Opinion: Choosing Chick-fil-A sandwich over human rights is wrong (Spew-tastic)

DALLAS — Until Wednesday, SMU’s SPECTRUM was planning on launching a 13-week boycott of the on-campus Chick-fil-A. As a member, I intended on participating in the boycott.

However, on Wednesday morning, the company announced that it has stopped donating money to anti-gay hate groups, such as the Family Research Council and Exodus International. The donations were the cause of the LGBT community’s ire this summer.

Chick-fil-A also issued a “Who We Are” internal memo declaring that its company tradition “is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.”

Obviously, this means that we succeeded. The LGBT community won this particular battle against institutionalized corporate bigotry by taking a firm and public stand against it. We won by educating our friends, recruiting our allies, and raising awareness. The nation-wide boycott of Chick-fil-A was a good idea, and it worked.

Now, in the wake of these events, we must reflect and consider how – and if – history will remember the past few months.

I fully supported the boycott effort. When Dan Cathy’s statements about marriage equality went public, I didn’t think much of it; in fact I thought, of course – they’re a “Christian” company. Although soon after, the fact that Chick-fil-a donated millions to hate groups who support conversion therapy and the criminalization of homosexuality was publicized, and I was overcome with anger.

“Who died and made Chick-fil-A arbiter of the will of the Almighty?” I asked myself.

I was further enraged when conservative hotheads Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin downplayed the issue at hand as a free speech debate and launched the infamous Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.

How demeaning, indeed, to obfuscate the facts of the issue, and advocate a company that financially supports the attempted subjugation of a minority.

Moreover, I felt alienated and betrayed when a friend or family member chose a sandwich over me. I felt pretty worthless to find out my value as a human being was less than $6 – the cost of a combo meal.

Honestly, I didn’t have very high expectations of Spectrum’s boycott at this predominately red university in this predominately red state. I figured we would bring attention to an ignorant and indifferent student population, and I’d feel like I was being proactive. I would have considered changing one opinion a phenomenal success.

So when someone said to me that this intended boycott was “pointless and petty,” I knew it wasn’t. It is never pointless and petty to voice one’s opinion in a public forum. That’s the point of democracy. I respect this right for everyone. I even had a civil conversation with the religious protesters at Pride this past Sunday.

I understand that many people just weren’t as passionate about this issue as I was – and that’s their choice. Not everyone can be a bleeding heart.

What I want everyone to know is that gay people are simply people trying to live their lives as completely as anyone else. And no one – neither Chick-fil-A, nor any other group or individual – has a right to impede that.

The LBGT "community" wouldn't give a rip about marriage if the Church hadn't turned control of it over to the government in return for a tax break. Now it has become a government tool for benefits distribution, so they are all demanding to be let in on the scam.

Fine - let 'em have it. Churches should promote "covenant marriage" with strict obligations and no government involvement in any way. See how many LBGT-ers demand their human right to sign up for that. :)

I tend to be libertarian here, so I do get into trouble at times, more like the Barry Goldwater type (I am very pro-life though, without life, there is no liberty) and/or Robert A. Heinlein/L. Neil Smith, I'm into science fiction a bit. I personally resolved this is the best solution and/or compromise, get government out of marriage altogether and leave it to the religious institutions along with the people themselves. The only time government should be involved is if there are cases where you have to determine who is responsible for whom in cases like who is responsible for the kids and if one is incapacitated, the other partner can speak up and make decisions such as in the case of medical emergencies. Basically it is a money grab for tax breaks and insurance plans of all types. The best way is to make insurance plans al la carte and have a flat tax.

I'm glad to see Chik-Fil-A stand up although I'm not sure if they are caving now or not, but they have the right to conduct their business like anyone else. I have a good friend who is gay and considers himself married to his partner and if I was with them and didn't want to eat there, I'd respect their opinion, but everyone does have a right to that but to force it through government edict is wrong. don't care who sleeps with who, as long as both (or all partners) are at or above the age of consent, keep it private and if anything bad happens and/or they "fall down," be held responsible and accountable for themselves. I just believe what is in the bedroom should stay there.

I'm to the point where maybe fighting tooth and nail is a waste of limited time and resources. Our nation is in extreme peril and we are in danger of collapsing economically and militarily, if that happens, these debates will be moot. So here, I decided to choose the Oriental strategy of falling back and let the opponent's strength go against him and it will eventually. Also it is the job of each of us to teach our morals and ethics to our families and live up to them, not the governments. Even if some differ, that's the way it is. People are going to do what they are going to do, the key here is to hold them responsible and accountable for their actions and to teach that as well, there are times you have to let go and let real life and tough love take over. Freedom and liberty does have its warts but I'd take it over anything else.

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