn't have raked in millions upon millions in sales that day....

As parents, we tell our children that when someone is bullying you or is being mean you should just ignore the bully.  If you ignore the bully enough, eventually the bully will leave you alone because he/she will get bored and/or since the bully isn't getting the kind of response that he/she wants, the bully will stop.  In this situation, it certainly seems that the CEO of Chik-Fil-A is the gay community's "bully."  I think maybe the gay community should have just ignored their bully and went on about their lives.

I certainly understand there's a need to defend yourself.  I am certainly the type of person who will stand up to defend myself if I feel insulted or ridiculed in any way.  I normally don't back down from that and I don't encourage anybody to become a doormat.  Ever.

Now, the CEO was entitled to his opinion.  It was just that - a personal opinion.  Yes, people are not always going to agree with everybody else's opinions.  That's the beauty of the country that we live in.  You can say what you believe without suffering legal repercussions unlike many other countries.  We have the freedom to think, to be our own persons, and also to disagree with others.

I find this whole thing a little bit silly.  The liberals tend to complain about religion being forced down their throats by conservatives saying that they shouldn't have to be subjected to lectures about how they're living the wrong life.  Let them live their lives in peace.  And I agree.  If people want to do whatever they want to do, let them.  It's their lives and if you believe in God then it's between them and God.  If you believe in Heaven and Hell then ultimately God will decide where they will go... not us.  The best we can do is at least let them know about God and if they push it away then so be it.  It's their decision.

Now - speaking of leaving the people alone and letting them live their lives in peace - that goes for religious people as well.  If they want to voice their opinions on certain topics, let them do so in peace.  If they want to live a Christian life and hold certain beliefs that clash with yours, let them do so in peace.  It seems to me that since we are living in an age of "equal rights" people feel the need to argue about it each chance they get.  Nowadays, instead of Christian people trying to force their beliefs down people's throats, it is the other way around.  It is the non-Christians that want to push their beliefs down Christian people's throats.

Here is something that I hear often.  If you don't agree with somebody or if you're not liberal enough then you're closed minded.  I frigging hate that word.  People believe what they want to believe.  People do what they want to do.  Just because someone does not believe the same things that you do does not mean they are too liberal or they are too conservative (in other words, closed minded).  Just leave each other alone and respect each other.  Respect.  Now that is a dying art nowadays.

One big thing that came out of this was the Boston mayor wanting to ban Chik-Fil-A restaurants from his city.  Honestly, that's a bit outrageous.  See - everyone is upset because one person (not a corporation... a person) voiced his opinion.  Now the Boston mayor is voicing his own opinion saying he disagrees with the CEO and because he disagrees with the CEO, he will not allow Chik-Fil-A into his city.  By doing this, isn't the Boston mayor doing exactly what he is mad at the CEO about?  In trying to ban the chain (he is not legally allowed to do so.  Read this interesting post about the First Amendment here), he is ultimately preventing citizens their right to eat wherever they want.  If they want to eat at Chik-Fil-A... just frigging let them!  This whole thing is just plain silly in my opinion.  (Maybe I shouldn't even state my opinion - I might experience extreme backlash here.  Seriously.  This is ridiculous.)

Let's focus on one more thing.  Legal rights of American citizens.  American citizens have laws protecting them from discrimination.  Everyone has a legal right to work (well, except the illegal immigrants that that's a whole 'nother rant); everyone has a legal right to work in a hospitable environment.  Now - if Chik-Fil-A was in the news for illegally discriminating against the gay community I would stand with the gay community in a heartbeat.  Being part of a minority group I would hope that every type of minority is protected from things like that.  However, this is not the issue here.  Chik-Fil-A did not illegally discriminate against someone.  Chik-Fil-A did not break any laws.  It was just an opinion.

So, if you like Chik-Fil-A... keep eating there.  If you're too upset about the comment that the CEO made... don't eat there.  Yes, it is actually that simple.