Hopefully My Last Chick-fil-A Post

This image was captured from VoenixRising, a blog I've been a fan of for a long time. Ordinarily, when I excerpt things from the site, I don't include a link, because--while I very much enjoy Mark Alexander's site--it does often include not safe for work (NSFW) images and content. But right this minute, I'm not much caring about that. And if you've read this far already, you've been warned anyway.

So, right now, I don't really care about anyone's feelings of "inappropriateness." Here's the link. If you don't like gay stuff or nekkid gay dudes, don't go there! VoenixRising

Jon Stewart on Chick-fil-A and the Chick-fil-Ators!

I said I wouldn't do it, I wouldn't put you through it. . .I was done, done, done with the absurd (and absurdly spelled) Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day. But when it's a brilliant (and balanced) clip from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, well, I just can't resist. We will move on, I promise.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Ultimate Response to Chick-fil-A Supporters

Did you think I could not post this? Found floating around Facebook.

Unless something particularly noteworthy happens on Friday's planned "kiss-in" at Chick-fil-A restaurants, I plan to move on to other topics here on the blog. This post, however, had to happen. Thanks to my friend Keith for bringing it to my attention. And don't let the title scare you off, that's just a play on words. This is the most concise, literate and well-thought-out articulation of the pro-marriage-equality side of the argument. I fully endorse it, and will direct all future questions to this as the answer. I encourage anyone with even half an interest in either side of this story to read it. Really read it.

[Excerpt]


The Chick Fellatio: stuck in the craw

. . .It’s definitely strange to have days-long Facebook debates flare up everywhere over a chicken sandwich. The anger, sarcasm, and hurt feelings on display seem strange or even laughable because most people have seen Chick-Fil-A as just a restaurant with a funny ad campaign. I’ll get into some of the whys and wherefores of that later. But, for now, let’s just say that, yes. It can seem ridiculous to get all worked up over fast-food chicken. . .

Read more at: Owldolatrous

Photo of the Day: My Kind of Chick-fil-A Protest

I'm hopeful that the anti-Chick-fil-A Day doesn't result in any kind of pandemonium. I'm pretty sure that since homophobes can be counted on to turn out in larger numbers than actual gay people, that it will be more regional, and not as big a spectacle. If it's a smattering of kissing gay people, it will be a curiosity at worst, and the anti-gay folks can claim that they drew more people, and that will be that. But if it turns into something approaching the size of Wednesday's astonishing show of hatred? I fear for the people that turn out.

Why? Because this picture--which I find adorably cute and sweet--has been spreading on Facebook, and even though it is fairly benign, has been garnering the worst kind of response. Ignorant, nasty, ridiculous responses. It's getting good responses too, but a surprising amount of hatred. What will people do in the presence of actual boys kissing? The girls will be fine.

Source: Gay Marriage USA on Facebook

Bigotty Chicken: The Sorry Spectacle at Chick-fil-A

On Wednesday, a random visit to any Chick-fil-A would have seemed like "Gay Days" at Disneyland, but in reverse. Instead of gay people giddily being open and happy in the Happiest Place on Earth, evangelical Christians were celebrating being anti-gay at a chicken fast food joint. I don't know whether you'd call it a protest, a vigil, an anti-protest. For sure, it was weird. And most probably, it was mean spirited.

Image from Bullett

Mike Huckabee, the seemingly genial, grandfatherly politician, was the person who spearheaded "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day." Huckabee wraps his bigotry up in sunny good cheer, and I'm sure many of the people standing in hour-long lines for a fattening chicken sandwich didn't think it was anything but. I'll tell you this much, I'm quite sure that the probability of those people each having a gay relative is way over 50%.

The central argument is over marriage equality, or more colloquially, gay marriage. The backlash is driven by the. . .I want to say devoutly religious. . .but it's really more like loudly, conspicuously religious. Particularly with those groups with "family" in the name, and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). The hard to type (and ridiculously named) Chick-fil-A's president, Dan Cathy, publicly proclaimed that he--and thus, the company--was for "biblical marriage," whatever that means. Concubines, I suppose.

But the anti-gay sentiments, and company dollars to anti-gay hate groups have flowed from Chick-fil-A longer than this week.  It is clear--if you follow this much at all--that this is about intense hatred of gay people, not gay marriage. I don't know how much of that the people making some grand political statement by waiting in line knew. Many of them, as you can read on many internet message boards and on Facebook, are rather indignant. It's actually descended to the trite, "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!" argument. These people are Bible skimmers at best, from my vantage point, thinking that somewhere in there, God spelled out Protestant weddings, with bridesmaids and veils, the works. They ignore the polygamy, the "marrying your rapist" bit, the "marry your brother-in-law if your husband dies" bit. The fact that Jesus never married, and hung out with dudes all the time. And the afore-mentioned concubines.

Haters gotta hate. Image from HuffPo.

As a gay atheist, I find the entire spectacle an enormous, unnecessary, embarrassment. I'm already "gay married." This argument is no longer hypothetical, and no longer in the realm of speculation. This ridiculous protest, such as it was, proved no other point than the fact that you can draw a crowd if the aim is to poke your thumb in the eyes of other--emphasis on other--people. But these folks don't seem to ever turn inward. To wonder what life is like for gay people. To consider us people at all. But as I said before, you can be sure these people have gay people in their midst. And they've just embarrassed them. Shamed them. Hurt them. All for a fucking chicken sandwich.

[Excerpt]


Chick-fil-A Anti-Gay Controversy: Gay Employees Speak Out 

Elected officials have urged Chick-fil-A to stay out of their cities, the Jim Henson Company has severed ties, and gay rights groups are organizing national protests against the fried chicken chain. But at the Chick-fil-A where Andrew works in northern Alabama, business has been booming over the past few weeks. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

CNN Plays Stupid Girls as Intro to Sarah Palin Story

Yeah, stick it, Sarah. Image from Zap2It

Yeah, you know, I'm really not seeing the problem here. After all, the story was about a picture Sarah and Todd Palin posted, proudly holding bags of Chick-fil-A, and giving the thumbs up. Now, I'm not going to get all pissy with every customer who continues to eat at the restaurant. I mean, I shop at Wal-Mart, even though I feel a little guilty for it. But the Palins are no ordinary people ("common" maybe), and their photo wasn't intended to be friendly or benign. It was a calculated thumb in the eye to gay people, no question about it. Truthfully, it wasn't far from what the Westboro Baptist Church Phelps family does, just a hair's breadth from carrying a sign that says "God Hates F*gs!"

So yeah, I think playing a recording of P!nk's Stupid Girls is appropriate, though maybe Meredith Brooks' Bitch would have been better.

[Excerpt]


CNN: Playing 'Stupid Girls' Ahead of Sarah Palin Story a 'Poor Choice'



CNN says it regrets playing the song "Stupid Girls" ahead of a segment about Sarah Palin that aired Sunday morning. . .


Read more at: The Hollywood Reporter


PS. I've changed my mind about the song choice. This fits my feelings toward the Palins (and Chick-fil-A) much more perfectly.

Chick-fil-A: I'll Have a Chicken Sandwich with a Side of Jesus

Image from Bilerico.com

Right now, there is a big hub-ub (which I've participated in) about Chick-fil-A, a fast food restaurant with a goofy name. They were vocally political recently, strenuously denouncing gay marriage (and very likely, just gay people) in the press. It has been no secret that the owners of the company were conspicuously religious. In fact, there have been past gay half-hearted boycotts of the place, based on the types of groups the company gave money to.

But, what do I care, right? I've never eaten there in my life, having never lived anywhere where there was one. Besides, I rarely eat fast food, and if I did, there are plenty of other places to get it. I've even been known to frequent In-N-Out Burger on occasion for their protein burger, and they print Bible verses on the wrappers! I don't know why fast food companies would want to be so conspicuously religious, but whatever, right? Yeah, not anymore. I may have no real impact on their bottom line, but I don't have to give money to a company that in turn, spends some of the profits on groups that are out to curtail my civil rights. It's chicken. It just can't be that good.

If you think I'm being silly, take a look at this article from a few years ago from Forbes (not exactly a left-wing rag). As an atheist, I don't think about religion much. But in-your-face, overt religiosity grinds my gears. This might even grind yours.

[Excerpt]


The Cult of Chick-fil-A

At a busy Chick-fil-A in Rome, Ga. Richard Yadkowski keeps a paternal eye on employees squeezing lemons and cooking chicken. Like seven teens who work in his restaurant, Yadkowski, 33, came to Chick-fil-A when he was living in a group foster home created by Chick-fil-A founder and chairman S. Truett Cathy. "I tell the kids, 'This is not just selling sandwiches; it pays for your upbringing,'" says Yadkowski, a hardworking, happily married Southern Baptist who plans to work with Chick-fil-A for life. . .

Read more at: Forbes

Meanwhile, On Facebook: Chick-fil-A Lies About The Muppets

This image is making the rounds on Facebook (source unknown, but I'd be happy to attribute it). If you read this blog, you already know that Chick-fil-A a) spells its name stupidly, b) is outspokenly against gay people and c) was abandoned by Jim Henson's The Muppets. As you can see, they're being less than honest about the reason for Kermit and Miss Piggy's abcense.

Muppets Abandon Chick-fil-A

Every time I type Chick-fil-A, I'm sure I've typed something wrong. I mean, if you're going to go nuts with hyphens, why not go for "Chik?" And what's with the capitalization? It's just stupid. I reminds me of that old song, Dazzy Duks which was trying to be cute by spelling "Daisy Dukes" incorrectly, and wound up looking like it rhymed with "snazzy sucks" instead. Which shows you how my brain works.

So, we'll add the stupid name to the reasons to boycott Chick-fil-A. That's in addition to not being open on Sundays (which is pious baloney), and the fact that they're publicly anti-gay. Good enough for me (plus we don't have any in Las Vegas or Nevada, so it's easy too!). But it's not just me. The dude named Cathy who owns the joint has gathered quite a number of boycotters, and only managed to pick up. . .what. . .Mike Huckabee? How does that compare to The Muppets?


[Excerpt]


Muppets Abandon Chick-fil-A Because Of Its Anti-Gay Policies

Gonzo doesn’t have to worry about Camilla and his other chickens anymore, because the Muppets are officially going to be eating less chicken. In a Facebook note posted Friday evening, The Jim Henson Company, which currently offers toys in Chick-fil-A kids’ meals, announced that will no longer partner with the fast food chain on any future endeavors because of its anti-gay policies. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Chick-fil-A is Officially Anti-Gay

Doesn't look gay at all. Image from Advocate.

Okay, so there's a fast food company with a name so precious and cute that I had to look it up three times to make sure I'd spelled and hyphenated it correctly. They've got a clever, funny advertising campaign. And it's run by a dude named Cathy. Sounds gay to me, but for some reason, the company--Chick-fil-A--is being run on "Biblical" principles* by said Mr. Cathy.

I don't eat at fast food restaurants very often, and even if I wanted to there are none of Mr. Cathy's reconstituted chicken parts eateries in Las Vegas nor in the rest of Nevada. But I'll be sure to add Chick-fil-A to my mental Rolodex (though I can't promise I'll remember the spelling), and I will be sure to never spend a thin dime there, until one of the one-day-dearly-departed Mr. Cathy's gay relatives inherits the place, and turns it into the next Hamburger Mary's.

[Excerpt]


It's Official: Chick-fil-A COO Dan Cathy Comes Out as Antigay

Dan Cathy, the chief operating officer of Chick-fil-A, said there is no denying that his company opposes marriage equality. . .

Read more at: Advocate.com

* Just a side note to Mr. Cathy: Jesus never said a thing against gay people, or gay marriage. And by the way, many, many potential customers are either not Christians, or don't follow Mr. Cathy's particular interpretation. But, if he doesn't mind losing business, I guess it ain't my problem.