TPM has a bunch of photos of proud wingnut legislators gorging on Chik-fil-A. The massive lines around the country to get into Chik-fil-A to show their support for gay bashing is one of the more depressing things I think I have seen in a long while. I thought it was stupid what Rahm and Menino were trying to do, but the whole notion of streaming to a chain restaurant because it gives millions to gay bashing groups is just disgusting.
I’d have more respect for these millions of assholes if they would just put on a “God Hates Fags” t-shirt and get on with it.
PWL
I wouldn’t worry about it.
Eating that crap will cause the arteries of these bigots to clog up, and their hearts to blow out, and the problem will solve itself in time….
JPL
ALMOST A SPOILER…OT
well god must like tennis cuz fed/del potro are playing a long match
frapalinger
Mark Halperin has the Chickkk-fil-a thing on a list of things that will keep Chicago up at night. There is nothing on “The Page” about the poll Pew released that didn’t sample the same 500 people Gallup has been calling for decades. I’d like to see more trashing of Halperin on this blog! Shooting fish in a barrell, yes, but satisfying none the less.
Hunter Gathers
Breaking – America is populated with a large amount of stupid assholes who will consume obscene amounts of deep fried food in order to stick it to teh gays. Film at 11.
Jeff Spender
I have read the Bible, and I didn’t find anything anywhere about this kind of behavior.
Hungry Joe
The Chic-fil-A lunch-in was an opportunity to gay-bash in public and get away with it. In a way, it’s kind of encouraging: Not that many years ago this attitude was more than mainstream; now it manifests itself in a freak-show event.
Southern Beale
There might be an upside to 27% of the population gorging on fat and sodium-laced fried foods. Just sayin’.
In other news, there is something different about Gabby Douglas. Just can’t quite put my finger on it ….
geg6
The thing that’s hilarious about the whole thing, to me at least, is that August 1 is the day CFA gives out free food to its customers as some sort of customer appreciation promo. So these fat slobs who like them some bigotry with their artery-clogging fried minced chicken parts didn’t even pay for that shit.
redshirt
I actually enjoyed this stunt – let us see for real what we’re facing. Progress v. Repression.
No more shadows, no more whispers – right out there in a line at the drive thru.
Hopefully this woke a few people up.
fubar
Hope they got some Freedom Fries with their ‘mechanically separated, pressed chicken’. Yummmmm!
Cause it is just like defending your precious marriage from the hateful homosexuals when you buy a delicious chicken (kinda) sandwich from a religious group. Freeeeeeedoooooooom!
redshirt
I also appreciated the fact that this was on the same day when all American women got sluttified. Go ACA!
RP
I think you’re all missing a very important point: This isn’t about gay bashing. It’s about sticking it to liberals. The gay bashing is just a bonus.
Valdivia
@redshirt:
speaking of maybe you or someone here can help me. My uncle (whose sons are hard core Opus Dei members, he is a semi conservative Jew) are trying to get him to vote against Obama in Florida because of the birth control mandate. Does someone have a handy link to explain how the mandate made it non invasive in religious term to give these benefits to women?
geg6
@RP:
This is what I don’t get. I don’t know a liberal that gives a shit about CFA, other than to point and laugh.
I mean, how is eating shitty food that is horrible for you and provided free of cost by huge bigot “sticking it to the liberals?”
Donut
The thing that I default back to here is, okay, now you’ve shown off that you will buy some fried chicken to prove you hate teh Gay. So now what?
This is why what Chicago’s Alderman Moreno (not Emmanuel, please stop putting this on the mayor, he was not the impetus) and others have every right to throw some god damn hissy fits. It’s not about actually denying the fuckers their permits and zoning approval. It’s about making sure they are called out and making life harder for them, if they wanna push their hate.
The tide has shifted, and despite the counter-push, people are mostly turned off by it all. So what if these freaks in the GOP running for office manage to squeak out some PR, out of a couple of days of extra chicken purchasing by their stupid, fat constituency? If Chic-Fil-A wants to bank its expansion as a franchisor on selling it’s shitty chicken to bigots only, then let ’em. If one aspires to lead the franchise fast food market, you’d damn well better have a better handle on maintaining your image than doing this crap their CEO has pulled. He’s marginalized his company for the long term.
redshirt
@Valdivia: No link, but the crux of the matter is the ACA only requires insurance companies to provide birth control at no cost. No woman has to use it if they don’t want to.
shortstop
@geg6: Really? That’s hysterically funny since folks were apparently calling into radio shows to congratulate themselves on having prepaid for the next few soldiers who came through the line. (Check out Jim, Foolish Literalist’s amusing take on this.)
If any of you are being subjected to insane family members and acquaintances cheering about CFA’s “record day of business” on Wednesday (sounds like it was a record day of giveaways), it’s fun to tell them that neither Cathy nor CFA corporate headquarters has publicly stood by Cathy’s statement. Both have been determinedly silent. As was discussed here, corporate even sent out “I’m just a lowly franchise owner and I love and respect the gheys” form letters, instructing franchisees to insert their own info and distribute to the press. And employees have uniformly been instructed not to discuss the situation and to remain totally neutral when customers comment.
None of these actions are consonant with a business that doesn’t fear economic retribution. So the upshot of Wednesday’s little exhibition was that CFA gave away a lot of free food to people who will never be back to actually buy any, while the company’s long-term business plan is to avoid further annoying the LGBT-friendly community. That’s a victory for the bigots?
Dave Trowbridge
I like what a commenter on this story said about CFA Appreciation Day.
“Had there been a Fox News back in 1960, I’m sure there would have been a Woolworth’s Lunch-counter Appreciation Day, too.”
Valdivia
@redshirt:
Thanks I tried explaining this to him, except he has been told by his sons that Obama is making Catholics break their religion and act against their conscience. I think there was a really good rebuttal of that somewhere, maybe Gary Willis? I have to find it, so that he can just stop being deluded and vote, in Florida where it counts, for Obama :)
Zifnab
@Jeff Spender: Check the part about the Pharasees.
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
No, man. It’s about the Freedom and the First Amendment. The fact that they hate LGBT people who want to settle down and marry has nothing to do with it.
Wanna buy a bridge?
redshirt
@Valdivia: You could go into great detail about the plan, but for me it boils down to: No one’s being forced to do anything against their beliefs. Period, full stop. It’s the insurance companies themselves who have the requirement to provide coverage IF a person wants to take advantage of it.
Is that not…FREEDOM?
GregB
A scientific study has determined that 100% of all Chick-Fil-A sandwiches contain cock-meat.
Eat up homophobes.
fubar
@geg6:
You sir or madam, must hate freedom! How can you not understand the delicious irony that the eating of mechanically-separated chicken equates to the pious defense of hate? Self-flagelattion is recommended (or copious consumption of CFA ‘food’) until you see the light.
RP
@geg6: Some liberals like Rahm have criticized CFA. Liberals therefore hate CFA. Supporting CFA therefore means standing up to liberals.
It makes sense if you’re a narrow-minded prick driven by rage and resentment.
Linda Featheringill
@Valdivia:
Yeah. Tell the sons to back the fuck off. Who do they think they are? Is this honoring their father? He was a sentient human being before they were born.
They should go away! Practice their holier-than-thou nonsense on each other and get off on it.
Also, you might remind your uncle that we do have a secret ballot. And it’s not against the law to lie about your vote.
SatanicPanic
Those photos are priceless. Check out #3 for the angry old woman glaring at the camera. FEEL THE LOVE!
shortstop
@SatanicPanic: My favorite is #4. Almost no one in that photo can afford a greasy, fat-laden lunch.
Brian R.
I think this sums up my feelings perfectly.
Matt McIrvin
I don’t know a liberal that gives a shit about CFA, other than to point and laugh.
My five-year-old daughter loves the place, and took the boycott hard. It’s not that hard to explain, though: eating there has suddenly become a political statement opposing her grandmother’s marriage.
I think their chicken sandwiches are not bad, as fast food goes, which is not saying a lot. The company’s religious politics had always bothered me, and it’s gotten egregious enough that it’s no longer worth a visit.
Valdivia
@redshirt:
Thank you I will use that line and I also found the Wills piece from the NYRB which goes into the doctrinal stuff to counter the propaganda from the other side.
@Linda Featheringill:
I agree. I am just trying to make sure the wrong information does not go uncontested.
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
@GregB:
You win, Sir. Today the internets are yours.
Xecky Gilchrist
@Southern Beale: The NBC coverage of the gymnastics yesterday was fairly harmless but I was annoyed by the little segment they did just after, when the announcer hastened to reassure us that any *real* racism was long since past, but people might *feel* as though there are barriers to black athletes participating at that level.
gex
It is absofuckinglutely depressing how much these people revel in hating gays. I’ve been watching this unfold, and that is the ugliest part of this all for me.
These people find joy, utter joy, in hating. In inflicting pain. In drumming up more hate.
To the last one, all Christians.
What the fuck good is your belief system if it can’t fucking tell you that hating doesn’t make God happy?
Brian R.
@Dave Trowbridge:
Perfect.
gex
@Southern Beale: If you think the number of haters is only 27%, good on you. Have you seen the marriage amendments? They need super majorities…
shortstop
@Xecky Gilchrist: I saw that and yelled at Costas. What a ridiculous, self-serving thing to say. “White people have long since stopped discriminating, but black people do not yet believe in themselves and question their own ability–that’s the only thing holding them back.” It was revolting.
SatanicPanic
@shortstop: I like how they tried to hide the fat guys in the back.
bingbango
No worries Cole. The coming food riots you are convinced will happen will happen will hit them hard since according to you we are not gonna have any corn and such.
Ben Franklin
http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/chick-fil-a-anti-gay-bad-for-business
This is from yesterday, and some may have already commented.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@gex: They need majorities of the voters, not the population. Most people in the country couldn’t care one way or another, so they don’t vote.
Xecky Gilchrist
@shortstop: It was revolting.
That it was. Not surprising, though, because the networks have to go along with the self-congratulatory narrative our country insists on.
shortstop
@SatanicPanic: And yet failed spectacularly.
I’m not slamming overweight people for the hell of it. I’m in the middle of some weight loss myself. But you better believe I wouldn’t put my fat ass in the middle of a photo celebrating my having eaten fast food–and that’s even without the “cause” they were reveling in.
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
Boycotts are a bit of a mixed bag. You make a loud political statement by shunning the offensive business. But in the case of a restaurant chain if you actually do any damage to their bottom line the people hurt worst are likely to be lots and lots of low wage workers who have no investment in your politics and certainly no motivation to lose their job over the issue.
I’d feel better about boycotting someone like Microsoft* who’s less likely to decimate their staffs in response to a sales downturn.
*not that we should do that.
The Moar You Know
Friend of mine works for them. Jobs are scarce, you take what you can get, you know? At any rate, she was completely traumatized by the imbeciles yesterday.
Again, from one of my favorite non-political blogs: “As always, encounters with ultra-conservative America are terrifying to normal people.”
shortstop
@Xecky Gilchrist: White people must be made to feel comfortable and virtuous at all times, lest the center not hold.
huckster
I just think it’s funny that a lot of idiots stood in the line in the hot sun to express their support for free speech by giving money to a corporation.
Joseph Goebbels would be so proud.
So I wonder if the Cathy family will be “donating” to any of Mike Huckabee’s many “charitable” enterprises?
SatanicPanic
@shortstop: Totally, eating fattening food is a foot-shooting way of making a political point.
Mnemosyne
@gex:
I don’t know of any state that required a supermajority (ie a 2/3rds vote) to pass any of the gay marriage amendments. In fact, that was one of the complaints here in California — it requires a 2/3rds vote to raise sales tax by one cent but it only required 50%+1 to change our state constitution to prevent gay people from getting married.
shortstop
@Mnemosyne: She’s saying that many of the state marriage amendments require supermajorities to reverse.
shortstop
@SatanicPanic: And fried-chicken lunches ain’t going to get my form up the Four-Mile Trail or the Panorama Trail at Yosemite. ;)
Another Halocene Human
@Hungry Joe: The comparisons online to segregationists I find most apt. I’ve been rewatching Eyes on the Prize recently and these kinds of public affirmations of tribal hatred are exactly the same thing. In fact, they’re probably a lot of the same people. Or their sprogs.
I also think that the handwringing over this is misplaced. I just watched the episode on 1965. That was when what had been a solely Black enterprise had come full circle to a broad-coalition opposing the Southern terror state, up to and including the President of the United States. People like Wallace were stuck in the position of having no choice but to back down and shut up.
Ten years ago glbt people were talking about Chik-Fil-A but straight people didn’t know and didn’t care. Now the fault lines are seen–the same fault lines as in the fight over segregation and voting rights–with educated urbanites joining the minority group in solidarity and the same revanchist counterrevolutionary tighty-whitey-righties wanking about their freedumb in public and ranting about the end of America in private.
It’s a huge step, we’re really close and the question will become which group is next? Immigrants, perhaps? I mean, h8rs gotta h8. They won’t lay down the sword of division over this.
SatanicPanic
@shortstop: Oh yeah, how was your trip!?!
shortstop
@SatanicPanic: Next month!
The Moar You Know
@Donut: He’s bought some short-term goodwill from 27% of the population, a 27%, by the way, that has shown themselves more than willing to turn on those who have supported them for decades if they so much as for a second deviate from the program. Not a bunch of people I’d want to rely on.
At any rate, if I were one of his franchisees in a blue/coastal location, he’d be getting served today.
Peregrinus
@Another Halocene Human:
I gotta say, I don’t understand how it took so long to get the news about CFA out to straight people. I knew about their politics years ago and used to needle Peregrina quite a bit about it, since she loved the place. She pretty quickly cut it off after Cathy went public, though.
Mind you, we live in upstate NY, so it’s not like we’ve got a lot of them lying around.
Another Halocene Human
@shortstop: ’64, ’68, ’72 is not going to happen again. The GOP is too stupid to capitalize on the divisions that were there in the Democratic big tent over gay rights* (although the religious grifter set was able to bank for years on it), and what’s happening now is that public opinion has turned the corner. People, rather than quitting the party in disgust, are changing their minds on the issue because of influence from their peers, to the point that the national planks are catching up to where progressive urban city councilors were in the mid 1990s. Fear has been punched through and without fear, they got nothin’.
*-They succeeded with abortion rights but now that that card has been played they’re coming short on wedge issues. Abortion rights rile up insecure menfolk whereas the only menfolk insecure about gays have a little of teh ghey themselves… which isn’t even a comfortable 27%. Oops.
Zach
You know Focus on the Family explicitly recommends beating your children (especially if you think they’re turning out gay). I hope the folks razzing Chick-fil-a would start bringing this up as it expands the message a bit from “These guys are bigoted” to “these guys are insane.”
shortstop
@Another Halocene Human:
I know this is going to sound foolishly self-congratulatory, but three of my gay friends (“GAY FRIENDS! I HAVE LOTS OF GAY FRIENDS, Y’ALL!”) were big Chick-fil-A fans and wouldn’t listen to me as recently as this spring when I warned them those people were up to no good. Now they know.
All my other LGBT friends are far more political and were already on to Mr. Dan Cathy’s Chicken Abattoir of Hate.
However, your point at large is dead on and thanks for making it!
gvg
I would not respect anyone with a God hates fags T shirt either.
Shame the owners did this. I actually liked the sandwiches and some of the stores have kids play areas which are very useful for parents of toddlers especially when traveling, it’s rained all week or there have been so many forest fires that you can’t let them play outdoors. McDonalds have been taking out some of their kid playgrounds….and CFA does not taste exactly like MD’s or burger king-that becomes attractive after a week long vacation. Oh well.
Another Halocene Human
@geg6: Is that true? They were claiming millions in sales.
Brian R.
Wow, those photos are amazing.
“THUMBS UP! BOY, I HATE DEM F@GS AND I SURE AM PROUD OF IT! DURPITY-DURR-HURR!”
Do Republicans only hire the morbidly obese? Some of those staff photos had more chins than a Chinese phone book.
shortstop
@Another Halocene Human: They said it was a “record-breaking day” and explicitly declined to provide numbers (of either people or sales).
Brian R.
@geg6:
Really? They were giving them away free?
So it was not really a rally to celebrate homophobia, but rather a rally to celebrate mooching off the hard work of others?
Actually, both sound like the contemporary GOP.
quannlace
I am so fuck-all tired of hearing about ‘Chick-Fil-A’ from CNN to rightwinger’s crowing over the ‘supporters’ flocking to the franchises. Love how they all claim they’re just standing up for ‘free-speech.’ Yes, I’m sure all of them are just Constitutional purists and don’t have a homophobe-bone in their body.
Berial
Was plenty disappointed (again) with all the Christians in my area with their ‘love thy neighbor’ lining up to show how much they hate. At least SOME Christians ‘get it’ when it comes to these kinds of things: 5 Reasons Why the Church Failed Yesterday
Ben Franklin
@shortstop:
Jesus H…………….
Since Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy made his anti-LGBT remarks two weeks ago, the fast food chain’s image with consumers has plummeted. According to YouGov’s BrandIndex, Chick-fil-A’s perception with consumers dropped from a 65 prior to Cathy’s remarks – nearly 20 points above the national average for other fast food chains – to a 39.
Chick-fil-A’s brand suffered particularly in the South, where the chain’s rating with consumers has dropped from an 80 to a 44 since Cathy’s anti-LGBT remarks. Chick-fil-A has a strong foothold throughout the South, particularly Texas, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina – but the sheer number of stores couldn’t protect it from the consumer backlash.
The fast food chain also is seeing its image plummet in the Northeast, where its rating has dropped from a 76 to a 35.
BrandIndex conducts regular surveys with consumers and measures a company’s public image based on quality, satisfaction, reputation, value, general impression, and willingness to recommend.
There also is solid data indicating that being anti-LGBT is simply bad for business. Several profile high-profile examples from this year illustrate that embracing equality benefits a company’s public image:
When Nabisco’s Oreo brand released a famous image of a rainbow cookie to commemorate LGBT Pride in June, positive perception of the company among 18-34 year olds skyrocketed, increasing 15 percentage points.
Moms with kids stepped up their support for J.C. Penney’s on two occasions, when the anti-LGBT group One Million Moms criticized the clothing store first for naming Ellen DeGeneres as their spokeswoman, and later when they included a picture of two lesbian moms in their Mother’s Day catalogue. In both instances, support among moms with kids jumped as One Million Moms launched anti-equality attacks on the company.
Source: YouGov’s BrandIndex
It’s not hard to see why Chick-fil-A’s brand is suffering as they proudly embrace their anti-LGBT practices. They are outliers in a landscape where the majority of businesses have made historic strides in embracing equality:
86 percent of Fortune 500 companies protect employees on the basis of sexual orientation.
50 percent of Fortune 500 companies protect employees on the basis of gender identity.
Since 2002, the number of Fortune 500 companies offering domestic partner benefits climbed 76 percent.
Perhaps most noteworthy is that the LGBT community wields a buying power of nearly $800 billion.
During a decade of remarkable progress in the business community, Chick-fil-A has remained firmly planted in the past. As a result, there are now tangible declines in Chick-fil-A’s public perception that will likely impact the company’s bottom line. Learn more about Chick-fil-A’s anti-LGBT donations and view HRC’s pledge.
quannlace
But are they Sassy Gay friends?
kindness
Anyone else see Jon Stewart’s take on this last night? It was really good. Nice balance between the CEO of Chick-A-Fil is a horrible douchebag and the mayors of these cities (Chicago, SF & Boston) are doing exactly what the right says by saying they won’t allow new franchises. I like that. Jon was right on both counts.
Brian R.
@Ben Franklin:
Nice to see Chick-fil-A get nut-punched by the invisible hand.
Another Halocene Human
@Southern Beale: Did anyone else catch NPR devoting something like 3-5 minutes to Gabby’s hair? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.
Oh, sure, it was an AA journo/profo/bloggess scolding “teh cruwell wureld” for wanking about Gabby’s hair. But here’s the thing: the blowup over her hair was a flash-in-the-pan, ya had to be there internet social media blowup. Some teevee watchers snarked, some others snarked back. It’s not as if a major outlet was concern trolling about this kid’s hair. No.
But NPR, and other public media outlets, I hasten to add, just LOVE to concern troll about those ignorant, short-sighted “ghetto” blacks. They can tut-tut, look serious, and act deeply concerned about young black children’s self-image while covertly kicking their parents, hard. It’s reinforcing a profoundly negative narrative about “black culture” which has its roots in conservative white supremacist apology literature. (“Something is wrong with black families. Tut tut tut. It couldn’t possibly be institutional racism playing any part in this vast inequality and clearly there is no moral requirement on our part to address inequality in this country. Let’s scold black fathers and mothers some more.”)
You know, why the fuck is this shit about black people’s hair white people’s business to begin with? I did learn one thing from PBS concern trolling about hair, and that was that some WHITE people in the corporate world seem to think any black person with braids or dreads or basically any kind of natural hair style but the approved Getty images natural hair (Jheri curl?) is some sort of hot-headed Black nationalist radical who has no place on the “team”. When I was a child braids were very in and it really astounded me that they had political significance. The way in which whites are perpetuating certain hairstyles because [racism] is surely relevant, but the rest? What the fuck. Clean up your own damn house.
shortstop
@Ben Franklin: I enjoyed reading that.
On the other hand, I can’t find anything confirming that the food was free on Wednesday. So they probably did have hefty sales that day, but that’s not going to save them from the long-term backlash.
@quannlace: Many are, many are.
Linda Featheringill
@shortstop:
Yes.
Is it not that way with other folks?
I found it’s hard work to admit my faults but it doesn’t really cause me to disintegrate. It just makes me feel bad.
Original Lee
A full-metal wingnut relative posted on FB about her CFA solidarity experience on Wednesday. Her take on it was that she was supporting free speech. She said Cathy is entitled to his personal opinion on gay marriage and to contribute to anti-gay causes if he likes, because the chain does not discriminate in hiring, work environment or benefits against gays. I would love a linky that shows that corporate money has been going into anti-gay causes, not just private Cathy money – not having any luck finding one today.
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
Maybe I’m a snob* but I wouldn’t patronize a place with a name like Chick-fil-A. When your business name has an eccentric ‘folksy’ nonstandard spelling you’re probably marketing to a demographic that doesn’t include me. Because I can spell and intentional misuse of words irritates me.
*okay, probably
Another Halocene Human
Things that should be obvious but aren’t: urban working class Blacks are no more held back in class and income and educational status by their hair than working class Northern whites are held up by getting those clownish looking “french” nail jobs. Or by their silly hairstyles. Yeesh.
hitchhiker
Gaahhhh. A woman I admire sent me to a long thread by someone named Jen Hatmaker. Jen Hatmaker’s readership is almost entirely Christian women, many of whom would probably describes themselves as liberal.
The thread has almost 800 replies, and after mucking about in them for a depressing amount of time, I think I finally get another piece of this CFA phenomenon.
Christians see any attempt to recognize gay people as full citizens and ordinary human beings as an assault on their own lives.
And they’re right! (I’m sure everyone else has figured this out a long time ago, but for some reason I didn’t see it until just now.)
This really IS an attack on their world. People really ARE saying that “the bible” is just a weird collection of books, some lovely, some crazy, some helpful, some stupid.
That IS what we’re saying. The comments in that thread are pathetically earnest, and most of them say “I just don’t want to talk about this!” in one form or another. They seem to know on some level that the emperor is naked . . . but they want to hold on for just a little bit longer.
mattH
It’s important to point this out again and again, a huge number of the people “supporting” Chick-Fil-A are clueless about how and to what extent the corporation is funding anti-gay marriage movements and things like Uganda’s anti-gay legislation. This isn’t to say that there aren’t people who know, just that a large majority have no idea that they are tacitly supporting criminal penalties for being gay in parts of Africa by eating there.
Linda Featheringill
@Another Halocene Human:
Black hair:
I must confess that I am jealous of black hair that allows you to braid it and then just drop it. My hair must be bridled, hog-tied, and hobbled to stay in a braid. Arrrrgh!
Ben Franklin
@Brian R.:
Do you think this would have happened without a pushback?
Original Lee
@Another Halocene Human: I wish they would talk about the Japanese male gymnists’ hair for a while. Living manga!
Culture of Truth
Really? They were giving them away free?
Doesn’t that sounds familiar? Rush Limbaugh also claims lots of new advertisers who are totally not getting free airtime.
double nickel
@mattH: If they knew, they’d line up again.
taylormattd
Next time, try not listening to an Obama-deranged Paultard who is so obsessed with Rahm that he can’t be bothered to get his facts straight in his posts at Salon.
amk
These nutz take “It kills me to see teh gayz” to a literal level, don’t they ?
As jon stewart said y’day, in a few years, ‘murka will see more gays and gay marriages and their enemies by then would have died of diabetes and cholesterol overload.
shortstop
@Original Lee: Why would it matter? If I give your company twenty bucks, you take five as part of your CEO salary, and turn around and give three to the Family Research Council, the money I spend at your organization is supporting hate groups. Your wingnut relatives are desperately looking for a way out from the fact that supporting this enterprise funds active bigotry.
Another Halocene Human
@redshirt: I enjoyed all the straight people calling for a Chik-Fil-A boycott. I can remember when gay people were murdered by gaybashers and it wouldn’t even be reported in the regular city paper. I remember when an 18-yr old man was sentenced to state prison, not juvenile but in with the grownup rapists and murderers in Ohio for having sex with his 16-year old boyfriend, which would have been legal in OH if the 16yr old were female and only the Washington Blade carried the story.
ETA: I remember my father, an old school liberal, saying that the GLBT activists needed to cool it because they were going to bring down the Democratic party and sabotage the liberal cause.
Ben Franklin
@shortstop:
I don’t know about long-term either, as the attention span is a short-sell. But a net loss should give them, and others, pause. Let’s not forget; his business model is not based on benevolence.
russ
@Hunter Gathers: Overflowing with “WIN”.
scav
If Jeebus is relying upon getting Fast Food Endorsement to keep his schtick going, no doubt we’ll be seeing the B’Haloed GI Jeebus in the middle square on Hollywood Squares (Match Game would do) in the near future. Not the sign of a career on the upward path, these scramblings for high-visibility contracts.
Another Halocene Human
@RP: Have you READ the facebook posts?
Culture of Truth
Maybe I’m a snob* but I wouldn’t patronize a place with a name like Chick-fil-A
When I first heard of this company years ago I thought someone was pulling my leg about the alleged name, or some French or Chinese company messed in translation. Cause it’s the stupidest name ever.
shortstop
@scav: Not the center square! That one’s GAY!
Another Halocene Human
@Valdivia: I don’t have a link but as I recall it was already a requirement in 22 states with stricter state insurance regulators (than, say, Florida) and many Catholic institutions were already in compliance. That they took a stand now is telling. At any rate, it costs more to the insurance industry to provide two kinds of plans than just comply with one standard. The contraception doesn’t cost more because it saves money overall.
ALSO TOO, these institutions are completely free to not purchase compliant health insurance, if they can find someone to sell it to them. It simply won’t be tax deductible.
They are pitching a fit over sweet, sweet tax deduction cash.
They’re mad because it will cost them extra to concern troll their non-religious (exempt, by special statute) employees lives.
scav
@shortstop: shhhhhhh
NotMax
@Valdivia
Might also suggest that he discuss this with some women rather than with just the sons.
ding dong
Chicfckila is on the wrong side of history. Its gonna hurt. Them long. Term.
Another Halocene Human
@Donut: Here’s the thing: Rahm’s letter was tone deaf and low information idiots turned it into a meme and now everyone is wanking and concern-trolling about it.
The original block to their permit had to do with unresolved land use issues and with CfA’s refusal to sign a non-discrimination covenant.
Then the CEO runs around bragging, “Am I a bigot? Guilty as charged!”
So they WON’T sign a paper pledging not to discriminate against employees and customers and now they BRAG that they are fighting equal rights?
Contra what is being claimed on the intertoobs, that Cathy can now sue them big city liberals for violating his free
commercespeech rights, it sounds like Cathy is torpedoing any attempt by CfA’s legal and PR team to claim that despite their refusals to sign the pledge that they are really acting in good faith.So put THAT on your marinated henflesh cutlet and eat it.
Jay in Oregon
This was forwarded on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CHlCKFlLA/status/231179503857184768/photo/1
(Before you freak out, check out the logo on the side…)
Another Halocene Human
@redshirt: The other crux (these Catholics are getting crucified!) is that they have to TELL their employees (female and the employees with female spouses and children) that this coverage is available. Nooooooo!!!!!!
So the compromise is that the insurance companies will inform employees that this coverage is available.
So the RCC is not required to advertise the whore pills. Nor are they technically paying for them. But, you know, details.
schrodinger's cat
@Linda Featheringill: Same here, unless I use hair spray and a multitude of pins and twist ties at the end the braids just come off in a couple of hours. I am going to try this dry shampoo I keep seeing in these youtube tutorial videos.
ETA: Actually I am quite happy with my hair, it is naturally wavy, so I can either, leave it as is, curl it or
straighten it. Its only when it is very hot outside, that I have a problem.
Another Halocene Human
@Valdivia: I’m pretty sure PAYING TAXES is not against THE CATHOLIC RELIGION but perhaps Ratzi has made a statement EX CATHEDRA since I quit that old time religion that perhaps can clarify?
MY catechism included Jesus telling his followers to pay taxes, “render unto Caesar what is Caesar and unto God what is God’s.”
However it is true that the RCC has a very long and storied history of not paying taxes. In Soviet Christendom, believers pay YOU.
Brian R.
@hitchhiker:
To quote Patton Oswalt on this very topic, “Listen, I’m glad you read a book….” The whole bit is amazing.
Another Halocene Human
@Xecky Gilchrist: Well, as the concern trolls on ABL threads have taught us, if it doesn’t involve clubs and nightsticks and white sheets and burning crosses, it’s not real racism.
And if it doesn’t live in rural idaho with more wives than teeth and more bullets for the rack of AK47s than dollars stuffed under the mattress, it’s not a REAL white supremacist.
Brian R.
@Ben Franklin:
That was sarcasm.
Conservatives are always prattling on about how “the invisible hand of the free market” will mete out justice, and in this case, it has in spades.
Another Halocene Human
@gex: All that is required for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.
To many “good people” stay home on voting day, allowing God’s Army to march to the polls and hit that 54%.
geg6
@shortstop:
Yeah, CFA does this customer appreciation stunt every year. My staff assistant is good friends with the local franchisee and I’ve been hearing about CFA day for years now.
I hate fucking CFA. It used to be just because their food is awful and their self-righteousness about being closed on Sundays. Now I hate them more for their bigotry.
schrodinger's cat
There is no CFA where I live, so I have not seen this madness
first hand. I avoid fast food unless I am driving long distances. Of all the fast food places I prefer Wendy’s since they usually also have some healthy options. This publicity is not good for their brand (CFA). This is going to hurt them in the long run.
Jamey
Back when I was a baby, people used to turn out for demonstrations in FAVOR of civil rights, not against them.
What the fuck is wrong with the modern Republican Party?
Another Halocene Human
@shortstop: Fuck, sounds just like Nice Polite Republicans.
NPR (and Costas): recycling conservative intamalekshual talking points from 1983.
dead existentialist
@shortstop: This BS about free food is really sad. CFA had a promo (not a homo) on July 13th called Cow Appreciation Day where if you dressed up like a fucking cow, you’d get a free meal.
How that morphed into this is stupid beyond belief. Fuck, we have the Internet and teh Google and keyboards.
Those assholes that lined up PAID good money to a corporation as a protest over something they really are clueless about. Let’s hope they vote with their feet in November by walking away from their local polling place.
Another Halocene Human
When will you liberals understand that African-Americans are held back by their culture, just like Palestinians, Mexicans, West Virginians, etc.?
Brian R.
@Jay in Oregon:
Awesome.
As is this:
http://defendingcontending.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/chick-fil-a-1.jpg
dead existentialist
@geg6: Wrong day, genius.
Somebody told me . . . .
Sheesh.
Jane2
I particularly like the fact that they were likely washing their deep-fried hate down with drinks from pro-equality Coke.
NotMax
Brian R.
Reminded of this:
“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one
fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.”
– Sir Stephen Henry Roberts (1901-1971) (Wikipedia bio)
Xecky Gilchrist
@Ben Franklin: Thanks for this – I was wondering about it.
Strangely, one thing that comes to mind with all this for me is the big flap over Jamie Oliver’s push in Britain to improve the healthiness of school lunches there. He singled out for particular scorn and ridicule the “Turkey Twizzler”, basically the formerly-winged equivalent to pink slime, which was being fed to kids all over the country. The government was more or less shamed into improving things, kids got healthier and less hyperactive, and without the giant government subsidy, Turkey Twizzlers were eventually discontinued.
But BEFORE they were, Britain’s wingnuts went on a rampage very much like this Chik-fil-A thing, screeching that they wouldn’t be told what to do, stuffing their faces with Turkey Twizzlers. But they didn’t keep it up for long, and now all that’s left of the Twizzlers are pissy Facebook groups and stuff.
If CFA’s reputation has been damaged badly enough by this, I expect a similar outcome (though since they hadn’t been propped up by government money before, maybe they don’t have as far to fall.)
schrodinger's cat
@Another Halocene Human: OMG I have heard high born Brahmins make the same statements about the lower castes in India.
shortstop
@dead existentialist: ‘Twould be interesting to chase down the origin of the rumor. Did greedy bigots start and/or forward it–“Go to Chick-fil-A…they’re giving out free food to show solidarity with Christian and lovers of free speech!”–or did liberals–“They didn’t even make a profit! They gave all the food away! Nya nya!”
Another Halocene Human
@hitchhiker: It’s too bad they can’t read their bible without a study leader helping them. Then they would find out that usury is condemned over 300 times and would be marching on Washington, DC to demand a change.
Original Lee
@shortstop: I think their worldview does not connect the dots that way (except for contraception and abortion, of course). I am looking for a good, solid web page that shows the corporate money going to these anti-gay causes because that’s the only argument that might sway them. As far as they are concerned, how you spend your money is up to you. How you got it is another matter.
Another Halocene Human
@Original Lee: Heh.
pseudonymous in nc
As I said to a friend last night, it was Bigot Pride Day, a way to say “fuck you, faggots!” in numbers. We already know that there’s a large constituency in the US who would turn out today to support segregated lunch counter if there were no repercussions.
Ben Franklin
@Xecky Gilchrist:
Strangely, one thing that comes to mind with all this for me is the big flap over Jamie Oliver’s push in Britain to improve the healthiness of school lunches there. He singled out for particular scorn and ridicule the “Turkey Twizzler”, basically the formerly-winged equivalent to pink slime, which was being fed to kids all over the country.
He and Michelle have taken a lot of crap from the same sector. It’s part of the Denialism that made those CFL lightbulbs an outrage, which is traced to McConnells pledge to stop every Obama action
shortstop
@Original Lee: Okay, but they seem pretty able to not only connect the dots, but draw fake connections between dots, on matters involving funding of Planned Parenthood and insurance coverage of contraception. They’re just being willfully ignorant.
But okay, finding CfA organizational involvement is quite easy. WinShape is the charitable foundation of CfA. Here’s a listing of 2009 WinShape contributions to anti-gay groups, with handy details on just how heinous they are.
Ben Franklin
@Brian R.:
I understood your point, I just think ignoring the fools might not have resulted in a net loss.
Cassidy
@Original Lee: Damn straight. Dude should have dyed it neon blue.
Ruckus
@gex:
What the fuck good is your belief system if it can’t fucking tell you that hating doesn’t make God happy?
Just think, if they are correct about there being an afterlife and Juzzzesss and all, how disappointed they will be to find out their lives got them exactly what they feared most, damnation for ever.
It’s almost enough to make me laugh at their stupid asses.
Almost.
Patricia Kayden
I’ll skip the photos since if I want to see pigs gorging themselves, I can visit a local farm.
Perhaps they will start wearing “God Hate the Gays” t-shirts. They can get some from Phelps and his gang.
kc
@Southern Beale:
Gabby was called a “beast” who likes to “dominate” in one incredibly bigoted report I read today.
Oh wait, the reporter was quoting Gabby herself, talking about her own performance mindset.
Never mind.
Ruckus
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist:
Being a snob shouldn’t be the only reason you don’t eat what they serve. Like most fast food places calling what they sell eatable and or nutritious doesn’t make it so.
Mnemosyne
@kc:
I know you’re disappointed that you don’t get to call black people “nigger” anymore when you hear black guys calling each other that all the time, but sometimes people are allowed to use words to refer to themselves that would be rude for you to use about them.
Darkrose
@Xecky Gilchrist:
That annoyed the fuck out of me. Because many of those little black girls who are looking at Gabby and thinking “I could do that!” will discover that they can–if they’re willing to leave home and move halfway across the country and spend a LOT of money to train with a top coach.
The media narrative for Gabby always includes the part where she wanted to quit but her sister talked her out of it. I can’t imagine being 14, living in Des Moines and having the only black face I see on a regular basis being the one in the mirror.
kc
@Matt McIrvin:
Their sammiches are pretty tasty. But it’s pretty expensive, for fast food, so I rarely ever ate there anyway. Now of course I’ll never eat there again. But if a bunch of God-fearing Americans want to stand in the heat in long lines to overpay for fried fast food in order to stick it to the gays, well, who am I to judge them.
kc
@Mnemosyne:
Shame on you.
kc
@Culture of Truth:
The chain was founded in the South, and we don’t know how to pronounce “filet.”
Okay, I made that up, but it could well be truth.
Brian R.
@Ben Franklin:
OK, but I’m still not sure where you ever got the idea that I think we should’ve ignored the fools.
Ben Franklin
@Brian R.:
Sorry I left you with that impression. I just wanted your input on the effectiveness of pushback.
Mnemosyne
@kc:
Yes, it’s so awful that I understand basic social conventions. How dare I?
Howlin Wolfe
@GregB: I always wondered about that as it relates to the doctrine of transubstantiation. What if the part of Jesus’s body is his dick?
Someguy
CFA will come and go, but this provides a good model for how we can bring the pain to other businesses that donate to the wrong causes. We’re not going to have political progress in this country until the moneyed overlords realize that giving money to the wrong people or saying the wrong thing means we’re going to drive your ass out of business. Punishing CFA is a good start.
The prophet Nostradumbass
One of the funny things about those pictures of the politicians with the CFA stuff on TPM: Notice how none of them are actually eating the stuff?
Darkrose
@Another Halocene Human: I have to say, I wasn’t fond of Gabby’s hair. That would be because I’ve been there and done that, and I know how frustrating it is to spend ridiculous amounts of time and money for an end result that leaves your hair looking and feeling like straw. I hate that Gabby had to wear her hair in a style that approximated that of the other girls, even though her hair isn’t like that. I hate that there’s no way in hell she could have had braids, or twists, or even a natural because that’s too “ethnic”.
g
Pork up, conservatives!
shortstop
@Darkrose: This, but also notice how few gymnasts of any race ever have short hair. Those ugly-ass super-tight ponytails plastered randomly with barrettes and bobby pins are practically required now. Of course you can’t have hair flopping in your face while you’re vaulting and backflipping and so forth, but you never see a cute short cut except on an occasional Chinese gymnast.
Dark Patriot
as a fast food expert id say CFA is about average. i think the sandwiches are ok,the tenders are good,the waffle fries blow but milkshakes are top notch. with so many food choices i wont miss them.
Fort Geek
@Original Lee: One of the regulars at Daily Kos has been working on a series of posts about Dominionism; here’s Pt. 2, corporate sponsors–and CFA’s in the top 4 for contributing to Dominionist causes.
Dog Emperor’s got tons more in his diary. Scary stuff.
Citizen Alan
@bingbango:
I’m certainly expecting food riots, by 2020 if not before. How many years of drought in the Midwest do you think we can handle before corn becomes prohibitively expensive (given that we put it in fucking everything now)?
Gex
@Mnemosyne: I think California is unique in that. I’d be really surprised if they didn’t hit 60% on all the others, even if there wasn’t a supermajority requirement.
However, if that diminishes my point, I will retract. The fact of the matter is EVERY TIME THE PEOPLE VOTE, gays lose. Majorities are enough, as you point out, to deny us our rights.
Ben Franklin
@Fort Geek:
Makes ‘Big Love’ non-fiction……….
Mnemosyne
@Gex:
I think maybe your original point was unclear. When you said supermajorities were “required,” I thought you meant that they were required by law in order to change that state’s constitution. I’m guessing you actually meant it sarcastically, because IIRC most states that allow voter referendums don’t require any of those referendums to win by a 2/3rds vote. It usually only takes 50%+1.
shortstop
@Gex:
While I don’t believe it’s ever acceptable for majorities to vote on the civil rights of minorities, I’m hopeful that Maryland and Washington will mark the reversal of the trend you mention.
karen
Dan Cathy babbled about how G-d was passing judgement on us.
So does that mean if anyone died of heart attacks because of eating the fat laden Chik-Fil-A (like the VP of their PR did), G-d hates them?
dww44
@gvg: Plus, they do have superior customer service. Way better than KFC, Burger King,McD, and hate to say it, but way way better than Wendy’s. At least in my area, and I live less than a 75 miles from where the chain actually started. Their food offerings are no worse, health wise, than what one gets from the other franchises. Did any of you see this post from a couple of days ago by Digby?
http://www.digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/jesus-favorite-chicken-sandwich.html
Lest I be viewed as a CFA apologist, I’ve made the decision not to frequent the franchise because I’ve a gay brother-in-law. As my very conservative, but artistic inclined older friend said this morning: “Cathy should never have said what he did”. But, then she listens to talk radio in the mornings, and all they’ve got on today is the replay of a gay who verbally abused a CFA employee who managed to keep her cool. Upshot is that the gay client lost his job and the company which fired him offered her a job. All this is secondhand.
bemused
@SatanicPanic:
A few photos later is Todd and Sarah Palin. The shirt Todd is wearing is god awful.
dww44
@shortstop: According to the Atlanta newspaper, the sales were very good, altho the company would not release actual revenue numbers.
http://www.ajc.com/business/chick-fil-a-says-1489980.html
j
@dww44: The guy wasn’t gay, and I doubt the woman was offered his job.. He was the Chief Financial Officer.
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/arizona-exec-fired-pro-lgbt-rant-chick-fil-d
I’m sure a whole slew of lawyers are already on this case.
Blogreeder
I wondered how you guys would spin Chick-Fil-a Appreciation Day. You did not disappoint! What vile creatures some of you are! But that’s nothing unusual here. News flash: Gay Marriage is still banned in most states! DOMA hasn’t been repealed! So let me ask, in what universe do you guys live in where someone that has a view on the same side of an issue where most states and the Federal Government stand, is considered a radical?
Original Lee
@shortstop: Thanks! My google-fu was very weak today.
Original Lee
@Fort Geek: Dominionism is scary, so naturally my wingnut relatives don’t believe it exists. Thanks for the link!
Ben Franklin
@Blogreeder:
Another Chick filleted………
JMS
If I were some sort of enterprising fast food chain, I’d come out in favor of gay marriage and have a support pro-gay marriage day. Good PR and good sales.
Another Halocene Human
@Darkrose: And I think that’s a legitimate conversation. Tut-tuting at some anonymous commenters on twitter who expressed a desire to give Gabby a “makeover” just smacks of concern trolling and diversion.
Why couldn’t she have her hair in one of those cute short natural styles that teenagers wear in West Africa?
Another Halocene Human
@Original Lee: Heh, South Park has done sendups of this a couple of times, with Cartman leading mass movements full of followers who don’t actually believe he’ll do what he says he’ll do.
Mnemosyne
@dww44:
Rule One: if you’re pissed off at a company and want to yell at somebody, ask politely for a manager, wait for the manager to arrive, and then let loose. If you scream at the minimum wage employee working the drive-thru, you just end up looking like an a-hole.
Another Halocene Human
@shortstop: Well, look at Mary Lou Retton. This too shall pass.
I hope.
Another Halocene Human
@Dark Patriot: Ugh, thank you for that. I never understood the appeal of their waffle fries. The sandwiches were good but pricey but I’ve been boycotting them for a while. Then I turned up gluten intolerant, so good move for me, I guess.
Mnemosyne
@Blogreeder:
The same one where banning black people from using the same water fountains and restaurants as white people was morally wrong even when it was perfectly legal.
Mnemosyne
@Another Halocene Human:
Yeah, I think it has more to do with what’s currently fashionable than anything else. Short hair is out of fashion in the everyday world, so it’s out of fashion in the gymnastics world, too.
Patricia Kayden
@Dave Trowbridge: Exactly. Not understanding why some people cannot see the similarities between the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement. They’re not exactly the same, but are similar enough that those who supported/sypathized with one should support the other.
Patricia Kayden
@Blogreeder: There was a time when segregationists were the majority in the South. Not understanding your point. The majority is not always right. One day people will shake their heads and wonder what all the fuss about equal rights was about, just like many of us shake our heads about the segregationists of yore.
REN
Taking sides in any highly charged political issue as a businessmen, in such a radically divided country, is just plain stupid. It will cost you business.
shortstop
@Mnemosyne:
Heh. Not in big northern cities, it ain’t.
shortstop
@Mnemosyne:
Heh. Not in big northern cities, it ain’t.
shortstop
@REN: He wanted it both ways — he wanted to shout it loud and proud that he loves “Biblical marriage,” and, as is obvious from the subsequent corporate silence and “remain neutral” instruction to employees, he didn’t want to lose any business. I’m enjoying the bigot’s, er, buyer’s remorse he’s showing right now.
Blogreeder
@Patricia Kayden: So your point is that supporting DOMA is exactly like segregation? Exactly? Isn’t that a bit over the top? So where’s the outrage against DOMA? Oh, then you’ll have to stick it the President. Nope, can’t have that. He’s evolved. Just in time for reelection too!
The Lodger
@Howlin Wolfe: They slice those communion wafers reeeeeaaaallll thin…
Cassidy
Did we get a new winger?
Iceskatingschnauzer
Anyone else notice that the photo of Mike Huckabee on TPM looks like he’s gained a lot of the weight back that he worked so hard to lose several years ago. Guess showing your hatred for teh gays by eating MSG-laden, deep fat fried processed junk food is taking a toll…and I agree with Cole that seeing all those people lined up was a pretty sad commentary. Haters got to hate and yesterday let them do it loud and proud.
PanurgeATL
@Mnemosyne:
Sorry, this is impossible. (Especially if you’re a guy, where it’s Skinheads To Death these days.) But now that you mention it, I guess I can see it.