Eat "Mor" (?) Chick'n

Whoa!  Look who’s taking a stand!  That bigot!  You’re a piece of trash, and I’m gonna kick you out on the curb just like Chick-Fil-A!  Suck a fat one!  Okay…do we have that out of your system now?  Good (and if you continue reading, it’s at your own peril, and please bother to indulge me if you’ve read that far).

There’s no doubt.  Dan Cathy’s comments about gay marriage had a lot of attention in the past week.  Mainly bad, and with good reason.  However, for those willing to consider a different point of view, read on.  For those that don’t, can I just issue the apology now and not have to hear about it later?  In case you were wondering…..Yes, I do enjoy the taste of puppy blood.  Yes, I do hate freedom.  And yes, I do support the “Free Bin Laden” campaign.  And if you believe in any of those things, please leave my blog now.

So Dan Cathy personally came out and finally said what should have been apparent.  He doesn’t support gay marriage.  In fact, he believes in marriage in the “biblical sense,” for whatever that’s worth.  I’m confused.  This is a company that has voluntarily been closed on Sundays since its inception for religious reasons.  It’s a company that vets its franchise applicants and denies them all the time for numerous reasons.  MBA students/graduates…please refrain from your criticism.  Chick-Fil-A does not give a darn (damn for those of you in the non-Chick-Fil-A-o-sphere) what you think.  They’re not looking to maximize profits.  Were they looking to do so, they may have listened to you by now.  It’s that simple.  If your argument against the company is that they’re not maximizing profits, then please stop reading.  They don’t care, and neither do I.

For those that dislike Dan Cathy’s comments for other reasons…read on.  Let’s get a few things out of the way before we go too far:

            (1) Yes, I am a liberal.

            (2) No, I do not personally agree with Mr. Cathy’s stance.

            (3) Yes, I am from the South and have grown up with Chick-Fil-A.

            (4) No, I do not find that relevant.

            (5) Yes, I am an Aquarius…thanks for asking.

Look, if you have decided you’ll never go to a Chick-Fil-A again because of his comments, then I’m not going to change your opinion.  I assume you have reasons for doing so.  However, I do find it shocking that people have gone so overboard over Mr. Cathy’s personal opinions unless they legitimately vet every single CEO of every single company they’ve ever given money to.  I’m guessing you haven’t….

If you have….my bad, you’re right.  I AM a moron for assuming that because I don’t bother to consider the personal views of every company CEO that I provide money to, that I am, in fact, an idiot.

Truthfully, I don’t care what the personal opinions of a company CEO are.  At least so long as it doesn’t affect their business model.  Now, if Chick-Fil-A stopped serving people who were homosexual, or they stopped serving couples that were homosexual, or they stopped serving in states where gay marriage was recognized…I might have a problem as well.  However, just because Dan Cathy personally comes out against gay marriage, doesn’t mean I need to stop going to his restaurant…..for me……personally.

This is America.  Mr. Cathy is free to say what he wants to say.  You’re free to do with your money what you want to do.  If those things no longer intersect, then fine.  Don’t’ expect him to lose sleep over it though.  His long ago formed opinion is not likely to waiver.  Nor is mine. 

Oh, and for those that want to compare it to Nike, get lost.  Nike’s policy of letting 8 year olds in China make their shoes is completely different from an old Southern Baptist CEO taking a personal opinion on a social matter that does not otherwise influence his business practices.

Oh yeah, and, were I to really dissect my group of friends, I’m sure I’d differ with some of their opinions on social issues as well.  Thankfully, I’m grounded enough, as are they, where we can overlook those differences together and actually achieve a positive friendship.  If you’re not in that same boat, then I ask you, why have you read this far??? 

Ideals are great, and far be it from me to choose for those that decide they’ll no longer go to Chick-Fil-A.  At the same time, I am not the devil for going there.  I am not supporting the devil.  I’m enjoying the same product I always have, at the same price, and guess what……anyone in favor of gay marriage will be able to too.  Should that change, let me know.  Otherwise, until you’re able to tell me the personal stance on every socially polarizing topic of every CEO of every company you buy a product from, please let me go in peace.

Kindly,

Moons (This is NO way represents the opinions of BH).