It has been almost a month since this brouhaha began and now hopefully the dust will settle and sadly as with most uproars, friends are lost, friends are gained and some relationships will never be the same. As a conservative gay man, I have voiced my support for Chic-Fil-A and their first amendment right to say what they want but it is not the position of any elected official to tell a business owner that their business is not welcome in their district/locale/city simply because they personally disagree with their ideological position. Many on the left feel that if you support an idea that they do not agree with, then you hate them or feel negative bias towards them for your support of the opposition; which is NOT the case.
I personally agreed with Dan Cathy, his right to state his opinion, and use his business to donate money to pro-traditional marriage groups (*gasp you say*). This agreement alone was enough to vilify me among some, but as we all know I don’t think the government should use the word marriage at all; anywho. It’s public knowledge that Target Corporation donated millions to the Yes on 8 campaign, and has been desperately pandering to the gay community in recent weeks with it’s “gay wedding registry” (*puke), either way I shop there anyway. Who cares! Well, then comes Rham, yes I called him by his first name, with his hypocritical CFA values aren’t Chicago values… WTF!?!?! All of this followed by the chorus of liberal media championing the public scorn, vilification, and denigration of a business. I was appalled!
In the moment I was angry and I told my partner, we’re going to CFA this weekend. We mapped the nearest location (it was in Santa Clarita) and experienced ALL that is Chic-Fil-A. I savored every bite as if it were the first, and the scorn that I would have received from my liberal friends had they known made it that much more delectable. Mayor Huckabee called for a CFA appreciation day soon after and I was in attendance with my Rainbow GOP shirt. After the triumphant success and subsequent vandalism of Chi-Fil-A’s across the nation the liberal anger was apparent. Just today Starbucks held it’s “We Support Gay Marriage” appreciation day and people complained of long lines; there’s always a line at Starbucks. Either way, Chic-Fil-A proved it was the poo and everyone got a whiff of it (I sampled it twice more since my initial visit).
Some of my pro gay marriage friends felt that my decision was heinous and de-friended me, others even went so far as to block me. I guess we’re not friends anymore, but I don’t want them to ever think I hate them, because I don’t. Some people have this feeling that unless you agree all of the time, then you’re not worth being friends. I personally enjoy friends of opposing views because I like to hear other opinions. I don’t like angry yelling back and forth, I like sharing of ideas because THAT is what move us forward. Sadly, when the dust settles, those who’ve wronged others due to misinformation or blind ignorance are too self-opinionated to rekindle what they’ve lost.
Life goes on, we move past this issue and another sparks to keep us occupied until another group seeks to make itself heard. Either way, I’ve become a supporter of Chic-Fil-A and their chicken is actually REALLY good! They have the best lemonade around, amAAAzing peach shakes, and their customer service is unequalled in the fast food industry. When you have an excellent business model, superior product, success surely follows, and Chick-Fil-A is a crowning jewel of American Entrepreneurship.
