Chick-fil-A gay rights boycott backfires (Mild Barf Alert)

The Lehigh Valley Morning Call ^ | August 4, 2012 | Paul Carpenter

[2ndDivisionVet]

Taking a page from Terry Rakolta's book on how to use righteous indignation to suppress the freedoms of others, some gay activists and their supporters decided to teach the Chick-fil-A people a lesson.

Chick-fil-A became a target for a boycott organized by somebody — it's not exactly clear who — because the fast-food chain's president, Dan Cathy, had the audacity to express his personal views about marriage, which did not comport with those of certain gay activists.

Cathy had divulged that he supports "the biblical definition of the family unit."

That outraged some politicians, including Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who suggested the restaurant chain had better get out of his town.

Pretty soon, organizations like the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation called for a Chick-fil-A boycott, reminiscent of Rakolta's holy crusade in the 1980s to launch a boycott of advertisers on the risqué television show, "Married With Children."

The Bible-thumping Michigan housewife soon became known as "The Ayatollah Rakolta," and her crusade spectacularly backfired. "Married," which had been going nowhere with meager ratings, became one of the most successful shows on TV.

(My favorite character was dimwitted bimbo daughter Kelly Bundy. Sample dialogue: "So, that island you own, is it near the beach?" And when the family members each had only one M&M to eat for dinner, she noted that she got a "W&W" instead.)

In response to the GLAAD et al boycott against Chick-fil-A, two Bible-thumping politicians — former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who also are former presidential candidates — called for sort of a boycott of the boycott, highlighted by "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" on Wednesday...

[FlingWingFlyer]

Politicians (public servants) who become “outraged” by something said by a private citizens should be thrown out on their goatsmellin’ asses and be forced to find a real job. America does not need a bunch of smartass public servants.

[Venturer]

I went by Chick Fil A again today and it was still busy.

If I had a business I would beg the queers to boycot me.

[concerned about politics]

Yeah. It backfired big time. The queers didn't know what hit them.

Welcome to REAL America - the land of the free and the home of the straight!

[Morpheus2009]

I am sorry, but I think people like Chick-Fil-A’s food options a little too much. I just can’t resist the sight of a cow begging me to eat chicken instead of beef!

I mean seriously, has any other fast food chain ever bothered thinking up an add like that?

[bigbob]

Me too. CFA could never have bought this kind of publicity and support.

I was really hoping the queers and lezzies would turn out in droves today. I’ve always had the feeling that many people who tell you the’re fine with gay rights and gay marriage and all, still get a little queasy when a couple of 50-year old fags are swapping spit in public places...like maybe right in front of their kids...?

Sorry for the unwanted imagery but it’s one thing to go along with something in the abstract but quite another when it’s right in frong of you and you’re throwing up in your mouth a little.

[hawaiianninja]

Actually, the gay activists' boycott was successful. I don't believe there was a liberal/christian-hating/gay activist in any of the Chick-Fil-A's this past week! ;-)

Perhaps the only liberal who admittedly visited a Chick-Fil-A was a bigoted, (now-former-)CFO of Vante, who made an ass of himself while getting a free cup of water!

And as far as their recent "kiss-in"...What a joke! Nowadays, the liberal entertainment industry shows gay people kissing on TV and movies all the time. If they're not encroaching on my space, who gives a rip about that!

[MtnClimber]

My wife and I had never been to CFA before. We could not go Wednesday so went today instead. Went to pick up something for the weekend and next week. Got to the CFA in Broomfield, CO at about 4:00 p.m. today. The drive through was backed up with about 8 cars so we decided to go inside. The woman cleaning the glass on the front door opened the door for us and said “God Bless” as we went inside. The workere inside were as nice as could be too. We got a 24-piece chicken strip catering platter. I urge others to support FR and CFA too!

[excopconservative]

Of course the Chick-fil-A “Kiss-in” was a bust. Even gays don’t want to kiss at a fast food restaurant.

[randog]

I’ve always had the feeling that many people who tell you the’re fine with gay rights and gay marriage and all, still get a little queasy when a couple of 50-year old fags are swapping spit in public places...like maybe right in front of their kids...?

True, that's why election polls are off the mark--people will publicly cloak themselves with the self-righteousness-du-jour while voting the opposite in the privacy of a polling booth. I was in a mini-market a few days ago and a couple of lesbians came in...70-ish lesbians. "Hubby" had her head shaved down to a nub, wearing no bra with her (his?) endowment hanging down to her waist. "Wifey" had hair that was slightly longer, but not by much. I could only tell she was the "feminine" side of the equation because she was wearing makeup. It was very...un-natural, like the living dead. They, of course, shined attitude and drew attention to their bad selves. I wonder when they'll learn that being an a$$h**le AND a freak really doesn't do much for the cause...?

[Heart of Georgia]

“I mean seriously, has any other fast food chain ever bothered thinking up an add like that?”

The cow ads are brilliant.

[Rides_A_Red_Horse]

I am sorry, but I think people like Chick-Fil-A’s food options a little too much. I just can’t resist the sight of a cow begging me to eat chicken instead of beef!

I mean seriously, has any other fast food chain ever bothered thinking up an add like that?

---

There was a farside cartoon where two deer stood in rifle cross hairs and one deer gestured frantically towards the other. It seemed a bit counter productive.

[youngidiot]

I also went today and it was shockingly busy. The cars were lined up into the street and the ordering area inside was shoulder to shoulder with people.

[SES1066]

When you read something like this and come across the pejorative "bible thumping politicians", you realize that a portion of the battle is already lost to the secular meme.

First, it denigrates the Bible, a document that has successfully guided believers into better behavior and outcomes for millennia. For every bad action, and there are plenty, performed by 'believers', you can find specifics in the Bible that they have violated and you can find where true believers have done good actions. As a civilizing force, it is hard to compare Judeo-Christianity with any other pagan or religion and not come away with a favorable opinion of the former.

Second, I have tried to come up with a counter pejorative to "bible thumping" and just failed. Our popular culture of today is pervasively anti-Christian! This is almost unreal but I think that we have never had such a corrosive entertainment and media establishment that is so anti-Christian. Just witness the denigration of Tim Tebow by his critics as a single example. Whether you chalk it up to the 60-70s radicals, the liberal mindset or the propensity of the GLBT crowd to enter this field as a profession, this industry does not consider traditional Judeo-Christianity as a "Good Thing" and desires to attack it whenever possible.

I know not the answer, but trust in God while I fight all of these pernicious and ultimately deadly attacks.

[american_ranger]

I’m going today. Someone told me it won’t be very busy on Sunday.

This is a joke. Please don’t send me dozens of messages telling me that they are not open on Sunday.